News that the Long Island Rail Road may fail to meet the Federal Rail Road Administration December 2020 deadline for 100 percent system-wide installation of Positive Train Control comes as no surprise to those of us who worked in the transit industry.
At this past Monday, Oct. 21 Metropolitan Transportation Authority Board Meeting, it was confirmed that the LIRR may fail to meet the FRA December 2020 deadline.
MTA board members were informed that the odds are only between 60 to 65 percent that installation would be completed by December 2020.
This is based upon continued difficulties in working with Amtrak in obtaining software information and other issues. There are also conflicts at the Harold Interlocking between the East River Tunnels and Woodside Station.
This critical facility serves both the LIRR and Amtrak. Ongoing construction at this location as part of the $11.8 billion East Side Access to Grand Central Terminal project also impacts PTC.
There is now only 14 months left, plus there is the unknown of how bad winter weather could further adversely impact progress in 2020. The FRA originally mandated that Positive Train Control that could prevent potential train crashes, be installed and operable by 2015 to ensure safety for the riding public.
Even with a time extension to December 2018, it was always doubtful that the LIRR would meet this new deadline. They did not.
The Port Washington branch was completed earlier this year but still required additional remedial work by the contractor.
Did the LIRR have insufficient force account (track employees) including inadequate numbers of certified signal maintainers and other specialized trade employees to support installation of PTC along with annual routine state of good repair system-wide projects, additional work in the East River Tunnels, $2.6 billion Main Line Third Track, $450 million Jamaica Capacity Improvements, $387 million Ronkonkoma Double Tracking as well as $11.8 billion MTA East Side Access.
It continues to be challenging for the LIRR to coordinate daily track outages and go slow work zones to support all of this work while at the same time providing the basic service customers pay for. There is no guarantee that these issues will be resolved any time soon.
This disappointing news comes on top of the most recent time extension, previously granted by the FRA which gave the LIRR yet another two-year extension, until Dec. 31, 2020 to finish Positive Train Control.
The LIRR has known since 2010 for this need. Complete means Positive Train Control is up and running 24/7 on all LIRR branches and service areas, It should also include completion for thousands of contract(s) punch list items, delivery and acceptance of all manufacture component maintenance plans, release of retainage and final payment to all third party construction contractors and vendors.
Needing another two-year extension to 2020 was an admission of failure. Positive Train Control should have been the number #1 priority for the LIRR over past years even if it meant diverting resources from other capital improvement projects. Safety should be #1 for commuters.
But don’t blame Washington when it comes to how the MTA LIRR decides to use federal assistance for installing Positive Train Control since 2010. Federal support for transportation has remained consistent and is growing over past decades.
When crises occurred, either 9/11 or Superstorm Sandy in 2012, Washington was there. Additional billions in assistance above and beyond yearly formula allocations from the Federal Transit Administration were provided. In 2009, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act provided billions more.
In 2019, Washington made available $1.4 billion to the MTA. The same or more will be available in 2020.
The LIRR averages a 15 percent share of all annual federal funding received by MTA. For years, it has been their respective decisions to program virtually all of these funds to other capital projects and not to Positive Train Control.
The MTA paid for Positive Train Control on the Long Island and Metro North Rail Roads by a $967.1 million Railroad Rehabilitation Improvement Financing loan from the FRA.
It is a 22-year loan at 2.4 percent interest. The loan will have to be paid back plus interest as part of the next $51 billion 2020 – 2024 and future Five Year Capital Programs.
Larry Penner
Great Neck
Larry Penner is a transportation historian, writer and advocate who previously worked 31 years for the United States Department of Transportation Federal Transit Administration Region 2 New York Office.
