Metro-North fully implements positive train control technology on Harlem and Hudson lines

Two of the three major Metro-North Railroad lines are outfitted with life-saving technology designed to prevent high-speed derailments like the one that killed four passengers on a Manhattan-bound Metro-North train in 2013.

Metro-North finished implementing positive train control on the 189 miles of Harlem and Hudson lines on March 14, MTA Metro-North Railroad President Cathy Rinaldi announced on Tuesday.

The coverage includes all trains along the 74 miles of the Hudson line, which extends from Grand Central Terminal to Poughkeepsie, and the 82 miles of the Harlem line, which runs from Grand Central Terminal to Wassaic and includes Amtrak and CSX freight.  

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In Connecticut, crews simultaneously completed activating PTC wayside equipment on the eight miles of the New Canaan Branch, according to the MTA. 

The completion of the two lines is 68 percent of Metro-North's mileage, with the 62 miles of the New Haven line left to finish, which the MTA said expects to be completed by the federally mandated deadline of Dec. 31, 2020. 

“The activation of PTC along our entire Harlem and Hudson Lines and the New Canaan Branch demonstrates our swift and steady progress to meet our system-wide goals for the end of the year,” Rinaldi said in a statement. “Our team has been working diligently on this crucial initiative to ensure the safety of our system.” 

Positive train control technology is designed to eliminates the potential for human error by slowing or stopping trains that are traveling too fast into a curve or into a misaligned switch and alerts the train's engineer that it is doing so. 

Twitter: @ChrisEberhart2

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