Positive Train Control Systems

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Table of Contents for Supplementary Information

I. Executive Summary

II. Background

A. Legal Authority To Prescribe PTC Regulations

B. Public Participation Prior to the Issuance of the NPRM

III. Section-by-Section Analysis

IV. Regulatory Impact and Notices

A. Executive Order 12866 as Amended by Executive Order 14094

B. Regulatory Flexibility Act and Executive Order 13272

C. Paperwork Reduction Act

D. Federalism Implications

E. International Trade Impact Assessment

F. Environmental Impact

G. Environmental Justice

H. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995

I. Energy Impact

J. Privacy Act Statement

K. Tribal Consultation

L. Rulemaking Summary, 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(4)

I. Executive Summary

Section 20157 of title 49 of the United States Code (U.S.C.) mandates each Class I railroad, and each entity providing regularly scheduled intercity or commuter rail passenger transportation, to implement an FRA-certified PTC system on: (1) its main lines over which poison- or toxic-by-inhalation hazardous materials are transported, if the line carries five million or more gross tons of any annual traffic; (2) its main lines over which intercity or commuter rail passenger transportation is regularly provided; and (3) any other tracks the Secretary of Transportation (Secretary) prescribes by regulation or order. By law, PTC systems must be designed to prevent certain accidents or incidents, including train-to-train collisions, over-speed derailments, incursions into established work zones, and movements of trains through switches left in the wrong position.

Currently, 37 host railroads —including 7 Class I railroads, 24 entities that provide regularly scheduled intercity or commuter rail passenger transportation (hereinafter referred to as “intercity passenger railroads or commuter railroads,” respectively), and 6 Class II or III, short line, or terminal railroads—are directly subject to the statutory mandate. On December 29, 2020, FRA announced that railroads had fully implemented FRA-certified and interoperable PTC systems on all PTC-mandated main lines. 49 U.S.C. 20157(a); 49 CFR 236.1005(b)(7).

Today, PTC technology is governing rail operations on nearly 59,000 route miles. Based on FRA's oversight of PTC technology since FRA last amended its PTC regulations in 2021, FRA identified three aspects of its existing PTC regulations that warrant revision to address ongoing challenges. Overall, the proposed amendments would benefit the railroad industry, the public, and FRA by facilitating repairs, maintenance, upgrades, and capital improvements; expanding certain railroad informational requirements; reducing costs; and enabling the safe, reliable, and resilient movement of people and goods, while preserving rail safety.

This NPRM proposes to establish strict parameters and operating restrictions under which railroads may continue to operate safely in three specific scenarios when PTC technology is temporarily not governing rail operations:

1. When non-revenue passenger equipment needs to operate to a maintenance facility or yard, for the sole purpose of repairing or exchanging PTC technology;

2. When a PTC system needs to be temporarily disabled to facilitate repair, maintenance, an infrastructure upgrade, or a capital project; and

3. When a system-level or widescale problem occurs resulting in multiple trains' PTC systems failing to initialize.

FRA's objective in this rulemaking is to establish clear, uniform processes, rather than addressing issues that arise in a reactive and piecemeal manner. FRA expects that establishing predictable, prescriptive processes will both enable continued operations and improve railroad safety by facilitating prompt repairs, upgrades, and restoration of PTC system service and eliminating uncertainty and inconsistent application of FRA's regulations. FRA's proposed parameters and operating restrictions in this NPRM are intended to be sufficiently strict to ensure that railroads and PTC system suppliers and vendors proactively identify and remedy problems before they arise and immediately correct any problems that may surface despite proactive measures.

First, FRA is proposing to establish an exception, under 49 CFR 236.1006(b)(6), to permit, under certain conditions, non-revenue passenger equipment to operate to maintenance facilities or yards, without being governed by PTC technology. This NPRM proposes to extend the exception currently afforded to certain freight movements to movements of non-revenue passenger equipment, including equipment that is owned or controlled by an intercity passenger railroad or commuter railroad.

This proposed exception would enable non-revenue passenger equipment, including a locomotive, locomotive consist, or train without passengers onboard, to operate to a maintenance facility or yard for the sole purpose of repairing or exchanging a PTC system or component. Commuter railroads have informed FRA this proposed exception would be beneficial and necessary, as it would enable them, for example, to operate a PTC-equipped locomotive, where the onboard PTC technology is not functioning and requires repair, to a maintenance facility or yard to repair or exchange the PTC system. To ensure rail safety, FRA is proposing to impose six conditions on each movement of non-revenue passenger equipment subject to this exception, including speed and distance restrictions, the requirement to establish an absolute block (meaning no other traffic may be present in the area), and other protections of the route.

Second, FRA proposes to improve the existing process, under 49 CFR 236.1021(m), that railroads currently utilize to request and obtain FRA's approval to disable their PTC systems temporarily when necessary to facilitate repair, maintenance, infrastructure upgrades, and capital projects. This NPRM proposes to add paragraph (m)(4) to existing § 236.1021 to focus on this specific type of request for amendment (RFA) to PTC systems ( i.e., where a temporary PTC system outage is proposed), as it is different from the other types of RFAs that railroads submit under § 236.1021 and requires additional FRA oversight.

FRA proposes to require railroads to provide additional, essential information in an RFA that seeks to temporarily disable a PTC system to enable FRA to evaluate more fully the scope, circumstances, and necessity of a proposed temporary outage and properly determine whether granting the request is in the public interest and consistent with railroad safety. For example, this NPRM proposes to impose nine additional content requirements for this specific type of RFA, including certain justifications, safety analyses, mitigations, and other documentation to demonstrate the proposed outage is as narrow in scope, impact, and duration, as possible.

Third, FRA proposes to reintroduce as a permanent provision a version of a temporary provision regarding PTC system initialization failures, which expired on December 31, 2022. The expired regulatory provision previously permitted any train, including an individual train, to keep operating subject to certain restrictions, if the train failed to initialize for any reason prior to the train's departure from its initial terminal. In FRA's 2014 final rule, FRA authorized this provision temporarily, recognizing that “there may be issues that could be identified and resolved in the early days following PTC system implementation and revenue service operation.” In 2014, FRA also observed that “[e]xperience over these intervening years will provide more empirical data on PTC system reliability, and may be a basis for FRA to revisit this issue at a later date should circumstances warrant.”

FRA's intention in this NPRM, by proposing to reintroduce an updated version of this provision, is to address only system-level outages or failures that result in multiple trains' PTC systems failing to initialize, impacting the trains of the host railroad and often most, if not all, of its tenant railroads. Currently, if a PTC system fails to initialize, trains are generally prohibited from operating, which has resulted in situations where passengers could be stranded, and vital freight shipments halted.

Although PTC technology is generally reliable and robust, it is a complex technology, composed of many subsystems and dependent on external networks, and it continues to experience unplanned outages. For example, railroads' Quarterly Reports of PTC System Performance show that PTC technology failed to initialize on approximately 236 intercity passenger or commuter trains and 894 freight trains in 2023. Additionally, based on voluntary reporting by railroads, FRA is aware of eight (8) system-level outages that occurred in 2023 that caused multiple trains to fail to initialize.

FRA is proposing to impose two tiers of operating restrictions that would become increasingly restrictive as time passes, to ensure both that railroads utilize any operating flexibility only when necessary and that railroads and their vendors and suppliers identify and resolve issues promptly. FRA expects this will help strike the appropriate balance between enabling continued operations subject to speed restrictions, pending resolution of a PTC failure, and restoring PTC systems as quickly as possible. In short, if a PTC system fails to initialize, impacting multiple trains, FRA proposes to permit railroads to continue operating for 24 hours, subject to the operating restrictions, including speed limits, that previously applied to initialization failures and that currently apply to en route failures. After the first 24 hours, FRA proposes to impose a significant speed limit of restricted speed, among other restrictions, both to help ensure rail safety and to propel the industry to act quickly to restore PTC system service.

FRA analyzed the economic impact of this proposed rule over a 10-year period and estimated its benefits and costs, which are shown in the table below. The total estimated 10-year net benefits would be $81.8 million (discounted at 2 percent), and the annualized net benefits would be $9.1 million (discounted at 2 percent). The industry benefits associated with FRA's proposal to amend three provisions— i.e., to introduce a new exception for certain non-revenue passenger equipment movements, improve the RFA process regarding temporary PTC system outages, and permit continued operations following certain initialization failures, subject to operating restrictions—would outweigh the industry costs and government administrative costs associated with FRA's proposal to expand the content requirements for RFAs related to temporary outages.