Page 35 - Train Control News Today

Controlling this. >> amtrak, throughout a good beat of the northern corridor called advanced civil speice enforcement. that is called acses. it is installed throughout the most of the northeast corridor. however, it is not installed for this area where the accident occurred, where the derailment occurred. that type of a system is designed to enforce the civil speed to keep the train below its maximum speed. and so we have called for positive train control for many, many years. its on our most wa...

These investigators are going to be combing through over the next 4 hours. >> and obviously, after every train crash, theres a talk about positive train control that would have prevented this accident from happening. give us a sense of what exactly it is and how it works. >> well, in the northeast corridor, these trains that go-between cities like washington, d.c. and new york, as was the case, was supposed to be the case with this train, this type of system is already in place. its automated sp...

We had to change a lot of things on the corridor to make it work, and were very close to being able to cut it in. we need some testing done on interference with the 220 megahertz radios were dealing with, but we will complete this by the end of the year. i believe we will probably be the only railroad in the united states and in the western hemisphere thatll have positive train control. and i think that has has not been reported well, frankly. we have delivered a leadership role in positive trai...

That brought it down to 102 miles per hour but the train still derailed. all seven cars off of the tracks. lets talk about the man at the center of the investigation. 32-year-old brandon bostian. hes been with amtrak nine years. his attorney says he doesnt remember anything after approaching that turn. he was thrown about the cab. he was bruised up. he picked up his bag and his phone. he says he called 9-1-1. he gave his bag and phone and a blood test of the authorities, but he has not taken to ...

Portion of the railroad where the legal high speeds are in place. you wouldnt start at a slow speed to implement positive train control or put slow section. youd start where the train is going 150 miles an hour legally. imagine what that wreck would be like. so its a very logical way to proceed in the installation of positive train control. i think theyll have it not only installed by operational shortly. part of it is the technology but the other part is the funding. keep in mind that the north...

Dialing 911. >> the train was placed into braking. it didnt have a control system, that emergency breaking system called positive train control. it can alert an engineer if they need to slow down. that speed around the curve was 50. this train was going over 100 miles an hour frlt it could have override the engineer on a train. its called positive train control. >> in 2008, elizabeth, congress demanded they put this new positive train control in place. its done through radio waves. that was part...

In crashes, including in this case the engineer. that testimony can then of course not be used in any sort of criminal proceeding. >> you know i dont know the attorney. but im under the impression that somebody does not have to testify to us. thats what im under the impression of. but i want to point out that were conducting an accident investigation. what tom costello is talking about the engineer facing criminal charges, thats a criminal issue. but were not in that business. we want to find ou...

In the u.s. would have to get just slightly more modern, not like, you know, hydrogen powered cars and jet packs and futuristically hypermodern stuff, just some basic systematic safety upgrades that would take advantage of the fact that we are now a society that has things like computing machines and gps. this is not the most high-tech stuff. what they mandated for the u.s. rail system is something called positive train control. a very basic avoidance system that reduces the risk that stupid ope...

Our die investments from infrastructure. >> it was just a few hours after that that robert thumbwald of the ntsb said this in philadelphia. >> we are very keen on positive train control. based on what we know right now, we feel that had such a system been installed in this section of track, this accident would not have occurred. >> joining us now, chief of vox.com and robert potroff, an attorney who specializes in railroad safety. ezra, in the house of representatives today, it was considered of...

Pennsylvania senator bob casey is calling for action to fully implement a computerized system to prevent tragedies like the train derailment in philadelphia. its called positive train control, or ptc. its a sophisticated system of sensors that can help prevent collisions and stop trains from going through red signals if the operator is for example distracted. heres senator casey on "morning joe." >> i do think, though, when the ntsb says specifically or definitively that the so-called positive t...