Q:		What	are	the	benefits	of	PTC?

A:		PTC	systems	will	improve	railroad safety	by	significantly	reducing	the	probability	of	collisions	

between	trains,	casualties	to	roadway	workers	and	damage	to	their	equipment,	speed	enforcement	

accidents,	and	prevention	of	train	movements	through	improperly	aligned	switches.

Q:		What	are	the	technological	issues hampering	implementation	of	PTC	before	the	December	15,	2015	

deadline?

A:		There	are	just	five	major	suppliers	of	the	components	that	go	into	PTC,	so	the	problem	goes	beyond	

technology	and	into	the	small	pool	of	experts	who	can	develop,	test	and	install	these components.	The	

report	to	Congress lists	seven	sets	of	technical	barriers	to	implementation:	

Communications	spectrum	availability.		Sufficient	radio	frequency	(RF)	spectrum	must	be	made	

available.		A	recent	APTA	survey	found	that	only	three	out	of	the	more	than	20	commuter	railroads	have	

been	able	to	acquire	the	necessary	spectrum. Acquisition	of	the	spectrum	represents	a	new	cost	liability	

affecting	maintenance	and	operational	budgets	established	years	before	the	PTC	requirement.		

Commuter	railroads	have	attempted	to	get	additional	spectrum	in	the	secondary	market	with	varying	

degrees	of	success,	and	have	requested	that	the	FCC	allocate	this	additional	spectrum	at	no	cost	to	

them.		

Radio	Availability.		In	order	to	use	the	RF	spectrum	while	supporting	interoperability,	software	defined	

radios	(SDR)	must	be	developed	and	60,000	radios	must	be	built.	

Design	Specification	Availability.		There	are	three general	types	of	specifications	associated	with	PTC	

systems	that	have	not	been	fully developed:		technical	interface	standards,	contract	specifications,	and	

interoperability	standards.		 		

Back	Office	Server	and	Dispatch	System	Availability.		Most	railroads	do	not	have	the	final	versions	of	

this	critical	back	office	server	software.		The	final	version	of	the	back	office	server	software	that	will	be	

most	commonly	used	is	not	scheduled	to	be	delivered	until	mid	2013	with	a	deployable	production	

ready	version	until	the	fourth	quarter	of	2014

Track	Database	Verification.		More	than	63,000	miles	of	right	of	way	with	over	500,000	field	assets	that	

are	critical	to	PTC	system	operation	must	be	positively	geolocated	to	a	horizontal	precision	of	less	than	

2.2	meters	(approximately	7	feet)	and	a	vertical	precision	of	0.8	meters	(approximately	2	feet)	to	

provide	the	accuracy	necessary	to	safely	warn	or	stop	a	locomotive.		

Federal Railroad Administration

Office of Public Affairs

1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE

Washington, DC 20590

www.fra.gov 

Positive Train Control FAQ 
Installation	Engineering.		The	limited	resources	available,	along	with	the	2015	deadline	have forced	the	

railroads	to	develop	and	install	PTC	technology	in	a	less	efficient	way	than	would	otherwise	be	the	case.		

System	design,	development,	and	testing	that	normally	would	be	undertaken	sequentially	must	happen	

in	parallel,	which	increases	the	severity	of	the	impact	of	defects.	Because	of	the	finite	pool	of	the	

necessary	personnel,	fewer	qualified	resources	are	available	for	other	service	and	safety	technology	

projects.

Reliability	and	availability	of	properly	working	equipment.		The	number	of	components	with	their	

individual	reliability	greatly	impact	overall	system	availability	and	reliability.		Generally	as	the	number	of	

components	increases,	the	reliability	and	availability	of	goes	down.		As	the	reliability	and	availability	of	

the	PTC	systems	decreases,	the	degree	to	which	the	PTC	system	enhances	safety	decreases.		

Development	of	components	and	architectures	to	ensure	that	there	is	no	decrease	in	reliability	and	

availability	is	expensive	and	time	consuming,	and	results	in	increased	costs	and	longer	development	

integration,	test	and	deployment	times.

Programmatic	Obstacles	to	Timely	Implementation:		Two	non-technical	barriers	to	implementation	

have	been	identified.		The	budget	cycles	and	contracting	processes	for	public	entities	precluded	

immediate action	to	implement	systems,	delaying	the	award	of	PTC	acquisition	contracts	by as	much	as	

3	years.

Second,	the	freight,	intercity	passenger,	and	commuter	railroads	required	to	implement	PTC	systems	are	

all	competing	for	a	limited	set	of	resources,	in	terms	of	both	manpower	and	essential	PTC	system	

components.		The	pool	of	experienced	PTC	system	equipment	suppliers	is	limited.		There	are	only	five	

major	suppliers	who	have	significant	prior	experience	with	PTC	equipment	manufacturers	and	not	all	

manufacture	all	PTC	system	equipment.		The	ability	of	these	manufacturers	to	provide	the	required	

quantities	of	necessary	components	has	yet	to	be	demonstrated.		In	addition,	the	limited	number	of	

qualified	technicians	available	to	the	railroad	industry	constrains	the	railroad’s	ability	to	complete	work	

required	for	PTC	system	deployment.	

Q:		Did	FRA	ask Congress	to	move	the	deadline	for	PTC	implementation?

A:		No.	 FRA	recommended that	if	Congress	were	to	consider	legislation	to alter	the	deadline,	the	agency	

should	be	granted	sufficient	flexibility	to	assign	new	completion	dates	as	appropriate	for	the	obstacles	

to	implementation.		

If	Congress	were	to	consider	legislation	allowing	for	provisional	certification	of	PTC	systems,	FRA	

recommends	that	such	legislation allow	a	railroad	to	apply	for	provisional	certification	while	the	railroad	

works	towards	full	certification.		The	provisional	certification	would	require	factual	evidence	

demonstrating	satisfactory	PTC	system	safety	performance,	and	would	allow	the	temporary	use	of	PTC	

systems	to	gather	additional	data	while	allowing	railroads	and	the	public	to	benefit	from	the	systems,	

where	installed.

Q:		Does	FRA	support	the	efforts	of	some	commuter	railroads	to	have	the	FCC	provide	wireless	spectrum	

for	use	in	PTC,	as opposed	to	requiring	the	railroads	to	seek	it	out	on	the	private	market?	Should	the	

federal	government	help	the	railroads	with	the	cost	of	acquiring	spectrum?

A:		FRA	has	supported	the	railroads	in	regard	to	assuring	sufficient	spectrum	is	made	available	to	

successfully	implement	PTC,	and	has	worked	with	FCC	to	try	to	identify	spectrum	issues	and	to	develop	

solutions.	 However,	actual	acquisition	of	spectrum	is	ultimately	an	FCC's	issue	and	the	Administration	
has	no	formal	policy	regarding	precisely	how	that	is	accomplished.	 That	would	be	a	FCC	policy	decision	

that	we	would	not	be	involved	with.

Q:		How	about	overall	costs	of	installing	PTC?	Should	high-speed	rail	funding	be	available	for	installing	

PTC?	Does	the	FRA	support	additional	funding	for	the	costs	of	installing	these	systems?

A:		$50	million	per	year	in	grants	has	been	authorized	for	safety	technology	development	for	fiscal	years	

2009	to	2013	,	but	only	$50	million	has	been	appropriated	(FY10).		 With	this	funding,	FRA	awarded	nine	

grants	to	address	common	PTC	implementation	technology	issues.		This	work	is	to	be	completed	by	

March	31,	2013.

Through	state	partners,	railroads	are	eligible	to	apply	for	grants	under	the	High-Speed	and	Intercity	

Passenger	Rail	program,	as	well	as	DOT’s	TIGER	program.		 Finally,	railroads	can	also	apply	for	a	loan	

from	FRA’s	Railroad	Rehabilitation	&	Improvement	Financing	(RRIF)	Program,	and	DOT’s	Transportation

Infrastructure	Finance	and	Innovation	Act	(TIFIA)	loan	program.

Q:		How	does	the	2013	budget	request	support	the	congressionally	mandated	December	31,	2015,	

implementation	deadline	for	Positive	Train	Control?

A:		FRA	is	continuing	to	support	national	deployment	of	Positive	Train	Control	(PTC)	to	improve	the	

safety,	security,	and	efficiency	of	freight,	intercity	passenger	rail,	and	commuter	rail	services	through	

regulatory	reform,	project	safety	oversight,	technology	development,	review	and	approval	of	PTC	

Implementation	Plans,	other	PTC-related	documentation,	and	financial	assistance. Funding	will	be	used	

to	provide	continuous	field	engineering	and	pre-revenue	service	system	testing	oversight	support.

Q:	 How	does	FRA’s	final	rule	and	January,	2013	Notice	of	Proposed	Rulemaking (NPRM)	relate	to	the	

National	Transportation	Safety	Board’s	(NTSB)	 Most	Wanted	List?

A:		The	NTSB	called	for	the	implementation	of	PTC	in	its	2013	Most	Wanted	list	(published,	November,	

2012).		 FRA’s	PTC	rulemakings,	including	the	current	NPRM	are consistent	with	NTSB’s	stated	goals. The	

NPRM	moves	the	industry	one	step	closer	to	full	implementation	by	providing	the rail	industry	with	

$154	million	in	regulatory	relief	and addressing	several technical	issues	that	emerged in	the	two	

prior PTC	rulemakings.		The	comment	period	for	the	NPRM	closed	March,	11,	2013.