FRA issues safety advisory on use of PTC restricted speed mode

The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) has published a safety advisory about the importance of speed restriction compliance, particularly within positive train control (PTC) restricted speed mode. The advisory includes a summary of seven recent train accidents in which the trains were going too fast, and five recommendations to railroads for ensuring employee compliance with speed restrictions.

A series of recent accidents has highlighted the need for railroads to review and reemphasize the federal regulations and railroad operating rules about restricted speeds, FRA officials said in the advisory. Upon reviewing operational testing data, the FRA found that when restricted speed PTC is in effect, there appears to be a lack of robust testing to ensure train crews can be prepared to stop within the required distance of one-half their range of vision.

The FRA is concerned that a gap in safety has emerged due to a misunderstanding of the role of PTC in restricted speed compliance. Restricted speed is defined as a speed that will permit the train to stop within the vision requirement, not to exceed 20 mph. It is a dynamic requirement that must be adjusted as conditions change, FRA officials said.

However, the FRA's recent accident investigations and observations indicated that, in some cases, crews are relying on PTC-enforced speed limits and are not fully accounting for visibility limitations, train length and weight, braking characteristics, grade, curvature and other conditions that can impact the train's ability to stop within one-half the range of vision.

FRA recommends railroads review with employees the circumstances of the seven accidents in the safety advisory; assess the effectiveness of training and rules instruction related to restricted speed; reinforce the use of PTC as an overlay, not a replacement for crews' responsibility to adjust speed; conduct quarterly and six-month reviews of operational testing data and increase the level of operational testing as appropriate; and reinforce crew responsibility, communication and situational awareness.