Eastern Railroad Discussion > Q: how will RRs / Public know that PTC is a success?

In other words, how will accident avoidance credited to PTC operation be measured and will it be reported? For example, will RRs detect, count, and publish to the FRA the # of times PTC-induced stoppages (or other actions) occur due to lack of crew attention (over speed on curve/switch or failure to stop at a signal), unforeseen events (eg, bad switch position as at Cayce, SC), or even false indications that might lead to an unnecessary stop? Thoughts?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/05/18 13:17 by JPB.

They already do

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The entire planet (within the railroad) knows the instant an enforcement event takes place.

1976 Wrote:
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> The entire planet (within the railroad) knows the
> instant an enforcement event takes place.

Yes, so it has put the entire workforce into fear of termination, regardless of wheelslip prompts that initiates enforcements, and the managerial world is looking for a feather in the cap. So yes, it is working.

1976 Wrote:
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> The entire planet (within the railroad) knows the
> instant an enforcement event takes place.
.
Didn't an unintended penalty application take place at the west end of the Amtrak north river tunnels in NJ last week?  Shut down much of the NEC for a morning.
 

PTC will prevent head on collisions and incursions into work zones....it will keep the engineer in mind of speed limits....however it will also happily allow a rear end collision at 18mph or whichever speed it believes it appropriate for restricted speed because it cannot SEE the obstruction ahead. So you see that it is the train crew that is in control of the train...NOT PTC. 

it allready has saved lives

not sure how many heart attacks it has caused

Like anything else, PTC is a tool.  Unfortunately, it's been built up as an end-all, be-all, "magic bullet".  Once fully perfected,
it will help avoid some forms of accidents.  Unfortunately, as it has been said many times: "You can't fix stupid."  PTC can't
protect the idiots who drive around crossing gates, walk down the tracks completely oblivious to oncoming trains, and other
situations just as stupid.

CZ10 Wrote:
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> Like anything else, PTC is a tool. 
> Unfortunately, it's been built up as an end-all,
> be-all, "magic bullet".  Once fully perfected,
> it will help avoid some forms of accidents. 
> Unfortunately, as it has been said many times:
> "You can't fix stupid."  PTC can't
> protect the idiots who drive around crossing
> gates, walk down the tracks completely oblivious
> to oncoming trains, and other
> situations just as stupid.

Yes.

On the premise of "you can't fix stupid"  the BrightLine trains took out a pickup truck in Delray Beach this week.  Guy was stopped on the crossing, but escaped when the bells, etc started. Traffic ahead was congested, and nothing moved when the traffic lights were supposed to clear the intersection.

Next day an apparent suicide in Boynton Beach, a few towns away. 

Tough few days for the BrightLine crews.  I suspect they have an unfortunate distinction of having the most fatalities per engineer on a district.  Short district, small pool of engineers, quite a few deaths in a year.