Passenger Trains > Amtrak 51(10) Operating Without PTC

51 operated overnight and still continuing this morning to Chicago without operating PTC...

Back in the good ole bad days that wouldn't be an issue. But Amtrak's President Anderson has made it one and and again testified to that point on 6/26/19...

In the C-Span video Anderson testified that the SWC has lower level of safety (PTC exempted miles) at the 39:00 minute mark. Ms. Homendy, NTSB Board Member who also testified, stated there should be no PTC exemptions or equivalent, must be PTC! at the 1:15:00..

So if it's less safe to operate the train, why is it still proceeding without adding PTC unit from CSX?

Death by a thousand cuts!

Many trains will just keep going. If PTC fails they will call and get permission to proceed without it. Happened on many, many trips. They try to reboot it and if it doesnt work they just suck it up and keep going. 

Airlines operate the same way, if something fails after leaving the gate while taxing the flight will continue (in most cases) even if it would have grounded the flight before pushback. Same goes for inflight, only true emergencies would require landing short of destination. 

Flyer92122 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Airlines operate the same way, if something fails
> after leaving the gate while taxing the flight
> will continue (in most cases) even if it would
> have grounded the flight before pushback. Same
> goes for inflight, only true emergencies would
> require landing short of destination. 

Depends on what failed. Just a week back we pushed back from the gate and went all the way to the runway and then aborted because of a failure in one of the cabin pressurization systems. We came back to the gate, the plane was taken out of service and off to the hangar for repairs and the flight was cancelled, with passengers accommodated on other flights.

Do these two Ignorant fools (Anderson and Homedy) think the passengers would be safer on an Interstate highway?

Yup, and in busses on snowed up mountain passes

raytc1944 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Do these two Ignorant fools (Anderson and Homedy)
> think the passengers would be safer on an
> Interstate highway?

I believe a good portion of the Cardinal route does not have PTC and will not get it, as the threshold for installing it was not met.

- Buckingham Branch Railroad - not PTC
- CSX from Indianapolis to Hamilton, OH - I believe also no PTC.
- Indianapolis to Dyer, IN may also not have it.  

Here is the thread from six months ago showing PTC coverage... Yes, there has been PTC on the MONON for several months...

https://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?4,4687100,4689137#msg-4689137

Taking the subject of whether the cow jumped over the fence and changing the subject to whether the cow had spots is the way Amtrak operates...

PC1974 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------

> So if it's less safe to operate the train, why is
> it still proceeding without adding PTC unit from
> CSX?

The host railroad makes the decision to run a train without PTC, not Amtrak. As it stands now, Amtrak has no overruling authority to stop movement or demand a locomotive added with working PTC. Let's not give them any ideas.

Posted from Android

Remember what Anderson tried to do with the Chief last year, you all know what happened there, he tries to do the same with The Cardinal, won't surprise me if the backlash strikes again!

The Strasburg Rail Road runs one and sometimes two trains at a time and does it without PTC.  By the way, the SRR is an FRA regulated railroad and interchanges freight with the NS.  What does the fool at the FRA going to do about that?

Correction:  I meant the fool at the NTSB.

That’s a completely different ballpark than a real mainline railroad....

raytc1944 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> The Strasburg Rail Road runs one and sometimes two
> trains at a time and does it without PTC.  By the
> way, the SRR is an FRA regulated railroad and
> interchanges freight with the NS.  What does the
> fool at the FRA going to do about that?

Posted from iPhone

I just happen to read this thread today, but here is a photo of 51(10) in Waynesboro, VA that day. It is on the Buckingham Branch RR. Yes, that is a Checker Aerobus in the lower right corner.

---