Concern about Metro-North positive train control timetable growing with Buchwald letter

Exactly when the Metro-North Railroad will secure an extension for federally mandated life-saving safety technology is still up in the air.

In a letter to Metro-North President Catherine Rinaldi last week, state Assemblyman David Buchwald asked the railroad when it would submit documentation related to "positive train control" to the federal government and to give him a copy when it did.

"The slow roll out of (PTC) is troubling, given the painful safety lessons learned in the wake of a series of derailments that claimed the lives of riders and left scores injured," Buchwald, D-White Plains, wrote.

READ THE LETTER: Buchwald to Metro-North

LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Rinaldi disputes Journal News/lohud report on PTC

METRO-NORTH DICTIONARY: Demystifying the reason behind the delays

DELAYS INCOMING? Positive train control has caused some issues, other railroads say

LATE TRAINS? Metro-North's on-time performance stays down

The railroad said it had received the letter and will respond.

PTC, a nearly $550 million project that federal regulators say would have prevented a 2013 Spuyten Duyvil derailment that killed four people, can slow down or stop a train automatically.

In 2008, Congress mandated installation on railroads nationwide by 2015. When it became clear that nearly all railroads would not meet that deadline, it extended the deadline until the end of this year, with the opportunity for another two year extension if certain thresholds were met and an alternative schedule was filed with the Federal Railroad Administration.

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Metro-North had long maintained it would meet the Dec. 31 deadline, despite skepticism from lawmakers and regulators. In July, railroad officials acknowledged they would need the additional two years.

At the time, the railroad hoped to file the alternative schedule in November. In September board documents, that goal had been pushed back to December.

If Metro-North fails to secure the extension or fully implement the technology by year-end, the FRA can levy steep fines. The railroad has maintained that fines are not a legitimate possibility.

Still, Metro-North has made progress in installing PTC.

In July, 85 percent of the necessary equipment was installed. In September, it jumped to 92 percent, and preliminary testing had started on the pilot line between Croton-Harmon and Tarrytown.

At the Metropolitan Transportation Authority board's Metro-North Committee meeting last month, Rinaldi said the railroad had filed an application with the FRA to begin "revenue-service demonstration" on Sept. 11 — that is, testing the system on pilot lines.

Metro-North hopes, by January, to be testing PTC on lines throughout the system.

Twitter: @coynereports