Railroad tracks network throughout our part of the country. In both Indiana and Illinois, it is almost impossible to drive any stretch of roadway, urban or rural, without coming into contact with rails carrying huge and heavy trains that can move at very high speeds.
Trains are extremely important to moving goods here in the “Crossroads of America.” According to the Illinois Department of Transportation, lllinois’ rail network is at the heart of the national railway system, with over 9,982 miles of track serving 41 different railroad companies. In fact, Illinois moves more rail freight volume than any other state (490.4 million tons).
The rail industry is also very important to the economy of the State of Indiana. The Indiana Department of Transportation’s latest State Rail Plan explains that Indiana has one of the highest densities of rail lines in the nation — surpassed only by Illinois, Ohio, and Pennsylvania in the number of rail route miles per square mile. State Rail Plan, page S-3.
Of course, all this rail traffic means that the risk of a serious or fatal rail accident or train crash is higher in our area than in other parts of the United States.
We have discussed the dangers of railroad crashes involving railroad workers as well as other victims before, see: Types and Causes of Train Crashes and Railroad Accidents and Dangerous Cargo on Freight Trains Moving Through Indiana and Illinois: Risk of Fatal Train Accidents.
Federal Railroad Administration Announces Full Implementation of Positive Train Control Technology
Beginning January 2021, according to the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), positive train control (PTC) technology will be in operation on all 57,536 required freight and passenger railroad route miles. This means that the statutory deadline of December 31, 2020, set by Congress in the Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (RSIA) was met by the rail industry.
FRA has certified each host railroad’s PTC system is in compliance with PTC technical requirements. Accordingly, in 2021 the new safety feature will be in full operation both in Indiana and Illinois as well as the rest of the country.
This is considered a huge step for rail safety in this country. From U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao: “Achieving 100 percent PTC implementation is a tremendous accomplishment and reflects the Department’s top priorities – safety, innovation, and infrastructure.”
What is a Positive Train Control (PTC)?
Positive Train Control (PTC) is a technological system intended to make rail traffic safer. PTC is supposed to “…prevent train-to-train collisions, over-speed derailments, incursions into established work zones, and movements of trains through switches left in the wrong position.”
PTC works through Global Positioning Systems (GPS), wireless radio, and proprietary software in order to communicate with train crew members. The PTC provides current information on the path ahead. If there is a problem, the engineer will be informed much earlier than he would have been prior to the implementation of the PTC on his train. This allows the train to be slowed down, or brought to a full stop, well in advance of any danger.
The PTC also goes one step further. Not only does it communicate up-to-the-minute data on the route ahead, but if the engineer fails to respond to a PTC danger warning, the system itself is able to brake and stop the train based upon its own internal warning system.
Positive Train Control is an automation technology designed to combat human errors that cause train crashes and serious or fatal rail accidents.
For more on how PTC is designed to work, watch this video description of Positive Train Control provided by Union Pacific.
Limitations of PTC in Preventing Train Crashes and Rail Accidents
This new technology is hailed as a step toward safer rail traffic. However, it is not a panacea that will prevent fatal train crashes and severe railroad accidents here or in other parts of the country.
From the Association of American Railroads (AAR) comes the following clarification:
1] PTC technology is designed to prevent:
- Train-to-train collisions.
- Derailments caused by excessive speed.
- Unauthorized train movement onto sections of track where maintenance activities are taking place.
- Movement of a train through a track switch left in the wrong position.
2] PTC technology will not prevent:
- Accidents caused as a result of track or equipment failure.
- Improper vehicular movement through a grade crossing.
- Trespassing on railroad tracks.
- Certain types of train operator error.
Train Crashes and Rail Accidents in Indiana and Illinois Post-PTC
Setting a goal of safer rail traffic in our Crossroads of America is to be applauded. The full 2021 implementation of the 2008 statutory plan of national positive train control is a positive step towards that goal.
However, from the injury victim advocates’ perspective, replacing human interaction with computerized technology in order to avoid accidents caused by human error may ignore the reality that there will be times in the future when failures of that computerized option will result in a catastrophe, as well.
Technological failures may not result in negligence claims against an individual who made a human mistake, but instead causes of action seeking justice based upon product liability laws.
Furthermore, as the AAR points out, many types of train crash incidents will not be prevented by the PTC. A great many rail accidents are the result of operator error outside of the braking function of the PTC.
Additionally, trains and rails that are not kept in good repair and with proper maintenance can cause serious injuries as the train’s equipment or the tracks themselves malfunction with deadly results.
Also, there are the serious train accidents that are the result of third parties contributing to the fatal crash. Sometimes, horrific train accidents are the result of drivers moving through a rail grade crossing and into the path of a fast-moving engine. The driver may or may not have been aware or warned of the imminent danger. See, Railroad Accidents in Indiana and Illinois: High Risk of Fatal Train & Car Collisions and Beat the Train Accidents: Hundreds Die or Seriously Injured in Railroad Train Crashes; Don’t Be Impatient To Beat the Train.
Finally, pedestrians and trespassers on tracks are also at high risk of serious bodily injury or death in a rail accident. Anyone walking near a railroad track in Indiana or Illinois may not realize that the force and speed of the moving train may result in their death. You can’t always jump out of the way of a fast-moving train.
For more on train crashes and rail accidents, read:
- Deadly Accidents at Railroad Crossings in Indiana and Illinois
- Train Crash Deaths: Fatal Accidents at Indiana and Illinois Railroad Crossings
- Railroad Safety Laws and Deadly Train Wrecks in Illinois
- Railroad Safety Laws: the Danger of Fatal Train Crashes in Indiana
- Railroad Crossing Accidents: the High Risk of a Fatal Train Crash in Indiana and Illinois
- Fatal Railroad Accidents: Indiana and Illinois Both Rank in Top 5 for Number of Train Crash Deaths.
For victims and their loved ones, there are laws on the books of Indiana and Illinois that provide avenues of justice for those who have been severely hurt or killed in a rail accident. Rail workers are also provided special avenues to injury compensation under state and federal law.
The implementation of the PTC in our part of the country will save lives. However, there will be tragedies in the future here in the Crossroads of America involving rail accidents and train crashes that will take lives in preventable accidents. Rails are dangerous places. Please be careful out there!
