MARC in Jeopardy of not meeting PTC deadline, Feds say

[davinp]

The Federal Railroad Administration is warning top Maryland officials that the state's MARC train system is "at risk of failing to meet the congressional deadline" to install a mandatory safety system by the end of this year.

Missing the deadline could have severe consequences because Amtrak, which owns the tracks that one MARC line uses, has said it might limit operations where the system is not installed.

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[andrewjw]

I doubt they can force them out of Union Station because it's technically under separate ownership.

[mmi16]

Penn Line trains might suffer. Camden & Brunswick trains operate on CSX. I may be wrong, but Union Station being a terminal area may not be required to install PTC on it's trackage.

MARC has only themselves to blame.

[dcmike]

MARC has only themselves to blame.

I don't have any information about this but I would hesitate to jump to conclusions. There are finite resources available to facilitate: design, development, construction, installation, and (the big one!) integration for something as niche as PTC. Given everyone is facing the same deadline it's probably fair to say the very few companies working on these projects are spending most of their time with the high dollar clients, a tier that MARC is not a part of.

[mmi16]

MARC has only themselves to blame.

I don't have any information about this but I would hesitate to jump to conclusions. There are finite resources available to facilitate: design, development, construction, installation, and (the big one!) integration for something as niche as PTC. Given everyone is facing the same deadline it's probably fair to say the very few companies working on these projects are spending most of their time with the high dollar clients, a tier that MARC is not a part of.

All MARC has to do is equip their locomotives and Cab cars with PTC equipment. The equipment is on the market and the Class 1 carriers have been buying it and installing it.

Amtraks 'home grown' PTC for the NEC and other Amtrak ownership lines has to be available from Amtrak - for a price.

MARC has no line of road equipment to install.

[Backshophoss]

MARC has to install ACSES for the NEC,and I-TEMS for CSX owned trackage,Wonder how they are on the installation work on the CSX side???

[mmi16]

MARC has to install ACSES for the NEC,and I-TEMS for CSX owned trackage,Wonder how they are on the installation work on the CSX side???

When I retired in December 2016, the Signal Dept. Construction gangs on the Baltimore Division were being disbanded as all the signal construction projects for PTC had been completed.