Positive Train Control

CapMetro has completed implementing a federally mandated positive train control system to ensure the long-term safety of MetroRail service.

What is PTC?

Positive train control (PTC) systems monitor and control train movements with the goal of protecting trains and passengers.

These systems employ technology to help regulate rail traffic and can deliver constant data about a train's location in relation to track conditions and other vehicles. Equipment installed on the train determines where and how fast it can travel and ensures its safe movement. PTC improves the overall safety of railway traffic by enforcing travel speeds, maintaining temporary speed restrictions, helping to avoid collisions and protecting rail workers.

The original federal mandate imposed a deadline of 2018 to complete the project. CapMetro was among a number of rail operators that qualified for an extension of that deadline and completed the work in 2020.