RAILWAY AGE, OCTOBER 2024 ISSUE: This report focuses on CSX’s track record with Positive Train Control, some four years after it was fully deployed. How has PTC impacted safety at CSX? What effect has it had on operations? What’s next for this technology? Railway Age asked CSX Vice President Engineering, C&S/PTC & Dispatch Systems Carl Walker to describe his railroad’s experiences.
Walker, one of our 2023 Influential Leaders nominated by subscribers, plays a vital role in ensuring the efficient operation and safety of the CSX rail network. Since joining the CSX Engineering Department in 1999, he has ascended through leadership roles in the C&S department, including Assistant Chief Engineer of Signal Construction, Assistant Chief Engineer of Communications, and Chief Engineer of C&S. He was promoted to AVP C&S/PTC & Dispatch Systems in May 2022, and soon after rose to VP. Walker’s leadership responsibilities extend beyond CSX. He is a member of the AREMA Board of Directors, as well as a Board Member at rail communications technology company Meteorcomm. He is the first African American to serve in either of those roles.
RAILWAY AGE: How has PTC affected safety at CSX?
CARL WALKER: Since fully implementing PTC in 2020, CSX has seen a significant decrease in events such as signal violations, trains entering limits without permission, and trains operating at speeds in excess of authorized limits. PTC is just one of the many technologies that CSX is using to create a safer railroad. As a safety overlay system, PTC is designed to warn the engineer of the need for action. If the engineer fails to act, such as by not slowing down or stopping a train where required, the PTC system will first warn the crew and then will ultimately engage the locomotive brakes and bring the train to a full stop to avoid an accident. Beyond safety, PTC has the potential to drive further efficiencies and innovation and provide additional operating benefits to CSX such as by leveraging the system to utilize other locomotive technologies to help reduce fuel use and emissions.
RA: What effect has PTC had on operating practices and functions like service design, dispatching and locomotive utilization?
CARL WALKER: The implementation of PTC required CSX to update its operating rules to support PTC operations, including interoperability. PTC has also had an impact on other functions. By federal regulation, TIH and PIH commodities can only move over lines that are equipped with PTC with certain limited exceptions. PTC is one of the factors that Service Design must consider when identifying the safest route to move TIH and PIH commodities.
RA: How has PTC changed the work that field signal maintainers perform?
CARL WALKER: One of the benefits of the implementation of PTC is the increase in the reliability of CSX’s wayside infrastructure. With the implementation of PTC, the work of signal maintainers has simplified and become more efficient on PTC territory as microprocessors and IP-based equipment remotely monitor the health of wayside assets and provide automated alerts.
RA: What was CSX’s investment in PTC (equipment, installation, testing and commissioning, people/training, etc.) leading up to the statutory federal deadline?
CARL WALKER: CSX’s total PTC investment through 2020 was $2.4 billion. This included training thousands of employees on the installation, testing and use of the system.
RA: How many CSX track- and route-miles are PTC-equipped?
CARL WALKER: CSX equipped approximately 13,326 track-miles and 10,048 route-miles with PTC, which represents approximately 64% of CSX’s rail network. CSX continues to review its footprint annually and has expanded its footprint since successfully completing PTC installation and activation in 2020.
RA: Are C&S maintenance costs higher or lower in PTC territory than traditional technology?
CARL WALKER: CSX continues to heavily invest in its rail infrastructure including PTC, and Communications and Signals each year. Annual maintenance costs are higher due to maintaining a more robust communications network on PTC territory.
RA: Are annual maintenance costs for PTC onboard locomotive platforms higher than for non-equipped locomotives?
CARL WALKER: CSX continues to heavily invest in its rail infrastructure, including its locomotive fleet. The annual maintenance costs are higher with more electronics and technology to maintain on PTC-equipped locomotives. For example, CSX is focused on upgrading its PTC onboard computers to accommodate future versions of PTC software and help increase the reliability of its PTC system.
RA: Have there been any interoperability issues with locomotives from other carriers operating on CSX territory?
CARL WALKER: As required by federal regulation, PTC must be interoperable. Therefore, CSX must continue to work with the rest of the industry on any changes or enhancements to PTC to ensure PTC works seamlessly across a very complicated network of freight, passenger and commuter railroads. Through the AAR, the industry has been able to work together to maintain interoperability by adopting PTC standards and other industry processes.
RA: What’s next for this technology, beyond a safety overlay? What is CSX’s plan to evolve to “PTC 2.0” and leverage the available datacomms bandwidth?
CARL WALKER: CSX remains focused on enhancing its PTC system to improve safety and reliability of railroad operations such as upgrading its PTC onboard hardware, updating PTC software, and investing in the latest GPS technology on its locomotive fleet. For onboard software and hardware upgrades, CSX is upgrading its PTC onboard computers to accommodate future versions of PTC software and help increase the reliability of the PTC system. Upgrading the GPS units on locomotives will help enhance the location accuracy of PTC with new precision navigation module GPS units and the implementation of auto track selection functionality. This will help increase the reliability of PTC and minimize GPS-related operational disruptions. For data infrastructure in rural areas, CSX will continue to look at opportunities to leverage bandwidth as it becomes available. PTC is just one of the many technologies that CSX is using to create a safer railroad. It is exciting to think about how we can leverage PTC, along with other technologies, to continue to increase safety for our employees and for the communities in which
we operate.
