Department of Transportation Funding Will Be Used To Install Positive Train Control Technology in Suffolk County, NY To Prevent Dangerous and Disruptive Derailments and Crashes

Congressional Documents & Publications

U.S. Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer and U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand today announced $2,300,000 in federal funding for Long Island Railroad's Positive Train Control (PTC) system in Bohemia, New York. The funding was allocated through the U.S. Department of Transportation's (DOT) FY 2018 Positive Train Control Grants under the Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements Grant Program. Specifically, the Long Island Railroad Project will use the funding to monitor train speeds and prevent collisions and derailments by controlling train movements through a system of integrated command, control, communications, and information technologies.

"This federal investment will accelerate the installation of life-saving Positive Train Control on the Long Island Railroad in Suffolk County to prevent dangerous and destructive derailments and crashes," said Senator Schumer. "PTC saves lives and protects vulnerable communities from crashes. That is why I fought so hard to secure federal funding to speed up PTC implementation, I am imploring the agency to put full PTC installation on the fast track and not utilize the entirety of the two-year extension they are seeking from the Federal Railroad Administration. The technology is available and the money has been secured via a billion dollar federal loan I supported and federal grants such as this one. I will continue fighting to ensure this kind of life-saving technology is implemented everywhere."

"Positive Train Control is life-saving technology, and this federal funding for the Long Island Railroad in Bohemia will help prevent accidents and keep surrounding communities safe as trains pass through Suffolk County," said Senator Gillibrand. "We need to ensure that communities on Long Island and throughout New York have the resources they need to fully implement this important safety precaution as quickly as possible, and I will continue to fight in the Senate to ensure that New Yorkers can travel safely on our railways."

In December of last year, Schumer and Gillibrand urged the LIRR and Metro-North to fully install PTC technology as soon as possible, as the railroads approached the 2018 Congressional-mandated deadline for implementation of PTC technology and ahead of their announcement of a 2-year extension. Moreover, in 2015, Schumer helped to secure a low-cost, federal Railroad Rehabilitation and Improvement Financing (RRIF) loan from the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) for $976.1 million to be used by the MTA and its railroads for PTC implementation.

This funding is awarded through the U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) and the Federal Transit Administration (FTA). The FRA and FTA provide grants under this program to railroads to be used to put Positive Train Control (PTC) technology, communications and equipment for various railroads' PTC systems in place. More information can be found here https://www.transit.dot.gov/funding/grants/commuter-rail-positive-train-control-grants.