WASHINGTON — After the deadly derailment in Philadelphia last month, Amtrak is reportedly taking steps to make its passengers safer.
Amtrak has been testing positive train control, a technology that can slow or stop a train automatically, on tracks from D.C. through Maryland and into Delaware, WJZ in Baltimore reports.
“We need technology that can step in when humans fail due to distraction or other factors,” said Christopher Hart, chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board.
“PTC is technology that is designed to prevent over-speed derailments as well as train-to-train collisions,” he testified in front of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee June 2.
Hart told committee members that PTC would have prevented the crash in Philadelphia that left eight people dead. PTC is installed on some tracks in the Northeast Corridor, but not everywhere.
The nation’s railroads are supposed to have PTC installed by the end of 2015, although many are expected to miss that deadline. Congress instructed railroads to put the safety feature in place after a deadly 2008 crash in California.
