Keep the push on for train safety

Thankfully, years have passed since the last deadly incident involving a Metro-North train. That, however, is no reason for officials to take their eyes off the ball and ease up on the push to equip this heavily traveled commuter line with the protection of the potentially life-saving technology of Positive Train Control.

The deadline for installation is Dec. 31. And that is a deadline that’s been once extended. It should not be extended again.

The technology is called PTC and essentially involves sensors, transmitters and other equipment that can take control of a train that, for whatever the reason, is running dangerously. Among problems the system can detect — and take corrective action — are a train traveling too fast for conditions and operating on a closed track..

Experts believe the system could have prevented as many as six deadly train crashes, including the December 2017 Amtrak derailment in Washington State that killed three passengers and injured 60.

Regarding Metro-North, it’s believed by the experts that it could have prevented a 2013 crash on the Harlem line in the Bronx that killed four passengers.

In that case, an engineer with an undiagnosed case of sleep apnea fell asleep at the throttle, allowing the untended train to accelerate to a speed of 82 mph as it negotiated a curve that called for a 30 mph maximum.

Metro-North says PTC installation is 63 percent complete.

We applaud U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., who, for all his propensity to spread himself among myriad issues, has been a constant, reliable source of pressure on Metro-North to give safety considerations the same attention the line has given to on-time performance.

“I will hold Metro-North’s feet to the fire,” he reiterated the other day. “There is no excuse for not meeting the deadline,” Blumenthal said. “They should be further along, and my worry is they only have a limited amount of time left.”

Blumenthal also called for installation of PTC in rail terminals following the 2016 death of a woman when a train moving well over the speed limit crashed into a platform in Hoboken, N.J.

David Mayer, chief safety officer for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, of which Metro-North is a part, told a congressional committee recently, “We believe we can have all lines in operation by the deadline.”

Failure to complete the work can bring another complication: Richard Anderson, Amtrak’s chief executive officer, said his railroad is on schedule with the installation of PTC on the assets it controls.

But if areas through which Amtrak trains course are not equipped, there will be suspended service and some destinations eliminated until the safety work is complete and in compliance with the law, including in the busy Northeast Corridor.

But the urgency in finishing work on the MetroNorth PTC is not driven by such potential inconvenience.

It is necessary to protect the life and limb of the thousands of Connecticut commuters who use the service every day.

It is necessary to protect the life and limb of the thousands of Connecticut commuters who use the service every day.