Lifesaving rail technology deadline nears
Two deadly train collisions in Connecticut could have been avoided if railway technology now required on commuter lines existed at the time, federal authorities say.
The Federal Railroad Administration documented two rail accidents in the state in the past 50 years that could have been prevented if automatic braking technology called positive train control were implemented at the time — one in Darien in 1969 on Penn Central rails and another in New Canaan in 1976 on Conrail.
Between the two incidents, 73 people were injured and six people died.
Congress required all rail lines to implement PTC — a technology that helps lines communicate and stop speeding trains — through the Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008. Now, with the Dec. 31 deadline approaching, only one of the railroads required to have PTC installed and operational — New Jersey Transit — is at risk of not meeting it, government data show.
The safety measure is fully operating on MetroNorth and Amtrak lines, as well as other railroads across the country. The state Department of Transportation has spent more than $111 million installing the technology.
“With this PTC technology we are reinforcing our commitment to safety, for both our passengers and the men and women who work on the railroad, for years to come,” Connecticut DOT Commissioner Joseph Giulietti said. “This monumental project would have not been possible without the tremendous partnership and coordination between the MTA, Metro-North, Amtrak, the FRA and the dedicated team at the CTDOT — thank you for your resolve to see this project through despite the many obstacles we faced this year.”
The data show a big uptick this year — a reflection, state officials said, of residents wanting to get outside when they can during a time of pandemic-induced quarantines and lockdowns.
In 2018 and 2019, there were 734 and 886 Sound-related calls, respectively.
In 2020, there have been 1,109 already.
Will Healey, a DEEP spokesman, said the surge is reflected even more in the agency’s statewide calls — 12,315 so far this year, compared with 3,956 in 2019, a more than threefold increase.
“We believe it is related to the pandemic, with a lack of indoor options leading to a significantly higher number of people seeking outdoor recreation opportunities,” Healey said.
Not surprisingly, the most calls come during the summer months — 316 from July to September 2018, then 358 and 455 for the same periods in 2019 and 2020.
Geographically, DEEP was called more times to Milford — 344 times — than any other municipality on the Sound.
That could be for several reasons, Healey said.
For one, Milford is home to the popular Silver Sands State Park.
But DEEP also gets lots of calls related to striped bass fishing violations both on the Housatonic River and the shore of the Sound, where Healey said poaching of small wintering bass is known to occur.
And the state is required to check shellfish beds there eight times per month per a memorandum of agreement with the federal FDA, Healey said, which also accounts for more enforcement visits.
The Housatonic estuary — where fresh and saltwater mix — shared by Milford and Stratford is an example of the economic importance of the Sound, the state’s largest and most important natural resource, which contributes $5.5 billion to the regional economy, according to DEEP.
“The Housatonic River is a major factor in the commercial shellfish industry for oysters as relays occur transporting seed oysters to licensed grants on Long Island Sound, so it is constantly being monitored,” he said.