[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 32 (Friday, February 15, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11236-11237]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-03604]


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NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION SAFETY BOARD


Positive Train Control Public Forum

    On Wednesday, February 27, 2013, the National Transportation Safety 
Board (NTSB) will convene a Forum titled, ``Positive Train Control: Is 
it on Track?'' The Forum will begin at 9:00 a.m. is open to all and the 
attendance is free (no registration required). The NTSB Chairman 
Deborah A.P. Hersman will serve as the presiding officer of the forum, 
and all five NTSB Board Members will serve as members of the Board of 
Inquiry. The forum is organized into three topics areas:

 PTC systems as envisioned versus what is being implemented
 Current status of PTC regulatory implementation
 Current status of PTC technical implementation

    Over the past 40 years, the NTSB has investigated many train 
collisions and over-speed derailments caused by operational errors 
involving human performance failures. Many of these accidents occurred 
because train crews: did not comply with signal indications, did not 
follow operating procedures in nonsignaled (dark) territories, or did 
not comply with other specific operating rules such as returning track 
switches to normal position after completing work at railroad sidings.
    The NTSB has repeatedly concluded that technological solutions, 
such as Positive Train Control (PTC), have great potential to reduce 
the number of serious train accidents by providing safety redundant 
systems to protect against human performance failures. Because of the 
NTSB's longstanding interest in this issue, the Board placed a 
recommendation to implement PTC on the NTSB's Most Wanted List of 
Transportation Safety Improvements at the inception of the list in 
1990, and it remained on the list until after the Rail Safety 
Improvement Act of 2008 was enacted. This act requires each Class I 
railroad over which poison- or toxic-by-inhalation (PIH or TIH) 
hazardous materials are transported and each entity providing regularly 
scheduled intercity or commuter rail passenger transportation to 
implement a PTC system by December 31, 2015. The Federal Railroad 
Administration (FRA) finalized the rule requiring PTC in January 2010.
    Legislation was proposed in Congress that would defer the Act's 
requirement for implementation of PTC systems. In the Senate, 
provisions in the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act 
(MAP[hyphen]21) proposed a year[hyphen]by[hyphen]year evaluation of PTC 
system waivers by the Secretary of Transportation beyond the 2015 
deadline but did not extend past December 31, 2018. In the House of 
Representatives, provisions in the American Energy and Infrastructure 
Jobs Act of 2012 proposed to extend the PTC system implementation 
deadline until December 31, 2020. Additionally, the House bill would 
have enabled a railroad to use an ``alternate risk-reduction strategy'' 
in lieu of installing PTC on some nonpassenger track where PIH and TIH 
are transported. However, the enacted legislation MAP-21, Public Law 
112-141, did not include the provisions regarding PTC.
    Expert panelists will include representatives from railroads, 
government, industry suppliers, labor unions, and the research 
community. Below is the preliminary agenda:

Wednesday, February 27, 2013

1. Opening Statement by the Presiding Officer of the forum
2. Introduction of the Officers and Technical Panel
3. Introduction of the forum participants
4. Introduction of the panels
5. Closing statement by Chairman Hersman

Panel Topics

Panel 1--Positive Train Control Systems as Envisioned vs. Implemented
Panel 2--Current Status of Positive Train Control (PTC) Regulatory 
Implementation
Panel 3--Current Status of Positive Train Control (PTC) Technical 
Implementation

    The full agenda and a list of participants can be found at: 
www.ntsb.gov/PTCforum.
    The forum will be held in the NTSB Board Room and Conference 
Center, located at 429 L'Enfant Plaza E. SW., Washington, DC. The 
public can view the forum in person or by live webcast at www.ntsb.gov. 
Webcast archives are generally available by the end of the next day 
following the forum, and Webcasts are archived for a period of 3 months 
from after the date of the event.
    Individuals requesting specific accommodations should contact 
Rochelle Hall at (202) 314-6305 or by

[[Page 11237]]

email at [email protected] by Friday, February 22, 2013.
    NTSB Media Contact: Eric [email protected].
    NTSB Forum Manager: Michael E. [email protected].
    NTSB Forum Coordinator: Jennifer [email protected].

    Dated: February 12, 2013.
Candi R. Bing,
Federal Register Liaison Officer.
[FR Doc. 2013-03604 Filed 2-14-13; 8:45 am]
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