Amtrak will suspend some service if safety system not ready this year, CEO says

By: Mike Lindblom, Seattle Times

Amtrak will stop running trains on some U.S. tracks if they don’t have satellite-based train control operating by the end of this year, CEO Richard Anderson told a congressional committee Thursday morning.

The national passenger railway, which operates mostly on freight or commuter tracks owned by others, is likely to confront situations where Positive Train Control (PTC) won’t be ready.

“For these, Amtrak will suspend operations,” said Anderson, who took his position Jan. 1 after an airline-industry career.

Trains are unlikely to be canceled in the Northwest, where Anderson has said in official letters that PTC is being tested to launch this year. Southern California will also be ready, he told the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee…