Brightline, railway at risk of missing safety deadline, Federal Railroad Administration says

By: Lisa Broadt, Treasure Coast Newspapers

Brightline and Florida East Coast Railway are "at risk" for not meeting deadlines for installing important safety upgrades — known as positive train control — according to the Federal Railroad Administration.

As of the last quarter of 2017 — the most recently available report — only a fraction of the systems needed for positive train control had been installed by Florida East Coast Railway, which is responsible for implementing PTC for its freight trains and for Brightline's passenger service.
PTC is a set of safety improvements that helps prevent derailments caused by speeding and train-to-train collisions, according to the railroad administration.

On the Florida East Coast tracks, train-to-train collisions are of particular concern because 32 Brightline passenger trains daily are to share the corridor with up to 24 Florida East Coast freight trains, which are powered by liquefied natural gas and could soon transport the highly combustible, hazardous material as well…