Senate committee to hold hearing on PTC

The U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation will hold a hearing tomorrow on Capitol Hill to consider the next steps for positive train control (PTC) implementation.

The hearing will focus on PTC implementation and anticipated compliance with the mandatory federal deadline of Dec. 31, 2020.

Witnesses will discuss the current status of PTC implementation and challenges railroads may face by the federally mandated deadline, according to a hearing notice posted on the committee's website.

Witnesses scheduled to appear before the committee include Federal Railroad Administrator Ronald Batory; Robert Bourg, vice president of strategy and growth at Wabtec Corp.; Jim Derwinski, executive director and chief executive officer of Metra; Susan Fleming, director of physical infrastructure at the Government Accountability Office; and Chris Matthews, assistant vice president of network control systems at BNSF Railway Co.

The hearing will begin at 2 p.m. (EDT) and may be viewed live via the committee's website.