Commuter Rail Safety and Resiliency Program

The FOR project is responsible for planning, designing, installing, and testing a buried fiber optic cable network that will provide resilient infrastructure to support MBTA PTC vital systems operating on weather-exposed aerial infrastructure.

The current scope includes the design and installation of a buried fiber optic cable network between or alongside Commuter Rail tracks along the Fitchburg and Lowell lines.

FOR Construction began in August 2023.

Overnight work on the Fitchburg line will begin on Sunday, May 19, 2024, through Saturday, June 22, 2024.

• Crews will be working from 9 PM - 5 AM, Sunday - Thursday.
• Crews will mobilize at Brandeis Station in Waltham and move along the railroad Right-of-Way between Concord Avenue in Belmont and Route 28/McGrath Highway in Somerville.

Residents can expect lights and moderate noise levels from the construction equipment.

FOR construction began in March 2024. Residents can expect lights and moderate noise levels from the construction equipment.

Automatic Train Control (ATC) sends signal indications to the train cab in addition to using physical signal lights alongside the tracks. These signals are part of the MBTA Positive Train Control (PTC) System that alert the engineer of potentially unsafe conditions.

If the crew does not respond to an alert, the system will automatically slow or stop the train.

ATC is an upgrade to the existing signal system and is required by the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) as part of the PTC System implementation.

The MBTA Positive Train Control (PTC) System requires Automatic Train Control (ATC) to achieve the greatest level of safety and is required by federal regulation.

ATC is now in operation as part of the signal system on all lines.

Positive Train Control (PTC) is a train monitoring system that alerts the engineer when it detects the possibility of either a train-to-train collision or a train that's moving too fast along the line or through a work zone.

The MBTA's PTC system is also designed to prevent unexpected movement of trains through "open switches." The safety technology monitors a train’s location, direction, and speed in real time.

If the crew does not respond to an alert, PTC will take over and automatically stop the train.

The PTC safety system works through:

• Signals and transponders along the rail corridor that transmit data to the train
• Onboard controls that can regulate a train’s speed
• Communications throughout the Commuter Rail network

PTC hardware and software components were installed around the commuter rail system and on each locomotive and control car. (A control car is a non-powered train coach that can control operation from the end of the train opposite the locomotive.)

After key milestones in the installation process were met in 2018, the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) granted the MBTA an extension until December 2020 for full deployment. To get an extension from the FRA, major work was required to be completed. It included:

• The installation of wayside equipment across the entire network
• Installation of computer equipment on board all locomotives and control cars
• Field qualification testing on the Stoughton Pilot Line
• PTC training of railroad personnel

Commuter Rail trains operate with PTC technology. PTC performance was monitored and adjusted accordingly, and quality testing ensured reliable safety monitoring will be delivered across the Commuter Rail system over long stretches of time and in all types of weather.

In addition, older signaling systems were upgraded to make them compatible with PTC. The upgrade has an added benefit: it makes them more reliable and much less likely to cause service delays.

As of December 2020, the MBTA Commuter Rail system, Amtrak, and freight railroads across the state are protected by PTC.

Learn about the national PTC effort