But there are many technical, political, and financial issues to be resolved before PTC can be fully implemented. Would PTC have prevented the tragedy? Of course. Having been with Metro-North for 27+ years, the tragedy struck close to home. Much has been written about Positive Train Control(PTC), especially after the recent Metro-North tragedy. In an asymptotic relationship, the cost of a 1% improvement may be as high as 50% or a 100% or even higher. Consider the percentage of improvement to be the Y-axis of the curve and the cost of implementation to be the X-axis of the curve. Mathematically, we are at the asymptote of the curve. Basically, we have reached the point where any advances in the field have ever greater costs and ever diminishing benefits. The fact of the matter is that we have gotten smarter about all types of engineering-mostly! This smartness has a price of course and we need to keep this price in mind-always. Welcome to my new web site! This is my first Blog and I agree, the title is rather trite! But, I am new at this game of blogging and hope that you will bear with me while I get better at this and come up with catchier titles.īut what about transportation engineering in the 21st Century? What makes it different from the Transportation Engineering in the 20th Century? Or, as a matter of fact, in any preceding century? Transportation Engineering in the 21st Century
