Train safety systems can now be turned off for maintenance without breaking rules

US rail regulators are proposing new rules for when train safety systems can be temporarily disabled. This means railroads can perform maintenance or upgrades without violating safety mandates, as long as they follow strict new operating restrictions.

Since 2015, all major US railroads have been required to install Positive Train Control (PTC) systems, which prevent collisions and derailments. But the rules never fully accounted for situations where these systems need to be temporarily offline for repairs or upgrades. This proposal means railroads will no longer be in a gray area when they need to work on these critical systems. It also means regulators expect these systems to be more reliable overall.