Amtrak officials confirmed that they have turned on a safety system between New York and Philadelphia, which some experts said could have prevented a fatal crash this year that killed eight people.



That system, known as Positive Train Control, automatically slows or stops a train if the operator fails to obey signals or speed limits.



"We activated PTC between Philadelphia and New York over the weekend," said Craig Schulz, an Amtrak spokesman. "The Philadelphia to Washington territory was activated the weekend before."



In May, investigators for the National Transportation Safety Board concluded that if Amtrak train 188 had been equipped with PTC to control its speed, the deadly accident that occurred on May 13 could have been avoided.



That Northeast Corridor train left Philadelphia's 30th Street station, but shortly after that departure its engine and seven passenger cars all derailed, leaving eight dead and dozens injured.

During the Board's initial investigation, it was determined that the train was traveling at more than double the 50 mile per hour maximum speed limit of the curve it eventually derailed on.



The train was traveling at 106 miles per hour when the engineer applied an emergency braking system that brought it down to 102 mph just before it left the tracks. A different speed control system used by Amtrak was not operational on that section of the railroad.



Congress extended a Dec. 31 deadline for railroads to install PTC after railroad officials told lawmakers they were years away from installing it. NJ Transit and PATH are among those railroads. The complex system uses radio transmitters to communicate with computers on board locomotives about signals and speed limits and takes action if an operator fails to take appropriate actions.



Larry Higgs may be reached at lhiggs@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @commutinglarry. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

