Northeast Illinois Regional Corporation PTC System Amendment Request
Summary
The Federal Railroad Administration is seeking public comment on a request from the Northeast Illinois Regional Corporation to amend its Positive Train Control (PTC) System. The comment period closes on March 26, 2026.
What changed
The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) has published a notice regarding a request from the Northeast Illinois Regional Corporation to amend its Positive Train Control (PTC) System. This notice initiates a public consultation period, allowing interested parties to submit comments on the proposed amendments.
Regulated entities, particularly those involved in rail operations, should review the proposed amendments and consider submitting comments by the deadline of March 26, 2026. Failure to comment may result in the proposed amendments being approved without considering potential concerns. This action is part of the ongoing oversight and modification process for critical safety systems in rail transportation.
What to do next
- Review the proposed amendments to the Northeast Illinois Regional Corporation's Positive Train Control System.
- Submit comments to the Federal Railroad Administration by March 26, 2026.
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Notice
Northeast Illinois Regional Corporation's Request To Amend Its Positive Train Control System
A Notice by the Federal Railroad Administration on 03/06/2026
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- Document Details Published Content - Document Details Agencies Department of Transportation Federal Railroad Administration Agency/Docket Number Docket No. FRA-2010-0042 Document Citation 91 FR 11120 Document Number 2026-04449 Document Type Notice Page 11120 (1 page) Publication Date 03/06/2026 Published Content - Document Details
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- Document Details Published Content - Document Details Agencies Department of Transportation Federal Railroad Administration Agency/Docket Number Docket No. FRA-2010-0042 Document Citation 91 FR 11120 Document Number 2026-04449 Document Type Notice Page 11120 (1 page) Publication Date 03/06/2026 Published Content - Document Details
- Document Dates Published Content - Document Dates Comments Close 03/26/2026 Dates Text FRA will consider comments received by March 26, 2026. FRA may consider comments received after that date to the extent practicable and without delaying implementation of valuable or necessary modifications to a PTC system. Published Content - Document Dates
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Northeast Illinois Regional Commuter Rail Corporation - Positive Train Control Plans
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Department of Transportation
Federal Railroad Administration
- [Docket No. FRA-2010-0042]
AGENCY:
Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), Department of Transportation (DOT).
ACTION:
Notice of availability and request for comments.
SUMMARY:
This document provides the public with notice that, on February 24, 2026, the Northeast Illinois Regional Corporation (NIRC) submitted a request for amendment (RFA) to its FRA-certified positive train control (PTC) system seeking FRA's approval for two planned PTC system outages to support required network maintenance and firewall hardware upgrades. FRA is publishing this notice and inviting public comment on NIRC's RFA to its PTC system.
DATES:
FRA will consider comments received by March 26, 2026. FRA may consider comments received after that date to the extent practicable and without delaying implementation of valuable or necessary modifications to a PTC system.
ADDRESSES:
Comments: Comments may be submitted by going to https://www.regulations.gov and following the online instructions for submitting comments.
Instructions: All submissions must include the agency name and the applicable docket number. The relevant PTC docket number for this host railroad is Docket No. FRA-2010-0042. For convenience, all active PTC dockets are hyperlinked on FRA's website at https://railroads.dot.gov/research-development/program-areas/train-control/ptc/railroads-ptc-dockets. All comments received will be posted without change to https://www.regulations.gov; this includes any personal information.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Gabe Neal, Staff Director, Signal, Train Control, and Crossings Division, telephone: 816-516-7168, email: Gabe.Neal@dot.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
In general, title 49 United States Code (U.S.C.) section 20157(h) requires FRA to certify that a host railroad's PTC system complies with title 49 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) part 236, subpart I, before the technology may be operated in revenue service. Before making certain changes to an FRA-certified PTC system or the associated FRA-approved PTC Safety Plan (PTCSP), a host railroad must submit, and obtain FRA's approval of, an RFA to its PTC system or PTCSP under 49 CFR 236.1021.
Under 49 CFR 236.1021(e), FRA's regulations provide that FRA will publish a notice in the Federal Register and invite public comment in accordance with 49 CFR part 211, if an RFA includes a request for approval of a material modification of a signal or train control system. Accordingly, this notice informs the public that, on February 24, 2026, NIRC submitted an RFA to its PTCSP for its Interoperable Electronic Train Management System PTC system, which seeks FRA's approval for two planned PTC system outages to support required network maintenance and firewall hardware upgrades. That RFA is available in Docket No. FRA-2010-0042.
Interested parties are invited to comment on NIRC's RFA by submitting written comments or data. During FRA's review of NIRC's RFA, FRA will consider any comments or data submitted within the timeline specified in this notice and to the extent practicable, without delaying implementation of valuable or necessary modifications to a PTC system. See 49 CFR 236.1021; see also 49 CFR 236.1011(e). Under 49 CFR 236.1021, FRA maintains the authority to approve, approve with conditions, or deny a railroad's RFA at FRA's sole discretion.
Privacy Act Notice
In accordance with 49 CFR 211.3, FRA solicits comments from the public to better inform its decisions. DOT posts these comments, without edit, including any personal information the commenter provides, to https://www.regulations.gov, as described in the system of records notice (DOT/ALL-14 FDMS), which can be reviewed at https://www.transportation.gov/privacy. See https://www.regulations.gov/privacy-notice for the privacy notice of regulations.gov. To facilitate comment tracking, we encourage commenters to provide their name, or the name of their organization; however, submission of names is completely optional. If you wish to provide comments containing proprietary or confidential information, please contact FRA for alternate submission instructions.
Issued in Washington, DC.
Carolyn R. Hayward-Williams,
Director, Office of Railroad Systems and Technology.
[FR Doc. 2026-04449 Filed 3-5-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-06-P
Published Document: 2026-04449 (91 FR 11120)
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