It will cost nearly $80 million to equip South Shore commuter trains with a complex communications system called positive train control aimed at averting accidents.
The Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District approved a $79.9 million contract Friday with the Parsons Engineering Group, after criticizing Congress for passing a 2008 law mandating the system by Dec. 31, 2015, without funding it.
Positive train control can stop or slow a speeding train while overriding human errors. Its system includes GPS, computers, radios and a network of equipment that needs to operate with other railroads that share the same lines.
The NICTD board also approved a resolution encouraging Congress to extend its deadline to 2018, vowing to suspend South Shore service Jan. 1 because it won't have the system installed in time.
"It's the law at midnight Dec. 31, 2015, and we're required to have it in place," said NICTD general manager Mike Noland, who said the railroad wouldn't have legal authority to operate. He said the Metra commuter line in Chicago has reached the same conclusion and also plans to shut down.
"I would hate to think we would have to shut the train down. This is forced upon us," said board member Christine Cid, a Lake County councilwoman who complained about the lack of federal funding for the PTC system.
Many railroad officials say they don't think any railroad in the country will be able to meet the deadline by Dec. 31.
A bill granting an extension until 2018 is pending in Congress. NICTD marketing director John Parsons said U.S. Rep. Peter J. Visclosky, D-Merrillville, has signed on as a sponsor of the House bill authorizing the extension. Both Indiana senators, Joe Donnelly and Dan Coats, support it.
Norman Carlson, a director on the Metra board, said Metra's price tag for PTC is $350 million. The commuter line has also retained Parsons so officials believe the transition to PTC should be smooth.
Noland said NICTD's new timetable calls for the new system to be in place by the end of 2018. "It will require Metra to keep the same pace," said Noland, who estimated additional annual costs of about $1 million to hire additional staff and maintain equipment for the PTC.
NICTD board member Mark Yagelski, a LaPorte County councilman, said spending millions on PTC will prevent the railroad from investing in new cars.
"Our cars were built in the '80s. We've already recycled parts, and at some point we're going to have to buy cars. This bond issue will take away from our future investments to keep the railroad going."