Positive train control is again being urged by Canada’s Transportation Safety Board after its investigation into a near-collision involving two Go Transit commuter trains.

Positive train control in Canada faces TSB push
Positive train control in Canada faces TSB push

The incident occurred on March 14, 2024. A Go Transit service departed Aldershot station in Burlington, Ontario, and passed a stop signal, the Transportation Safety Board of Canada⁠ said in a press release. The train then went through a switch. It entered a track already occupied by another Go Transit train traveling in the opposite direction. Both crews stopped their trains before impact. The collision was avoided by about 549 feet.

The investigation links the missed stop signal with the board’s call for physical fail-safe train control systems.

Go Transit near-collision at Aldershot station

“In this occurrence, a catastrophic collision involving 400 passengers was narrowly averted,” TSB Chair Yoan Marier said. “For more than 25 years, we have been calling on [the] industry and regulators to expedite the implementation of physical fail-safe train control systems and put strong interim measures in place while these systems are being developed and installed.”

According to the investigation, the crew departing Aldershot station believed the opposing train had already passed. They expected the signal to allow movement. The report found that the conductor and locomotive engineer were both preoccupied during departure preparations. They did not observe the stop signal.

Positive train control remains a TSB recommendation

Since 2023, the TSB has investigated eight separate collisions or near-collisions involving signal indications not being followed. The board said positive train control systems can automatically stop or slow trains when crews do not respond to systems. TSB officials also noted that PTC has been fully implemented on high-hazard routes in the United States since 2020.

The board has issued three recommendations on PTC implementation since 2000. Its most recent recommendation came in 2022. At that time, it urged Transport Canada to speed up the introduction of PTC on key routes and high-speed corridors.

Transport Canada has cited progress. It has also said proposed regulations are targeted for 2026 or 2027. Still, the TSB has assessed that response as unsatisfactory⁠, noting that meaningful risk reduction is unlikely before 2030.