In houston recently, a cut of cars got out of a yard, and hit a train at a crossing, derailing it,
If that is true, and this cut in the future had no PTC controls, would this event still could have happened? (BTW, Amtrak and Haz-Mat pass over this crossing!)
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PTC (Positive Train Control for those of you in Rio Linda 
) is a system that controls the air brakes and propulsion on LOCOMOTIVES. It would have no effect on a random cut of cars rolling out of a yard.
So, in a case like this, even with PTC, would not prevent this accident.
Has anybody ever THOUGHT of this?
It is my understanding that once a crew enters Restricted Speed territory, that the PTC would not prevent a low speed collision. That would be up to the employees themselves.
This could apply on the mainline, say a dispatcher authorizes a crew to pass a signal displaying Stop, they must move prepared to stop short any obsticals that may be in thier way, including another train or engine, switch lined wrong, red flag, etc. I do not know if there will be some overide when this happens, where both the dispatcher and crew must acknowledge a change in requirements to move the train.
Rumor is that UP passenger lines in California, Illinois (Chicago-StL) and Missouri(StL-KC) will be getting cut over first, maybe by the first of the year.
Dan
This accident happened where 2 rail lines crossed, on CTC ML. There might have not been enought time, distance or shunting for the signals to change.
And is there not a "Super PTC" on the NEC?
The only way to stop cars rolling without a locomotive is to manually apply the hand brake or install a derail in the track. We do not want derails on main tracks, as they require quite a bit of maintenance in the small and shrinking number of railroad crossings at grade which still have them. They are removed any time there is an opportunity. PTC can't beam up a trainman onto the handbrake platform.
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