Herzog, ASLRRA offering PTC assistance

Short line and regional railroads are getting help with Positive Train Control compliance.

The American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association (ASLRRA) said it has entered into an agreement with Herzog Technologies, Inc. to provide PTC support to its members.

The Herzog Hosting solution offers complete PTC back office functionality and is designed to assist railroads tasked with implementing interoperable PTC systems.

The PTC technology is designed to prevent train-to-train collisions, excessive speed conditions and provide other safety checks. The original federal mandate requires installation of PTC by January 2019. While some operators are grandfathered in, or otherwise exempted from, PTC requirements, many still need to be compliant in order to operate over PTC-equipped track or interchange with PTC carriers.

Herzog’s Hosting solution includes a hosted infrastructure at its core, utilizing the required production and test environments, Interoperable Train Control Messaging (ITCM), Crew Initialization and PTC consist management software that will allow railroads to initialize locomotives and edit crew and consist data, as well as configuration management reports.

“The implementation of PTC is one of the most complex and challenging projects to be mandated for the U.S. Rail System, particularly for our short line members, who often do not have the technical staff and expertise, but have a complicated role to play, integrating with multiple Class I systems,” said Linda Bauer Darr, President, ASLRRA. “We are pleased to be able to offer a leading solution for our members who must equip with PTC per regulation, or as required by their Class I partners.  Via our agreement with Herzog, we believe we are able to offer PTC support at a price that is reasonable for our small business railroad members.”

The Herzog service will enable real-time information regarding train movement; speed restrictions; train position and speed, and the state of signal and switch devices to be shared between trains; rail wayside devices, and back office applications.

“We understand the complexities and the hurdles of PTC implementation, particularly for the small business environment of short line railroading, and are pleased to have developed a solution that meets the needs of this community, enabling them to work towards meeting the PTC mandate,” said Jim Hanlon, Vice President – Rail Systems, Herzog Technologies, Inc. “We are looking forward to bringing ASLRRA’s members on board.”

In addition to PTC Hosting, a railroad may select from additional services Herzog is offering including start up support, compliance, training, and in-service testing.