• PTC

Metro-North awarded federal PTC grant

Written by William C. Vantuono, Editor-in-Chief
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MTA Metro-North Railroad President Catherine Rinaldi. Photo courtesy Westchester Magazine.

The Federal Railroad Administration has awarded MTA Metro-North Railroad a grant of up to $2.3 million to support Positive Train Control (PTC) communications testing. The grant, part of the FRA’s Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements (CRISI) program, will help Metro-North improve the performance of PTC radio spectrum utilization required to make PTC operational on the Northeast Corridor.

Metro-North was awarded the grant for its proposal to establish a test lab to help the railroad efficiently investigate radio spectrum issues and better meet the problems associated with making PTC operationally reliable along the NEC.

The test lab, comprised of a series of networked computer stations, will simulate how radio communications will operate and mitigate potential problems. Radio spectrum is used by all passenger railroads that operate in the NEC, and “it’s essential to learn how all railroads can most effectively communicate with one another and avoid interference,” Metro-North noted.

“Safety is a core value of Metro-North, and this test lab will allow us to move ahead with full PTC implementation and ensure on-going service reliability,” said Metro-North President Catherine Rinaldi. “I congratulate our PTC team at Metro-North on this achievement, and we’ll continue to aggressively look for new and better ways to improve safety throughout the railroad.”

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