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Metrolink, Parsons first out of the gate with PTC

Written by William C. Vantuono, Editor-in-Chief

The Southern California Regional Rail Authority has awarded a $120 million contract to Parsons to design, procure, and install Positive Train Control (PTC) technology on the 512-mile Metrolink regional rail system. Parsons’ responsibilities will include design, installation, documentation, testing, integration, and commissioning. In addition, Parsons will lead the overall radio frequency infrastructure development, manage the development of the network management system, and provide a replacement of the dispatching system.

“This significant contract represents the first of its kind to be awarded in the U.S. rail industry,” said Parsons Group President Tom Barron. “It is the first application of PTC in compliance with the U.S. Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008, which mandates that passenger and freight railroads install PTC by Dec. 31, 2015. We are excited to be the first firm awarded such an industry-changing contract and to have the opportunity to work with Metrolink to improve passenger safety on our nation’s railroads through the implementation of technology.”

Metrolink’s PTC system will be fully interoperable with Union Pacific’s VTMS (Vital Train Management System) and BNSF Railway’s ETMS (Electronic Train Management System) PTC technologies. The implementation program will consist of the following:

• A PTC back-office system.

• Replacement of the existing CAD (computer aided dispatch) system.

• PTC onboard computers, display screens, GPS tracking, and radios on 57 cab cars and 52 locomotives.

• Stop enforcement system at 476 wayside signals.

• A six-county specialized communication network to link the wayside signals, trains, and the centralized dispatch office.

Metrolink’s system will be designed to comply with all of the Federal Railroad Administration PTC requirements: enforcing speed restrictions; preventing train-to-train collisions, overspeed derailments, and casualties or injuries to roadway workers (maintenance-of-way workers, bridge workers, signal maintainers) operating within their limits of authority as a result of unauthorized incursion by a train, and preventing train movements through a misaligned switch.

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