HTI NCTD PTC nears RSD

Written by William C. Vantuono, Editor-in-Chief
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The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) has given the go-ahead for Revenue Service Demonstration (RSD) of North County Transit District’s (NCTD) Positive Train Control (PTC) implementation project, managed by by Herzog Technologies, Inc. (HTI).

“FRA finds that [NCTD’s] request satisfies the requirements to initiate the RSD phase of Positive Train Control (PTC) implementation on the railroad’s San Diego Subdivision,” FRA said in a letter to NCTD.

RSD is the phase of PTC implementation in which the system is demonstrated to the FRA using revenue service operations, and is “one of the final milestones in PTC implementation for the railroad and a major accomplishment for HTI,” the company said.

RSD for NCTD is projected to begin July 5, 2017 and take one month to complete. Upon successful completion of RSD, NCTD’s PTC system will continue into “extended RSD” while NCTD’s PTC Safety Plan is in review. HTI says NCTD “will be one of the first railroads to enter RSD on all of its PTC subdivisions.”

HTI began work on NCTD’s PTC implementation project in 2012. PTC equipment has been procured, installed, configured, and tested on all NCTD locomotives and cab cars and in signal houses and communications bunkers on NCTD’s right-of way. Classroom and hands-on training has been performed for management, operations, and maintenance staff. All segments of the PTC system have been factory or laboratory tested and integrated in the field.

“Reaching the RSD milestone is a testament to what HTI is capable of achieving,” said HTI Vice President Rail Systems Jim Hanlon. “This has been an extremely challenging project on many fronts, yet the HTI project and executive teams have always been above the fray. This project is what put HTI on the PTC map, and we look forward to leveraging that experience and exposure for years to come.”

“Although this project has experienced the same challenges as the rest of the industry, NCTD has been at the forefront of PTC implementation,” said Deputy Project Manager Erin Price. “Reaching this RSD milestone is a huge accomplishment, as it has allowed us to prove that the system works.”

Herzog Technologies, Inc., a subsidiary of Herzog Contracting Corp., is a supplier of PTC-related services and software, including system integration, survey and data management, and back office software. HTI also provides signal and communication services.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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