The Federal Railroad Administration Fourth Quarter 2019 PTC Progress Report on railroads’ self-reported progress toward fully implementing Positive Train Control (PTC) by the Dec. 31, 2020 statutory deadline shows that, of the 42 railroads required to implement PTC, most are operating their systems in revenue service, or in advanced field testing known as revenue service demonstration (RSD).
Navis, a part of Cargotec Corporation, has entered into an agreement to acquire the assets of Biarri Rail, a global provider of planning and scheduling optimization software for freight railroads. The acquisition is expected to be completed by the end of February 2020.
The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) has approved New Jersey Transit to begin Revenue Service Demonstration (RSD) of its Positive Train Control (PTC) system, “moving NJT one step closer to meeting the federally mandated deadline of PTC certification by Dec. 31, 2020,” the agency announced Feb. 18.
Cowen and Company released its quick take on Wabtec’s earnings update, and noted the company has “fairly solid guidance for what could be a tough earnings year.”
Alstom has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Bombardier and pension fund Caisse de Dépôt et Placement du Québec (CDPQ) to acquire Bombardier Transportation, ending weeks of speculation about a proposed tie up between the two railway equipment manufacturers.
After each major crude oil train or hazardous commodity freight train accident anywhere in Canada or the United States, there is a rush of safety-related outcries. Quite a bit of fear is expressed. The poster children for rail freight safety are hazardous materials like crude oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG), which has been proposed. Yet to those who examine the evidence, rail freight is unquestionably the safest mode to ship these materials.
This is about a railroad labor union committed to serving its dues paying members, and a rail industry losing its core revenue traffic—coal—and now facing off against omnipresent low-cost, non-union truckers for the trailers and containers comprising much of the railroads’ future traffic base. It’s about new technology—the product of knowledge that for centuries has transformed the nature, quality and quantity of work. In this instance, the technology is Positive Train Control (PTC), a safety overlay system substituting artificial intelligence for engineer inattention or distraction. PTC, as does most new technology, creates job redundancies.
Now that the impeachment of President Trump has ended, Congress is expected get back to work on its legislative agenda, which by most accounts has a huge backlog. One of the priorities is developing bipartisan legislation reauthorizing infrastructure funding programs under the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act, currently set to expire on Sept. 30, 2020. The OneRail Coalition has released a policy proposal with the organization’s FAST priorities.
CTC, Inc. and Rio Grande Pacific Technology (RIOTECH), Inc will be consolidating under the RIOTECH brand, and will focus on offerings critical to Railroad Signal and Communication Systems Design and Consulting, Highway-Rail Grade Crossing Warning Systems (HRGCWS) Engineering Design, Systems Installation and Maintenance, and advancement of the RIoT (Railway Internet-of-Things) platform.
At the conclusion of 2019, Positive Train Control (PTC) was in operation across 98.5% of the required Class I route miles, according to the Association of American Railroads (AAR).