Los Angeles: For rail, and for real
Dramatically debunking the onus of “car-culture” status, Los Angeles is on the move to move more of its area residents with numerous rail options.
PTC
Herzog, Lilee in PTC partnership
Herzog Technologies, Inc. (HTI) said Tuesday, July 1, 2014 it has partnered with Lilee Systems “to provide innovative Positive Train Control Solutions. HTI chose Lilee’s suite of products to support HTI’s Commercial ITCM Federation Hosting solution.”
FRA’s Szabo views Siemens plant PTC work
Federal Railroad Administrator Joseph C. Szabo on Friday, May 30, 2014 toured a Siemens rail automation plant in Louisville, Ky., which is producing components for new Positive Train Control (PTC) systems.
C&S: The new frontier is here
Congress and the FRA perceive PTC primarily as a safety measure to counteract human error and prevent accidents. But rail industry suppliers seek to make PTC, and CBTC too, something with far greater utility than that, as railways scramble to adopt this new technology.
Managing the lineup
Strategic business plans aligned with a strategic technology plan can provide more-effective interchange data and traffic control processes.
Taming the PTC elephant
The pressing issue for the railroad industry’s communications and signal engineers is whether or not Positive Train Control (PTC) is going to be complete and fully functional by the fast-approaching Dec. 31, 2015, deadline.
Bombardier taps Lilee Systems for MTA PTC
Bombardier Transportation has selected Lilee Systems to assist in the design and build of Positive Train Control (PTC) for New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA). The effort involves installation of wireless and wired ACSES II communications for both the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) and Metro-North Railroad.
Ansaldo STS taps Protran Technology
Protran Technology said Monday, April 28, 2014, it has landed a contract from Ansaldo STS “to provide the Protracker Roadway Worker Protection System (PWPS) on over 500 railcars.” The amount of the contract was not disclosed.
Birkelbach joins Parsons Brinckerhoff
Ronald L. Birkelbach has been named a Vice President at Parsons Brinckerhoff, and will lead the company’s systems group in the Northeast region, which provides comprehensive engineering services for rail and transit systems projects. He will be based in the Newark, N.J. office.
Commentary
Data drought haunts FRA crew-size mandate
By the Federal Railroad Administration’s own congressional testimony, the years 2012 and 2013 were among the railroads’ safest on record, while the relatively few train crashes were mostly the result of human error and track defects.