Passenger Bus, Rail and Motorcoach Industry News

Representatives from government, industry, academia and labor will serve as panelists during the forum and discuss safety, regulatory and technology issues surrounding PTC, which is designed to keep trains separated and prevent collisions.

North County Transit District is adding the system to all COASTER trains, along the wayside, and in the control office. The Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008 requires fully functional PTC systems to be in place on railroads, such as the COASTER, by December 31, 2015.

Hosted executive representatives from Class-1 freight railroads, commuter lines and the FRA for live demonstrations of the Trainguard PTC technology from July to September 2012 at the Transportation Technology Center near Pueblo, Colo.

Outstanding safety recommendations included, enhance the safety redundancy of [Metro’s] train control system by evaluating track occupancy data on a real-time basis and Implementing cable insulation resistance testing as part of Metrorail’s periodic maintenance program.

Unveiled its $200-million crash prevention project for an NTSB official. The agency plans to install PTC on its commuter rail network by December 2013, two years ahead of a federal requirement for nationwide deployment.

Installation of an advanced signal system is a component of the $1.5 billion Caltrain Modernization Program and includes Positive Train Control technology.

John Fenton stepped in after the 2008 Chatsworth crash that killed 25 people and he pushed forward a $200 million project to prevent collisions through positive train control technology.

Railroads will no longer have to conduct risk analyses to obtain approval to not install PTC or take other costly risk mitigation measures on an estimated 10,000 miles of track that will not carry passenger trains or poison inhalation hazard commodities after December 2015.

Both operators of a coal train that struck the back of another Burlington Northern train that was stopped near Red Oak, Iowa, last April, fell asleep and missed signals to slow and stop.

By mid-year, the new system will allow passengers to sign up for text messages and e-mail notifications with train status updates. The system will also be integrated with current social media sites, displaying the same information on the agency's Facebook and Twitter pages.