Free e-book – Positive Train Control (PTC): An Insider’s Guide.

SmartRail World is delighted to publish a brand new free e-book Positive Train Control (PTC): An Insider’s Guide looking at the status, lessons learned and challenges faced by US railroads with the implementation of the federally-mandated technology. For the e-book we’ve spoken with the industry’s leading innovators from Metrolink, CSX, NCTD, HP Enterprise Services, BNSF, Alaska Railroad and more in order to help you understand the industry’s current challenges and opportunities. It’s not just another collection of facts and figures but an insight into the reality of the direction of Positive Train Control (PTC); the opportunities and potential but also the challenges still to be overcome.

PLUS each download comes with a free subscription to SmartRail World ensuring you will never miss out on the latest news, views and resources.

Click here to download Positive Train Control (PTC): An Insider’s Guide

Positive Train Control (PTC) in focus: North County Transit District (NCTD) in California.

Today SmartRail World journeys to California to find out how the North County Transit District (NCTD) is working with Positive Train Control (PTC) and integrating the system without interrupting service. The NCTD is the agency responsible for publication transportation in North San Diego County and transports over 1.6 million passengers per year, Multiple railroads operate and enter NCTD Territory: BNSF, Amtrak, Pacific Sun, and Metro link and NCTD dispatches all trains within its territory.

NCTD’s implementation of PTC is well underway as they have already begun installing the fiber optic cables from the Orange County line to Old Town in San Diego. The next phases of implementation will include installing communications infrastructure along the right of way, installing the on-board system, and conducting extensive testing.

$19 billion in dedicated funding for rail as President Obama lays out vision for 21st century transportation infrastructure.

President Barack Obama shakes hands with a worker as he and Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx tour the Metro Transit Light Rail Operations and Maintenance Facility in St. Paul, Minn., Feb. 26, 2014. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

February 26^th  saw US President Barack Obama speak at the historic Union Depot train station in Saint Paul, Minnesota and launch a competition for $600 million in competitive transportation funding and outline his vision for investing in America’s infrastructure with a $302 billion, four year surface transportation re-authorization proposal. Railways are a major part of the the programme along with other aspects of public transport and will also work with Congress to act to ensure critical transportation programs continue to be funded and do not expire later this year.

The proposal increases average transit spending by nearly 70 percent annually, for a total program of $72 billion over four years, which will enable the expansion of new projects (e.g., light rail, street cars, bus rapid transit, etc.) in suburbs, fast-growing cities, small towns, and aging rural communities, while still maintaining existing transit systems.Whilst $19 billion in dedicated funding for rail programs including nearly $5 of billion annually for high performance and passenger rail programs with a focus on improving the connections between key regional city pairs and high traffic corridors throughout the country.

Helping to solve the ‘Achilles’ heel’ of Positive Train Control: PTC-220 LLC.

CSX, one of the seven Class 1 railroads within PTC-220 LLC (James Criclow).

Today SmartRail World looks at PTC-220 LLC, an alliance between the seven Class 1 railroads with the aim of securing spectrum to support interoperable Positive Train Control (PTC). Wireless connectivity has long been considered one of the “Achilles Heels” of PTC and PTC 220 is an effort to solve this problem. Formed by NS and UP in late 2007 it now composed of seven equal members comprised of the Class 1 railroads (CSX, BNSF, UP, NS, KCS, CN, CP) and operates through multiple committees made up of volunteers from the Members. The original purchase of 280 kHz of nationwide 220 MHz spectrum was made in 2008.

All members and non-members will have leases to allow use of PTC-220 spectrum. And PTC-220 provides spectrum whilst the lease holders provide the infrastructure.

“We are urging the railways to have higher expectations,” how a famous old name is offering creative new solutions in rail.

HP is already in your office. And they probably have been for some time. There are few more familiar information technology providers in the market. And their classic blue and white logo sits atop many of the hardware, software and services technologies that have shaped modern business. But what you may not be as familiar with is the work that HP do within rail, where they are rapidly developing a reputation for delivering innovative IT solutions for a changing industry. Today SmartRail World takes an exclusive look at some of the projects, talks to their Chief Technologist about what makes their offering unique and gains a preview of what is coming up on the horizon for HP.

Alaska Railroad funding request puts fresh spotlight on Positive Train Control (PTC) funding.

The news in February that the Alaska Railroad had requested the Legislature to add $26 million to the governor’s budget to keep a $153 million Positive Train Control (PTC) upgrade on track has again cast a spotlight on the issues of financing the system as the federally mandated 2015 deadline approaches. “We think it’s a prudent decision for the Legislature and we hope you see it the same way,” Alaska Railroad President and CEO Bill O’Leary told the Senate Finance Committee. If the state-owned railroad doesn’t push ahead with the costliest safety automation effort in its history, federal law could bring a halt to all passenger service and fines of up to $25,000 a day, O’Leary added.

O’Leary and Alaska Railroad Vice President Eileen Reilly made their case to the Senate Finance Committee why the $15 million proposed by the governor for automation should be increased to $41 million. “Our capital budget for 2014 is just a little above $20 million. We need to be putting somewhere closer to $40 to $50 million per year into the railroad just to maintain what we’ve got. This is not expansion capital. This is just keeping what I call the wheels on the wagon,” O’Leary said in quotes reported in the Alaska Dispatch. Reilly added that if equipment and tracks are not kept in good repair, there are all sorts of mechanical problems that can cause accidents and have nothing to do with human error by train personnel. But what about some of the other major railroads and their financial plans for PTC?

VIDEO INTERVIEWS: PTC experts discuss current projects, lessons learned and plans for the future.

SmartRail World spoke to a number of Positive Train Control experts at the 2013 PTC World Congress about their work including: Rick Stones, AVP Advanced Systems Planning, (Kansas City Southern), Sami Kibria, Solutions Architect (Redhat), Rick Durrant, General Director Positive Train Control (Union Pacific), Steve Hooper, Director of Operations (Panama Canal Railway), Barry Einsig, Global Transportation Executive (Cisco Systems) and Jon Adams, VP Strategic Development (Lilee Systems). See these exclusive videos below for their expert insights…

Positive Train Control in focus: Metrolink – on track to be the first commuter railroad in the U.S. to deploy PTC.

“We believe PTC is perhaps the most important safety innovation in our lifetime…”

Following the Hudson Line tragedy of the 1^st December, Positive Train Control (PTC) is again under the spotlight, with claims that if it had been deployed, the fatal accident would not have occurred. Experts state that if PTC had been deployed on the Metro-North line it would not have allowed the train to exceed the speed limit and it would have slowed and eventually stopped the train when the driver became unresponsive. Although the investigation into the Hudson Line derailment is on-going, initial reports point at driver error and the potential that he momentarily fell asleep whilst in control of the train which barreled into a curve at 82 miles per hour, nearly three times the speed allowed through the area.

Railroad and federal safety officials have long pushed for PTC (which combines GPS, wireless radio and computers to monitor trains and stop them from colliding, derailing or speeding) but the nationwide development of this has been opposed by some within the railroad industry because of the high cost, technological issues and perceived short deadline of 2015. Today SmartRail World goes back to where the PTC debate began and takes a look at the development of what is on track to be the first commuter railroad in the US to deploy PTC System with GPS – Metrolink in California.

The Inside Track with: Nabil Ghaly, New York Rail Technology

The Inside Track talks to Nabil Ghaly, President of New York Rail (NYR) Technology a leading consulting firm specializing in train control and signal systems for railroads and rapid transit properties. Prior to becoming President of NYR Technology,  Nabil spent 10 years as Chief Signal Engineer at the NYC Transit Authority. NYR Technology provides support for working with Communications-Based Train Control (CBTC) and Positive Train Control (PTC) but today its CBTC we are most interested in talking about…

Luke Upton: Hi Nabil, thanks for agreeing to speak to the Inside Track. I know you have extensive experience with CBTC, do you feel that most transport networks are truly maximising the potential of CBTC?

Nabil Ghaly: “Hello Luke, I believe that most transport networks are not utilizing CBTC to its maximum potential….