Event Preview – PTC World Congress (Florida, 15-17th April 2014)

“Safety is our highest priority, and we believe the installation of this equipment will make our nation’s railroads safer.” – Ray LaHood, former U.S. Secretary for Transportation

With just under a month to go until the Positive Train Control (PTC) World Congress, SmartRail World gets a sneak preview of the event that is bringing the American railroad industry together in Florida next month for two days of expert insight, practical case studies, in-depth discussion, technology launches and networking on April 15^th-17^th 2014.

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

SmartRail Speaks: Timothy McKay, Executive Vice President Growth and Regional Development at Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART).

Dallas Area Rapid Transit.

Today SmartRail World talks to Timothy McKay, P.E., Executive Vice President Growth and Regional Development at Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART), a transit agency based in Dallas, Texas. Founded in 1983, it operates buses, light rail, commuter rail, and high-occupancy vehicle lanes in Dallas and 12 of its suburbs across a distance of 700 square miles. The DART Rail (light rail) network covers 85 miles providing 29.5 million passenger trips a year. Timothy is a professional engineer who graduated with a BSCE from Michigan Technological University and began serving DART as a consultant in 1987.

Luke Upton (LU): Hello, many thanks for the time today. Your position at DART is that of ‘EVP Rail Program Development’, perhaps we can begin by you telling us a little more about your role and responsibilities?

Timothy McKay (TMcK): “Hi Luke, of course. My role as Executive Vice President of Growth and Regional Development involves decision making and oversight for the departments of Commuter Rail, Rail Program Development, Planning and Development, Rail Planning, and Innovation/Transit Oriented Development.  Some of the programs and strategies include continual transit system evaluation and corridor opportunities; system integration, continually planning, upgrading, and implementing systems services – such as new corridor opportunities, high-speed rail coordination, implementing a new street car system.  Continually coordinating and working with the Member Cities to augment and improve services and programs through the transit communities.”

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.

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.

Video: An introduction to Positive Train Control (PTC)

A clear and concise video courtesy of the Association of American Railroads (AAR) offering an introduction into how PTC works and what it offers the industry. Perfect for those new to the industry, or your colleagues who just don’t quite get it…

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….