Parsons secures Metrolinx ETCCS tech services contract

Written by William C. Vantuono, Editor-In-Chief, Railway Age
image description
Parsons has begun providing technical advisory services for Metrolinx’s Enhanced Train Control and Conventional Signaling project.

Parsons has begun providing technical advisory services for Metrolinx's Enhanced Train Control and Conventional Signaling (ETCCS) project, part of the Canadian agency's 10-year GO Transit regional/commuter rail expansion program consisting of C$13.5 billion in capital projects and $7 billion in state-of-good-repair works.

The GO Transit network spans more than 2,500 square miles in southern Ontario and carries more than 200,000 passengers each day through more than 40 municipalities.

As part of the GO expansion component of Metrolinx’s Regional Transportation Plan, Metrolinx plans to modernize the system by adding stations, increasing system capacity, introducing 25-kV catenary electrification and replacing its diesel locomotives with electrified locomotives, adapting its existing fixed-block signaling system to the 25-kV traction power supply system, and deploying ETCCS on the wayside and rolling stock.

This program “will transform the GO Transit rail network with electrified trains running every 15 minutes or better, all day and in both directions, within the most heavily travelled sections of the GO network across Ontario’s Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA), home to nearly 7 million people and one of the largest and fastest-growing urban regions in North America,” the agency said.

As Metrolinx specifies, procures and deploys ETCCS with conventional signaling upgrades, Parsons will provide design, procurement support, system engineering, system integration and migration management, testing and commissioning services.

“We welcome this opportunity to continue our long-standing relationship with Metrolinx, helping them advance the quality of life for all GTHA residents and visitors,” said Mike Johnson, Parsons Group President. “Parsons has extensive enhanced train control experience, and this technology increases both operational capacity and safety.”

Tags: