Positive Train Control moves ahead at Los Angeles Metrolink

At a special board meeting, the Metrolink Board of Directors authorized its CEO, John E. Fenton, to complete the final terms and conditions to award a $120-million contract to Parsons Transportation Group to manage and integrate Positive Train Control technology on Metrolink's 512-mile system.

"Today’s action puts us
one step closer to our goal of being the first railroad to implement PTC and
the safest rail operator in the nation," said Metrolink Board Chairman Keith
Millhouse.  "Metrolink has outlined an aggressive implementation schedule
that will allow our passengers to be among the first in the nation to benefit
from this safety innovation."

Metrolink was the nation’s
first rail operator to get approval from the Federal Railroad Administration on
its PTC implementation plan. PTC implementation is mandated to be put into
service by 2015 by passenger and freight railroads as a key component of the
U.S. Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008.

PTC is collision
avoidance technology that monitors and controls train movements remotely, and
can prevent train-to-train collisions, unauthorized train movement into a
work-zone, movement of a train through a switch left in the wrong position and
trains exceeding authorized speeds. 

Metrolink’s PTC system
will consist of:

• PTC on-board
computers, display screens, GPS tracking and radios on 57 cab cars and 52 locomotives.

• Stop enforcement
system at 476 signals wayside signals.

• Six-county
specialized communication system to link the wayside signals, trains and the
centralized dispatch office.

• Replacement of the
current dispatch system with a new system and installation of PTC back office
system.

Parsons Transportation
Group was selected through a competitive process to implement this advanced
technology and integrate the various subsystems. Metrolink’s PTC system will be
fully interoperable with the Union Pacific’s and BNSF’s PTC Systems.

Headquartered in
Pasadena, Parsons was established in 1944, has 12,000 employees and does
business in 25 countries. The team will be supported by Wabtec Railway
Electronics and ARINC.

Metrolink is Southern
California’s regional commuter rail service in its 18th year of operations. The
Southern California Regional Rail Authority (SCRRA), a joint powers authority
made up of an 11-member board representing the transportation commissions of
Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and Ventura counties, governs
the service.