Parsons participated in an event on Feb. 20 showcasing Metrolink’s implementation of Positive Train Control (PTC) technology in revenue service demonstration.
Event participants included Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Burbank), Metrolink officials and board members, Federal Railroad Administration officials, and local dignitaries. In addition to having a demonstration via a PTC simulator and partaking in a press conference, participants were invited to board a PTC-equipped train.
In October 2010, the Southern California Regional Rail Authority (SCRRA)—the governing board of Metrolink—awarded Parsons a contract to design, furnish, and install PTC technology on Metrolink’s 512-mile commuter rail system. By placing its PTC system in revenue service demonstration, SCRRA is the first commuter railroad in the United States to deploy a train control system that integrates GPS technology with train management computers, digital radio communications, and Wabtec’s Interoperable Electronic Train Management System (I-ETMS).
“Parsons is pleased to be involved in assisting Metrolink in its application of PTC,” said Todd Wager, Parsons Group president. “PTC will ultimately improve commuter rail safety.”
PTC is collision avoidance technology that monitors and controls train movements. It is intended to prevent train-to-train collisions, overspeed derailments, and movement of trains through switches left in the wrong position. To improve railroad safety in the United States, federal legislation mandates that passenger railroads and large freight railroads (Class I railroads) install PTC by Dec. 31, 2015, on all main line track where intercity passenger railroads and commuter railroads operate, as well as on lines carrying hazardous materials.
