Union Pacific reports significant progress on Positive Train Control
August 30th, 2018
August 30, 2018 - TRA Newswire -
Union Pacific continues to make significant progress implementing positive train control (PTC). The company said it will meet all required deadlines for installing PTC on its network. As allowed by federal law, Union Pacific will continue to implement, test and refine the complex suite of technologies comprising the system in 2019-20.
Union Pacific's PTC footprint is the largest of all North American railroads, encompassing more than 17,000 route miles, roughly one-third of all U.S. PTC miles and 45 percent more required miles than the next largest railroad. Union Pacific is in regular contact with the Federal Railroad Administration officials regarding its PTC progress.
Installing and implementing PTC across the U.S. rail network is costly and complex. One of the most challenging parts of PTC implementation is ensuring system interoperability among all U.S. rail lines and locomotives. Given the various readiness levels of North American freight and passenger railroads, including publicly funded commuter lines and short lines, it is important that all railroads continue working together to maintain the health, safety, resiliency, and fluidity of the rail network during PTC implementation.
Between April 1, 2018, and August 17, 2018, Union Pacific's accomplishments included:
Preparing additional track segments for PTC operations, bringing the total number of track segments to 180, or 99 percent complete. These track segments are equipped with wayside devices such as signals, switches and radios and have defined GPS coordinates, which identify thousands of precise locations for system wide PTC coordination.
Educating more than 25,690 additional employees on PTC operations, or 97 percent. Training materials are tailored to a variety of employee roles, including engineer, conductor, dispatcher, maintenance of way/engineering, mechanical, signal, telecom and information technologies.
Increasing by approximately 1,020 the number of installed PTC route miles, bringing the total number of route miles in PTC operations to 11,920, or 70 percent.
Union Pacific continues to make significant progress implementing positive train control (PTC). The company said it will meet all required deadlines for installing PTC on its network. As allowed by federal law, Union Pacific will continue to implement, test and refine the complex suite of technologies comprising the system in 2019-20.
Union Pacific's PTC footprint is the largest of all North American railroads, encompassing more than 17,000 route miles, roughly one-third of all U.S. PTC miles and 45 percent more required miles than the next largest railroad. Union Pacific is in regular contact with the Federal Railroad Administration officials regarding its PTC progress.
Installing and implementing PTC across the U.S. rail network is costly and complex. One of the most challenging parts of PTC implementation is ensuring system interoperability among all U.S. rail lines and locomotives. Given the various readiness levels of North American freight and passenger railroads, including publicly funded commuter lines and short lines, it is important that all railroads continue working together to maintain the health, safety, resiliency, and fluidity of the rail network during PTC implementation.
Between April 1, 2018, and August 17, 2018, Union Pacific's accomplishments included:
Preparing additional track segments for PTC operations, bringing the total number of track segments to 180, or 99 percent complete. These track segments are equipped with wayside devices such as signals, switches and radios and have defined GPS coordinates, which identify thousands of precise locations for system wide PTC coordination.
Educating more than 25,690 additional employees on PTC operations, or 97 percent. Training materials are tailored to a variety of employee roles, including engineer, conductor, dispatcher, maintenance of way/engineering, mechanical, signal, telecom and information technologies.
Increasing by approximately 1,020 the number of installed PTC route miles, bringing the total number of route miles in PTC operations to 11,920, or 70 percent.