PCTEL Inc. has released an antenna that combines precision multi-constellation GNSS with high-performance LTE, sub-6 GHz 5G, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity.
The Coach II antenna with GNSS L1/L2/L5 is designed to provide greater precision and reliability for advanced rail communications systems, enabling everything from next-generation positive train control (PTC) to passenger Wi-Fi.
“Precise timing and tracking information is critical not just for rail, but for a variety of fleet, public safety, and industrial IoT [internet of things] applications,” said Rishi Bharadwaj, PCTEL’s chief operating officer. “PCTEL’s antenna technology enables our customers to deploy new technologies with confidence,” added Bharadwaj.
PCTEL is displaying its Coach II antenna with GNSS L1/L2/L5 on Sept. 22-24 at RSSI C&S Exhibition in Minneapolis, Minn. It is available to order now for shipment in early November using part #GL125-DLTEMIMO.
The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) awarded $203,698,298 in grant funding for 28 projects in 15 states to assist with the deployment of positive train control (PTC) systems.
The $203 million in grants is part of the total $250 million specifically appropriated under the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2018 for the implementation of PTC systems, via the Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements (CRISI) program.
“These $200 million in grants will help the railroads continue to implement positive train control, a technology that could help reduce accidents and save lives,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao.
The awards fund many aspects of PTC system implementation for intercity passenger or commuter rail and freight rail transportation, including back office PTC systems; wayside, communications, and onboard PTC system equipment; personnel training; PTC system testing; and interoperability.
Second-quarter PTC data
In addition, FRA released its second-quarter update on railroads’ self-reported progress toward implementing PCT systems. As of June 30, 15 railroads have installed 100 percent of the PCT system hardware that must be installed for implementation, based on a review of the railroads’ PTC Implementation Plans and quarterly progress reports for the second quarter of 2018. Twelve other ailroads have installed between 95 and 99 percent of the PTC system hardware identified in their PTC Implementation Plans.
According to FRA, this marks improvement from December 2016, where freight railroads had PTC active on just 16 percent of required tracks, while passenger railroads were at 24 percent.
In addition, second quarter data shows a 25 percent drop in the number of “at risk” railroads from 12 to nine. FRA considers any railroad that installed less than 90 percent of its PTC system hardware as of June 30 to be at risk.
“The railroads have achieved some significant improvements over the past year implementing this safety technology,” said FRA Administrator Ronald Batory. “While we are seeing progress among a majority of railroads, we want to see everyone meet their requirements.”
Awards Granted
When choosing the recipients of the grants, the FRA considered a number of factors, including supporting economic vitality; leveraging federal funding; using innovative approaches to improve safety and expedite project delivery; and holding grant recipients accountable for achieving specific, measurable outcomes.
Under the CRISI Program, at least 25 percent of funds are available for rural projects, the FRA said. In addition, federal funds awarded for CRISI grants must not exceed 80 percent of the total cost of a project, and the required 20 percent non-federal share may be composed of public sector (state or local) or private-sector funding, or both.
Agencies that received grants are:
Alaska Railroad Corporation
California Department of Transportation
Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board
Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit
Southern California Regional Rail Authority
Florida Department of Transportation
Iowa Interstate Railroad
Iowa Northern Railway Company
Belt Railway Company of Chicago
Chicago Rail Link
Commuter Rail Division of the Regional Transportation Authority
Chicago South Shore & South Bend Railroad
Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District
Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority
Springfield Terminal Railway Company (ST)/Pan Am Railways
The commuter rail industry is making progress installing and implementing positive train control (PTC), according to an analysis by the American Public Transportation Association (APTA), an advocate for the advancement of public transportation programs and initiatives in the United States.
The advancements reflect the commuter rail industry’s commitment to safety and implementing PTC by the Dec. 31 statutory deadline, APTA said in a statement.
PTC is a complex signaling and communications technology that commuter rail agencies are installing to offer a critical safety overlay on top of an already safe industry. In fact, rail is the safest surface transportation mode and traveling by commuter rail or intercity rail is 18 times safer than traveling by automobile.
The Federal Railroad Administration issued a PTC progress report in July, with the infographic below.
Chart: Federal Railroad Administration, Jan-March 2018
This is in contrast to a previous PTC infographic, released in June 2016.
Chart: Federal Railroad Administration, June 2016
According to APTA, as of June 30, 2018:
91 percent of spectrum has been acquired;
85 percent of 13,698 pieces of onboard equipment have been installed on locomotives and cab cars etc.;
79 percent of 14,083 wayside (on track equipment) installations have been completed;
78 percent of back office control systems are ready for operation;
74 percent of 14,847 employees have been trained in PTC; and
34 percent of commuter railroads are in testing, revenue service demonstration, or are operating their trains with PTC.
“Every year, 30 commuter railroads across America safely carry passengers on 501 million trips,” said APTA President and CEO Paul P. Skoutelas. “With safety as our number one priority, the commuter railroads are making strong and continuous progress in implementing Positive Train Control.”
Under current law (49 U.S.C. 20157), commuter railroads are required to meet the following milestones by Dec. 31. As defined in 49 U.S.C. 20157(a)(3)(B), they are to have:
Installed all PTC hardware (wayside and onboard equipment);
Acquired all necessary spectrum for PTC implementation;
Completed all employee training;
Initiated testing on at least one territory subject to the PTC requirement (or other criteria); and
Submitted a plan and schedule to the Secretary of Transportation for implementing a PTC system.
Upon reaching these milestones by the end of 2018, the commuter railroads must implement PTC as soon as practicable and no later than December 31, 2020.
“Positive Train Control is a critical commuter rail safety enhancement,” said SEPTA General Manager Jeffrey D. Knueppel, general manager of the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA). “Implementing PTC at SEPTA, during a challenging period of capital funding, has been an authority-wide commitment. Throughout this effort, our in-house team has been working continuously with Amtrak, our freight partners, and third-party contractors to address technical and interoperability challenges. SEPTA trains on all 13 regional rail lines are equipped and operating with PTC, and SEPTA is proud to have implemented this safety technology for our customers and employees.”
“Implementing Positive Train Control in Chicago’s dense and busy railroad network has been very challenging, but Metra is right where we said we’d be in terms of finishing the job,” said Jim Derwinski, CEO/executive director of Metra, the Northeast Illinois commuter rail system. “Working with our freight partners, we expect to have PTC implemented or in revenue service demonstration on six of our 11 lines by the end of 2018, and to complete the job by 2020.”
The commuter rail industry is moving aggressively to implement PTC as it faces considerable technical and financial constraints. At a time when the national transit state of good repair backlog stands at an estimated $90 billion, the commuter railroad industry’s cost to implement PTC will exceed $4.1 billion, diverting funds from other critical infrastructure priorities.
Since Congress mandated PTC, the federal government has awarded $272 million in PTC grants. Another $250 million was made available in May 2018.
PTC is an unparalleled technical challenge in scale, complexity, and time required. The challenges include:
a limited number of PTC-qualified vendors simultaneously in demand by both the passenger and freight railroad industries to develop, design and test this complex safety technology;
diagnosing and resolving software issues,
securing adequate access to track and locomotives for installation and testing, and
achieving interoperability, as commuter rail systems operate in mixed traffic with other freight and passenger railroads.
PCTEL Inc. has launched a new series of multi-GNSS L1/L2/L5 antennas for precision navigation and timing.
According to the company, the antennas combine aerospace-level precision with global satellite compatibility, in a highly durable package. They enable critical applications including vehicular automation, 5G network timing synchronization and Positive Train Control (PTC) systems.
The company made the announcement at the RSSI C&S Exhibition (Railway Systems Suppliers Inc.) being held this week in Omaha, Nebraska.
PCTEL’s multi-GNSS L1/L2/L5 antennas increase the accuracy of timing and location information by providing simultaneous access to multiple GNSS signals across multiple frequency bands. The antennas support all relevant GPS, GLONASS, BeiDou and Galileo frequencies with excellent multipath mitigation and high out-of-band rejection for greater signal clarity, the company said. Their robust AAR and IP67-compliant design makes them suitable for years of use on railways and in other harsh real-world environments.
“Precision navigation is crucial for the next generation of autonomous vehicle technologies, which could drive major improvements in safety and efficiency across a wide variety of industries,” said Rishi Bharadwaj, senior vice president and general manager of PCTEL’s Connected Solutions group. “PCTEL’s new antennas make precision navigation accessible for large-scale deployments in rail, public safety, agricultural and commercial fleets. They also enable commercial deployments of 5G networks, which have higher accuracy requirements for network timing.”
Earlier this month, PCTEL released its 900-MHz MIMO Yagi antennas with dual polarization., designed for use with MIMO or diversity radios in advanced supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems and other industrial internet of things applications. PCTEL’s dual polarized antenna technology improves data throughput and reliability on both licensed and unlicensed spectrum.
PCTEL is displaying its new multi-GNSS antennas along with other antenna solutions for the rail industry, May 22-23 at the RSSI C&S Exhibition, booth #1109. The new antennas will be available for purchase in mid-July.
The U.S. Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) released a status update on its efforts to assist railroads in implementing positive train control systems (PTC), along with the railroads’ self-reported progress for the fourth quarter of 2017.
The FRA said in a press release that it is taking a proactive approach to ensure railroads acquire, install, test and fully implement certified PTC systems in time to meet the congressional interim deadline of Dec. 31.
“It is the railroads’ responsibility to meet the congressionally mandated PTC requirements,” said FRA Administrator Ronald L. Batory. “The FRA is committed to doing its part to ensure railroads and suppliers are working together to implement PTC systems.”
Between Jan. 2 and Feb. 14, FRA’s leadership hosted face-to-face meetings with executives from each of the 41 railroads subject to the statutory mandate to evaluate each railroad’s PTC status and learn what remaining steps each needs to take to have a PTC system fully implemented by the December deadline or, at a minimum, to meet the statutory criteria necessary to qualify for an alternative schedule.
The FRA is now meeting with PTC suppliers to learn more about their capacity to meet the high demands for railroads’ implementation of PTC systems in a timely manner.
PTC systems are designed to prevent certain train-to-train collisions, over-speed derailments, incursions into established work zone limits, and trains going to the wrong tracks because a switch was left in the wrong position.
All railroads subject to the statutory PTC implementation mandate must implement FRA-certified and interoperable PTC systems by the end of the year.
Under the Positive Train Control Enforcement and Implementation Act of 2015, however, Congress permits a railroad to request FRA’s approval of an “alternate schedule” with a deadline beyond Dec. 31, 2018, but no later than Dec. 31, 2020, for certain non-hardware, operational aspects of PTC system implementation.
The congressional mandate requires the FRA to approve a railroad’s alternative schedule with a deadline no later than Dec. 31, 2020, if a railroad submits a written request to FRA that demonstrates the railroad has met the statutory criteria set forth under 49 U.S.C. § 20157(a)(3)(B).
The fourth quarter data, current as of Dec. 31, 2017, shows PTC systems are in operation on approximately 56 percent of freight railroads’ route miles that are required to be governed by PTC systems — up from 45 percent last quarter and 16 percent on Dec. 31, 2016. Passenger railroads have made less progress, with PTC systems in operation on only 24% of required route miles, unchanged from the previous quarter.
The latest data confirms that railroads continue to make progress in installing PTC system hardware, with 15 railroads reporting they have completed installation of all hardware necessary for PTC system implementation and another 11 railroads reporting they have installed over 80% of PTC system hardware. In addition, all but three railroads report having acquired sufficient spectrum for their PTC system needs.
For more key implementation data for the fourth quarter, see the infographics here.
To view the public version of each railroad’s Quarterly PTC Progress Report (Form FRA F 6180.165, OMB Control No. 2130-0553) for Quarter 4 of 2017, visit each railroad’s PTC docket on https://www.regulations.gov/. Railroads’ PTC docket numbers are available at https://www.fra.dot.gov/Page/P0628.
