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December 6, 2010

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NEWS HEADLINES

DOT Releases Positive Train Control Grants of $50 Million

DOT has announced the release of $50 million under the new Railroad Safety Technology Grant fund program to seven projects—all related to Positive Train Control (PTC) collision avoidance systems and other advanced technologies. PTC systems use Global Positioning System (GPS) technology to monitor and control a train’s movements, enforce speed limits, prevent train collisions, and help keep rail workers safe.

Meterocomm Communications Corporation in Renton, WA, received the largest single grant—$21 million—to construct the required radio platform for an interoperable communications network across multiple railroads deploying the Vital Train Management System (VTMS) technology using a 220MHz radio frequency.

A $6.6 million grant went to MTA Long Island Rail Road and MTA Metro-North Railroad for an Advanced Civil Speed Enforcement System (ACSES). The commuter railroads will develop and test the interface specifications (i.e., Interface Control Document) for the major subsystems of the Amtrak Northeast Corridor ACSES PTC System.

The Southern California Regional Rail Authority in Los Angeles, operator of Metrolink commuter rail, received $6.6 million to develop and test the communications best practices guide for all railroads that must implement a standard VTMS, which requires an interoperable communication architecture that will allow trains to operate safely across railroad networks. The test will use the Los Angeles basin as the prototype.

Amtrak will receive $12.8 million for ACSES-VTMS interoperability, focusing on the PTC system used on Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor and the VTMS being adopted by freight railroads.

An $857,106 grant will allow Howard University to develop performance models for cryptographic key management required to ensure safe and secure interoperable PTC system communication.

The Railroad Research Foundation received $1.5 million for ongoing implementation of the Washington, DC, Rail Corridor Risk Management System.

Westinghouse Airbrake Corporation was awarded a $500,000 grant for a project proving the ability to use ordinary video currently collected in a locomotive run through a subdivision to validate PTC Survey location points.

The Federal Railroad Administration received 41 grant applications requesting more than $228 million. It based its decisions on the competitively awarded grants on technical merit, including the extent to which a project helps achieve interoperability between technologies, and the recipient’s project management capabilities and financial commitment to share costs.

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