Ask Trains: Can train crews turn off crossing gates?

Q: Do train crews have the ability to activate or deactivate crossing lights and gates? — Richard Collingwood, Milan, Ohio A: No. Here’s why: Crossing circuits have set approaches based off of warning time required and maximum speed of the trains. The modern day crossing processors — mini computers inside a crossing gate bungalow (the metal […]

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Complexity slows NJ Transit efforts to meet PTC deadline NEWSWIRE

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An afternoon NJ Transit train arrives Short Hills Station in April 2017. The Morris and Essex line here is the positive train control proving grounds for the rest of the NJ Transit system. New multiple-unit cars expected to arrive in the mid-2020s will replace locomotives on most trains. Ralph Spielman NEWARK, N.J. — NJ Transit “still […]

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Local government insists on full safety recommendation implementation before Point Defiance Bypass re-opened to passengers NEWSWIRE

SEATTLE — The Pierce County Council has passed a resolution calling on Amtrak, the Washington State Department of Transportation, Sound Transit, and other agencies not to reopen the ill-fated Point Defiance Bypass line to passenger service until the full menu of recommendations from the National Transportation Safety Board is put in place. WSDOT and Amtrak […]

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Why positive train control is vulnerable to a cyber-attack NEWSWIRE

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Even as railroads continue to roll out positive train control, one question remains front and center: Are the systems vulnerable to a cyber-attack? “Those are questions that have been raised at the highest level to the lowest levels,” says Jim McKenney, technical director at United Kingdom-based NCC Group’s Transportation Assurance Practice.  “Those are continuously being […]

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California town holds ‘Wig Wags Forever’ festival to celebrate restoration of signals NEWSWIRE

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Wig-wag signals in downtown Richmond, Calif., are being restored to operating condition. Google Street View RICHMOND, Calif. — Richmond will hold a “Wig Wags Forever” festival on Sunday, celebrating the restoration to operating condition of two of the nearly extinct grade-crossing protection devices. The signals, near 1 West Richmond Ave. at a grade crossing in Point […]

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Wabtec closes first PTC-digital tech deal since merger with GE Transportation NEWSWIRE

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WILMERDING, Pa. — Wabtec Corp. was selected to provide fully integrated positive train control, digital imaging, and data transfer and analytics capabilities for Iowa Northern Railway, marking Wabtec’s first such deal since closing its merger with GE Transportation. Under the contract, Wabtec will provide an integrated offering, including its Interoperable Electronic Train Management System PTC […]

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FRA’s Batory testifies before Congress on crew sizes, PSR, and Positive Train Control NEWSWIRE

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Train length is an issue that Congress is interested in. These Union Pacific trains are meeting at Nunn, Colo. Trains: Jim Wrinn WASHINGTON — During an at times testy hearing on Capitol Hill Thursday, congress members peppered Federal Railroad Administration administrator Ron Batory about Precision Scheduled Railroading, Positive Train Control, and the recently dismissed crew […]

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