[californiadisasters] Warning System to Automatically Stop Metrolink Trains

Positive Train Control designed to avoid collisions, derailments

By Olsen Ebright and Toni Guinyard - KNBC-TV Los Angeles

|  Monday, Sep 10, 2012  |  Updated 9:28 AM PDT

A new system, expected to be unveiled Monday, is designed to automatically stop or slow down a Metrolink train before a potential collision.

The SoCal passenger rail system has been working to install Positive Train Control on 57 cab cars, 52 locomotives and hundreds of miles of track.

The GPS-based system has already been installed on a test train, which was scheduled for its debut Monday morning. The technology is aimed at ending train-to-train collisions, derailments and potential crashes caused by human error.

"PTC monitors and, if necessary, controls train movement in the event of human error. PTC may also bring trains to a safe stop in the event of a natural disaster," according to Metrolink.

After the deadly 2008 Chatsworth, which killed 25 people and injured 135, Congress adopted the Rail Safety Improvement Act, mandating PTC be installed on rail nationwide.

Metrolink expects to have the system fully implemented by sometime next year. The total cost is estimated at $201.6 million.

Source: http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/PTC-Metrolink-Positive-Train-Control-Test-Train-169179446.html?_osource=Newsletter-Daily

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