USA: Chicago commuter rail operator Metra has appointed Parsons as prime contractor for the installation of Positive Train Control.
The contract announced on September 3 covers the installation of Interoperable Electronic Train Management System, integrating locomotive-mounted GPS, radios, trackside antennas and computers and compatible with 12 railways.
Parsons said the Chicago will be the most complicated application of PTC in the USA. Metra is responsible for implementing PTC on the five lines that it controls, and contributing to the installation costs on six lines owned by private railways. PTC kits must be installed on a total of 158 Metra locomotives, 187 driving cars and 26 EMUs. A further 160 EMUs which are to be delivered by 2016 will be PTC-compliant.
- The Metra board has allocated $585 000 to plan the modernisation of Homewood station. This includes a $468 000 grant from the federal Surface Transportation Program and $117 000 in local match funding. The timescale for the project will depend the availability of construction funding.
