BNSF STARTS POSITIVE TRAIN CONTROL TRIAL

The U.S. railroad companies, Burlington Northern (BN) and Santa Fe (ATSF) were known for innovation and technological boldness prior to their 1995 merger. BN was the first to order ac traction locomotives in 1993, and Santa Fe jump-started the intermodal boom in 1990 by putting road trailers on trains. Today, that same spirit of innovation drives Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway (BNSF), North America's second largest Class I railway. This article focuses on BNSF's involvement with positive train control (PTC), the mainline railway application of communications-based train control (CBTC). Although CBTC has not yet developed a strong business case with U.S. railways, the pilot project begun at BNSF could help. Additionally, BNSF has begun installation of an overlay PTC system, Electronic Train Management System (ETMS) that will enforce train speed and temporary speed restrictions, it will provide automatic train roll-up, and will also be able to determine the location of unprotected grade crossings and provide automated horn sounding.