November 4, 2013 – During the past four years, we have enhanced the EMTRAC system to increase safety for transit-rail workers, as well as passengers and pedestrians.
We’ve worked closely with Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA), as well as Houston METRO to develop the Personal Notification Unit (PNU), which is worn by rail-maintenance workers to warn them of approaching trains.
Due to these enhancements, the EMTRAC system is in a unique position to meet rail-transit safety requirements, such as those for the California Public Utilities Commissions (CPUC Res. 09-01-020), which addresses wayside worker safety.
In addition to wayside worker safety, the EMTRAC system also includes Automatic Vehicle Location (AVL) functionality, and the ability to implement near-miss reporting, collision avoidance, speed-zone monitoring, positive train control, route and schedule adherence, and wireless communication at operation centers.
The following PDF links describe tests and results regarding EMTRAC rail safety:
- VTA Personal Notification Unit Test Report – Jan. 19, 2012
- Houston Final Performance Report – Nov. 15, 2011
The following white paper describes the functionality of the EMTRAC system in more detail: