AUTOMATIC TRAIN CONTROL (Alstom)

AUTOMATIC TRAIN CONTROL (Alstom)

It is doubtful if any technology ever received as much attention as automatic train control. Thousands of patents were issued, millions of dollars spent in experimentation, and yet only a few systems have survived the tests of practical use.

A trial installation of GRS intermittent inductive train stop was made on the Buffalo, Rochester and Pittsburgh Railway in 1919. By 1923, the first commercial installation was made on the Chicago and North Western Railway. Many installations were made in the ensuing years.

In 1953, GRS made the first commercial use of transistors in the railroading industry with the installation of a cab signal system on the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad.

In 1973, GRS supplied automatic train control equipment using cab signals for Amtrak locomotives operating on several mid western railroads.

Building upon the techniques and principles of Safety Assurance Logic, in 1988, GRS installed the first Micro CABMATIC™ Automatic Train Control system, a vital microprocessor based system. This product is configurable from a basic Automatic Train Protection system up to a completely automatic driver-less system. The system has been deployed in both railroad and transit applications.