FRA approves BNSF’s Electronic Train Management System

FRA approves BNSFÆs Electronic Train Management System The U.S. Federal Railroad Administration has given permission for BNSF Railway Co. to begin implementing the Electronic Train Management System (ETMS) designed by Wabtec Corp. on sections of its rail network.
   ETMS operates with existing train control signal systems and operating rules as the primary means of maintaining train separation. It was first piloted by Wabtec and BNSF in 2004 on 50 locomotives operating along the 135-mile corridor between Beardstown and Centralia, Ill.
   'This is a major achievement that marks the beginning of a new era of rail safety,' said FRA Administrator Joseph R. Boardman.
   'This is a significant safety milestone for the rail industry,” agreed Matthew K. Rose, BNSF's chairman, president and chief executive officer. 'ETMS is the first approved automatic control system that prevents train collisions and over-speed accidents, meeting the criteria of one of the National Transportation Safety Board’s most wanted list.”