MONTREAL — Canadian National and Siemens Transportation Systems Inc. announced today they will jointly develop and implement at CN a state-of-the-art rail traffic control (RTC) system incorporating proven Siemens technology.
CN and Siemens will each assign systems design and rail operation specialists to the project. The new RTC system on CN’s Canadian properties will employ modified Siemens VICOS(TM) and SINAUT Spectrum(TM) computer operating systems.
“CN’s scheduled railway practices have put us at the forefront of rail service quality in North America,” said Ed Harris, CN’s chief of transportation officer. “The new RTC system we’re developing with Siemens will give us even greater scheduling reliability to control with precision the more than 300 trains CN operates daily across 12,000 miles of track in Canada. The fully integrated system, providing network-wide scheduling control, will meet our exacting safety standards.”
The new RTC system will be linked directly to CN’s Service Reliability Strategy (SRS) computer system with its industry-leading scheduling and planning capabilities. Modern hardware displays and monitors, along with newer, simplified operating procedures, will greatly improve the train dispatcher’s working environment. The system will have built-in contingency capabilities to permit instantaneous business resumption of network dispatching at alternate sites if necessary.
The system will be installed at 46 traffic control workstations at CN rail traffic control centres located in Montreal, Toronto and Edmonton. Development should be completed in early 2004, with implementation of the new system to be completed in late 2005.
Along with CN, Siemens realizes that this will be a great improvement over the existing system, and is excited to be setting the new standard for these technologies. “CN’s selection of Siemens paves the way to introduce the Siemens freight signaling and control technology to the North American railroad industry,” said Mike Pracht, vice-president of Marketing and Business Development for Siemens Transportation Systems. “The higher levels of automation and integration will provide long-term service and productivity improvements.”
Siemens Transportation Systems Inc. (www.sts.siemens.com) is headquartered in Sacramento, California. The company provides a broad spectrum of products and services to the U.S. rail industry, including signaling, communication and management control centres, traction electrification systems, turnkey systems, AC traction locomotives and mass-transit vehicles. Globally, the Transportation Systems Group (TS) of Siemens AG is one of the leading international suppliers to the railway industry. As single source supplier and system integrator, the Group combines in its business segments Automation & Power, Rolling Stock, Turnkey Systems and Integrated Services.
Siemens AG (NYSE:SI – News), headquartered in Munich, Germany, is a leading global electronics and engineering company. It employs some 450,000 people in 193 countries, and reported worldwide sales of more than US$74 billion in fiscal 2001 (10/1/00 – 9/30/01). The United States is Siemens’ largest market, with nearly 80,000 employees and sales of US$18.9 billion for fiscal 2001. More information about Siemens in the U.S. is available at www.usa.siemens.com.
Canadian National Railway Company spans Canada and mid-America, from the Atlantic and Pacific oceans to the Gulf of Mexico, serving the ports of Vancouver, Prince Rupert, B.C., Montreal, Halifax, New Orleans, and Mobile, Ala., and the key cities of Toronto, Buffalo, Chicago, Detroit, Duluth, Minn./Superior, Wis., Green Bay, Wis., Minneapolis/St. Paul, Memphis, St. Louis and Jackson, Miss., with connections to all points in North America.