SPRINGFIELD, Va. — ENSCO, Inc., a diversified research, development and information technology company, continues to lead the railroad supplier industry in advanced technology for safety. ENSCO has been chosen by the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) to incorporate a Geographical Information System (GIS) capability into the toll free 1-800 Emergency Notification System (ENS) program, which provides a trouble reporting system for railroad highway-rail crossings. ENSCO’s contribution to the project will enable the dispatcher to locate a potential incident at a crossing, such as an automobile, stalled flat bed truck or even a chemically-loaded truck with gasoline or hazardous materials, to help avoid a train collision with a highway vehicle. The dispatcher will be able to view the situation on a GIS map display and reference the relationship to nearby schools, hospitals or other landmarks that could potentially be affected.
The 1-800 ENS software was developed in response to 1994 national legislation and was implemented as a pilot program in the states of Texas in 1999 and Pennsylvania in 2001. Plans are to offer the software at no cost to other states and railroads for their use in improving the potential of avoiding a collision at a crossing. The goal of the ENS program is to improve highway-rail crossing safety by decreasing the number of crossing accidents and fatalities. The program consists of several major components, which include signs at the crossings, crossing and contact data, hardware and software, telecommunications, and communications personnel. Special signs are posted at the crossing, which provide a toll free number to call when there is a problem, malfunction or potential emergency, such as a stalled vehicle. These signs also provide a unique Department of Transportation Crossing Inventory Number, which identifies the specific crossing. Some signs also give the street location. The general public can therefore report the problem and crossing number to railroad or state emergency center dispatchers.
The toll free 1-800 ENS software program provides a means to notify public safety officials of highway-rail crossing emergencies and problems. Calls are received by personnel who are trained in handling public safety situations. The 1-800 ENS software also generates usable reports regarding highway-rail crossing malfunctions and problems. Typical incidents include stalled highway vehicles, and gates or warning light malfunctions when no train is actually approaching, or important safety problems such as a broken gate arm.
The new GIS component will enhance the dispatcher’s ability to respond appropriately to these events by providing a geographic reference to the area. 1-800 ENS helps prevent collisions with a stalled vehicle, or in other situations that could become a problem or emergency at railroad highway-rail crossings. A chemical release associated with a collision at a crossing could potentially endanger the public and would require location data to track the release.
ENSCO’s expertise in tracking and mapping is what prompted the FRA to award the toll free 1-800 ENS GIS component to the company.
“We are delighted to be able to incorporate ENSCO’s expertise in Geographic Information Systems into the toll free 1-800 ENS Program,” said Thomas Woll, the Federal Railroad Administration’s program manager for the 1-800 Toll Free Emergency Notification System Program. “This new component will improve our ability to locate the correct crossing and take immediate action in the event of an emergency.”
ENSCO continues to be successful with their Remote Monitor product, which continuously monitors and analyzes track and vehicle performance in real time. The Remote Monitor tags the location of any anomalous sensor measurements with Global Positioning Systems (GPS) coordinates, and communicates information and data via satellite, cellular and/or digital wireless services to an Internet-accessible central computer or a pager. Data is available in near real time, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Data is displayed on the Internet and overlaid on a GIS map. By clicking on icons showing map location of exceptions, the user can display information about the potential problem, as well as vehicle speed and location. The Remote Monitor is based on research sponsored by the FRA and ENSCO’s internal research and development. ENSCO has thirty years of experience in railroad instrumentation, communications, Global Positioning System integration, Geographic Information Systems and other critical rail technologies. Many ENSCO systems have been developed with direct support from the FRA.