Armondo Garcia of Omni+Strategy, LLC

Our speaker will discuss the process of implementing the installation of Positive Train Control (PTC) on commuter railroad rolling stock.

PTC is a system of functional requirements for monitoring and controlling train movements and is a type of train collision avoidance system. The train is only allowed to move in case of positive movement allowance. The main concept of PTC is that the train receives information about its location and where it is allowed to safely travel, also known as movement authorities. Equipment on board the train then enforces this, preventing unsafe movement. PTC systems may work in either dark (unsignaled) territory or signaled territory and may use GPS navigation to track train movements and radio links to report status and receive movement authorities. The American Railway Engineering and Maintenance-of-Way Association (AREMA) describes Positive Train Control as having these primary characteristics:

-Train separation or collision avoidance
-Line speed enforcement
-Temporary speed restrictions
-Rail worker wayside safety

The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) has listed among its goals, "To deploy the Nationwide Differential Global Positioning System (NDGPS) as a nationwide, uniform, and continuous positioning system, suitable for train control." The U.S. freight rail industry had said that at the end of 2018, the nation’s largest freight railroads were operating PTC across 83.2 percent of the required route miles.

Biography:

Armondo B. Garcia is an Associate Consultant for Omni-Strategy, LLC. He is a US Navy Veteran with over 16 years of Rail and Aerospace operational and manufacturing experience. Notable aerospace companies of experience have been with Northrop Grumman and SpaceX as a Quality Assurance Representative. Most recently was employed with Wabtec Corporation for over four years focusing on Positive Train Control implementation. Mr. Garcia is currently supporting Positive Train Control operations for MARC Train Service and other various railroad projects. He will soon be focusing on PTC Revenue Service Demonstration on MARC Train Penn Line Service.

Mr. Garcia lives in the Washington DC area with his wife and three young daughters. Originally lived in California for 32 years.

Address:Washington, District of Columbia, United States