Denton County Transportation Authority obtains $4 million PTC grant

The Denton County Transportation Authority (DCTA) has been awarded up to $4 million in grant funding to help with the Texas transit agency's implementation of positive train control (PTC) for its A-train service.

The DCTA's PTC project was among 28 projects in 15 states to be awarded a combined $203.7 million in Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) grants to assist with the cost of PTC deployment under the Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements (CRISI) program.

The DCTA has installed enhanced automatic train control (E-ATC), a type of PTC system that uses an underlying ATC system in conjunction with other features or systems to achieve the core required functions of PTC, agency officials said in a press release.

“Receiving this FRA grant is a huge win for the agency,” said DCTA Chief Executive Officer Raymond Suarez. “Not only does it enhance our PTC technology, but it provides needed funding for us to continue towards our goal of implementing PTC and entering revenue service by the deadline.”

The grant will enable the agency to implement cut sections, PTC programming changes, insulated joints, track circuit monitoring equipment, dispatch software/hardware integration with the E-ATC system temporary speed restrictions server, support training and testing along the A-train corridor.

DCTA is making "good progress" on its PTC testing and implementation, agency officials said. All signal and onboard equipment were installed by January, static testing has been completed and dynamic testing began July 22.