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The Rail Safety Improvement Act’s mandate that all U.S. railroads be positive train control (PTC)-compliant by 2015 isn’t lost on GE Transportation. The company is seizing the opportunity to introduce the Connection line of PTC-compliant products tailored for the rail industry.

Yesterday, GE announced the launch of the products and services, which are designed to allow for interoperability — as required by the rail safety act — by helping railroads with PTC compliance, including upgrades to locomotive onboard equipment, wayside devices, back office control centers and communications infrastructure, as well as installations and service.

The Connection line also will help railroads meet other PTC system requirements, such as the prevention of train-to-train collisions, over-speed derailments, incursions into established work zone limits and the movement of a train through a switch left in an improper position.

“With the Connection portfolio of products, our goal is to assist the railroads in complying with the mandate through simplicity of technology and speed of implementation, while leveraging their existing investments,” said Pierre Comte, president of GE Transportation Global Signaling, in a prepared statement.

GE also has created an online industry forum to enable railroads and suppliers to share information on PTC. Accessible at www.positivetraincontrol.com, the site includes Federal Railroad Administration rulings and best practices. In addition, GE developed a Web site, www.geptc.com, that will continually provide updated PTC information, the company said.