TTCI to open new testing, training facilities in Colorado

Transportation Technology Center Inc. (TTCI) last week announced it’s establishing an independent training and ontrack testing facility in Pueblo, Colorado.

The facility will be capable of meeting the needs of today’s rail industry and testing tomorrow’s transportation solutions, said officials at TTCI — a wholly owned Association of American Railroads subsidiary — in a press release. The announcement marks the beginning of the implementation of test track and training infrastructure that will be operational in 2022, they said.

Located on the PuebloPlex facility in Pueblo County, TTCI's new facility is designed to serve as the epicenter for research, testing and training services. Extensive planning and scheduling activities are underway, TTCI officials said.

The new location at PuebloPlex also offers expansion opportunities. The site will feature a high tonnage loop for accelerated service testing, curve negotiation loops, as well as additional track infrastructure to support AAR certification testing. The new facility will also house a security and emergency response training center (SERTC), the organization’s fully immersive hazmat response training facility.

SERTC’s new campus will feature modern equipment and enhanced training scenarios to better serve the emergency response community. First courses at the new facility will begin in early 2022.

"With this new, independent site, TTCI will make targeted, strategic investments in key, cutting-edge equipment and facilities to support the industry in a way we never could before," said TTCI President and CEO Kari Gonzales.