Safetran Systems Corporation was an American company that manufactured

switch machine A point machine (also known as a point motor, switch machine or switch motor) is a device for operating railway turnouts especially at a distance. Overview In the earliest times, points were operated manually by levers. Gradually, these were cen ...

s, railroad wayside signal systems, rail transit signaling and rail-highway

level crossing A level crossing is an intersection where a railway line crosses a road, path, or (in rare situations) airport runway, at the same level, as opposed to the railway line crossing over or under using an overpass An overpass (called ...

active warning systems. The company was a major supplier of freight/commuter rail and transit signal systems with projects on CSX,

Norfolk Southern The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I freight railroad in the United States formed in 1982 with the merger of Norfolk and Western Railway and Southern Railway. With headquarters in Atlanta, the company operates 19,420 route miles (31, ...

Union Pacific The Union Pacific Railroad , legally Union Pacific Railroad Company and often called simply Union Pacific, is a freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Pac ...

BNSF BNSF Railway is one of the largest freight railroads in North America. One of seven North American Class I railroads, BNSF has 35,000 employees, of track in 28 states, and nearly 8,000 locomotives. It has three transcontinental routes tha ...

Canadian National Railway The Canadian National Railway Company (french: Compagnie des chemins de fer nationaux du Canada) is a Canadian Class I railroad, Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern United States, M ...

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous U.S. States and nine cities in Canada ...

MBTA The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (abbreviated MBTA and known colloquially as "the T") is the public agency responsible for operating most public transportation services in Greater Boston, Massachusetts. The MBTA transit network in ...

Metra Metra is the commuter rail system in the Chicago metropolitan area serving the city of Chicago and its surrounding suburbs via the Union Pacific Railroad, BNSF Railway, and other railroads. The system operates 242 stations on 11 rail lines. ...

, Metrolink,

Metropolitan Transit The Public Transport Corporation (PTC) was a Victoria State Government owned statutory authority formed under the Transport Act 1983 which operated passenger and freight trains, trams and bus services. The PTC was also responsible for directl ...

New Jersey Transit New Jersey Transit Corporation, branded as NJ Transit, and often shortened to NJT, is a state-owned public transportation system that serves the U.S. state of New Jersey, along with portions of New York State and Pennsylvania. It operates bus, ...

New York City Transit The New York City Transit Authority (also known as NYCTA, the TA, or simply Transit, and branded as MTA New York City Transit) is a public-benefit corporation in the U.S. state of New York that operates public transportation in New York City. Pa ...

SEPTA The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) is a regional public transportation authority that operates transit bus, bus, rapid transit, commuter rail, light rail, and electric trolleybus services for nearly 4 million people ...

Metropolitan Transportation Authority The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) is a public benefit corporation responsible for public transportation in the New York City metropolitan area of the U.S. state of New York. The MTA is the largest public transit authority in t ...

and others.

History

Safetran was founded in 1920Safetran history
on Invelsys Rail Group website (archived, 8 Oct 2011) when Safetran's predecessors started developing and fielding products for the growing railroad infrastructure (See

Timeline of United States railway history The Timeline of U.S.A Railway History depends upon the definition of a railway, as follows: A means of conveyance of passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, also known as tracks. 1795-1829 * 1795–96 & 1799–1804 or '05 &md ...

for details about the significant development of the United States' rail infrastructure.) Safetran previously owned Burco Services which provides warehousing, purchasing, packaging, pre-assembly and total "

logistics management Logistics is generally the detailed organization and implementation of a complex operation. In a general business sense, logistics manages the flow of goods between the point of origin and the point of consumption to meet the requirements of ...

" for construction projects. In July 1984,

Hawker Siddeley Hawker Siddeley was a group of British manufacturing companies engaged in aircraft production. Hawker Siddeley combined the legacies of several British aircraft manufacturers, emerging through a series of mergers and acquisitions as one of on ...

purchased a 40% shareholding. The company was headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky. Safetran was part of

Invensys Rail Systems Invensys Rail Group was a division of Invensys, a UK-based multinational engineering company. It was a designer, manufacturer and integrator of railway equipment, including automation, signalling and controls. The group was headquartered in Chipp ...

; however, Siemens acquired the rail company officially in April 2013. The whole

Invensys Invensys Ltd. was a multinational engineering and information technology company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It was formed in 1999 through the merger of BTR plc and Siebe plc. It had offices in more than 50 countries and its produc ...

company (excluding the Invensys Rail division that owned Safetran) was acquired by

Schneider Electric Schneider Electric SE is a French multinational company that specializes in digital automation and energy management. It addresses homes, buildings, data centers, infrastructure and industries, by combining energy technologies, real-time automation ...

in July 2013.

Significant applications

* The

Northeast Corridor The Northeast Corridor (NEC) is an electrified railroad line in the Northeast megalopolis of the United States. Owned primarily by Amtrak, it runs from Boston through Providence, New Haven, Stamford, New York City, Philadelphia, Wilmington, ...

of the United States utilizes hardware and software developed with the

Alstom Alstom SA is a French multinational rolling stock manufacturer operating worldwide in rail transport markets, active in the fields of passenger transportation, signalling, and locomotives, with products including the AGV, TGV, Eurostar, Av ...

corporation to offer an

Advanced Civil Speed Enforcement System Advanced Civil Speed Enforcement System (ACSES) is a positive train control cab signaling system developed by Alstom. The system is designed to prevent train-to-train collisions, protect against overspeed, and protect work crews with temporar ...

solution for

services along the Corridor. * The

Brighton park crossing The Brighton Park crossing is a major railroad crossing in Chicago, Illinois, hosting three major freight railroads. The crossing is northwest of the intersection of Western Avenue and Archer Avenue, in the Brighton Park neighborhood of Chicago ...

and Pershing Main interlocks utilize Safetran's

Grade crossing predictor Level crossing signals are the electronic warning devices for road vehicles at railroad level crossings. The basic signal consists of flashing red lights, a crossbuck and a bell (either a real bell or a speaker that mimics a bell sound), attach ...

hardware and software, modernizing one of

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

's many historic (and increasingly obsolete) crossings. * The city of Placentia, California implemented a Quiet Zone utilizing Safetran Grade Crossing Predictors, Wayside Access Gateways, Spread Spectrum Radios, and Home/Distant Link hardware and software. * Long Island Rail Road is implementing Safetran's Vital Interface Unit (VIUs) to implement

Positive Train Control Positive train control (PTC) is a family of automatic train protection systems deployed in the United States. Most of the United States' national rail network mileage has a form of PTC. These systems are generally designed to check that trains ...

(PTC) along the two lines which span Long Island as part of a consortium upgrade of signaling headed by

Bombardier Inc. Bombardier Inc. () is a Canadian business jet manufacturer. It was also formerly a manufacturer of commercial jets, public transport vehicles, trains, and recreational vehicles, with the last being spun-off as Bombardier Recreational Pro ...

and Siemens. The

is implementing Safetran's PTC as part of the need to upgrade the two largest commuter rail lines in the United States to increase locomotive speeds, provide additional train stations, and address the growing number of commuters.

Major United States offices

Marion, Kentucky Marion is a home rule-class city in Crittenden County, Kentucky, in the United States. It is the seat of its county. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 3,039. The farm communities surrounding Marion are home to a large Amish popula ...

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the List of United States cities by area, largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the co ...

Rancho Cucamonga, California Rancho Cucamonga ( ) is a city located just south of the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains and Angeles National Forest in San Bernardino County, California, United States. About east of Downtown Los Angeles, Rancho Cucamonga is the 28t ...

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana borde ...

Lee's Summit, Missouri Lee's Summit is a city located within the counties of Jackson (primarily) and Cass in the U.S. state of Missouri. It is a suburb of Kansas City, Missouri. As of the 2020 census its population was 101,108, making it the sixth-largest city in bo ...

Safetran Traffic Co

The Colorado company named "Safetran Traffic" shares the same company logo as Safetran the rail supplier company, however while the two companies shared a common history, Safetran Traffic split from the parent Safetran Corporation, operating independently. Safetran Traffic is part of the

Anaheim, California Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orange County, the 10th-most ...

-based company Econolite since 2006.Econolite and Safetran join forces
on Road & Bridges, August 1, 2006

References

External links

Official site
(archived, 25 Aug 2010)
Safetran Traffic
related company {{Railway signalling Hawker Siddeley Railway signalling manufacturers Manufacturing companies based in Louisville, Kentucky Manufacturing companies established in 1920 American companies established in 1920 Siemens