Positive Train Control (PTC) has changed the safety landscape of the railroad industry forever. Since its federal mandate in 2008 (and taking much broader effect in 2015), it has gone from a compliance checkbox to a real-time automation system that saves lives and keeps freight and passengers moving across the country.

But here's something you might not hear enough:
PTC can't work unless its monitoring systems do.

If a trackside device fails, if an onboard router loses communication, or if a cabinet overheats without anyone knowing, the consequences (delays, fines, or even safety incidents) can be serious.

As we head into 2026, let's break down how PTC works, why it's so complex to maintain, and how you can build an infrastructure that keeps it online - without scrambling every time there's an issue in the field.

Your PTC System Relies on Thousands of Moving Parts

If you've worked in the rail industry for any length of time, you know that today's trains are far more than just metal and fuel. They're networked systems - closely integrated with GPS, AI, broadband communications, and field sensors. All these parts must work together, in real-time, to keep operations safe.

Let's walk through a basic overview of PTC operation:

• Trains transmit real-time data about location, speed, and direction.
• A centralized dispatch system checks this against movement authority.
• If a train exceeds limits or violates a restriction, onboard systems intervene - automatically.

That's a lot of moving parts:

• Onboard computers calculating real-time braking curves
• Remote sensors at track level (switches, transponders, signal states)
• Communications infrastructure using LTE, 5G, or private wireless
• AI software that assists with routing decisions and fuel efficiency

If any part of that ecosystem fails - whether it's a power loss at a trackside cabinet, a vandalized antenna, or a broken temperature sensor - your entire system can become unreliable fast.

And when we say unreliable, we don't mean "a little annoying." We're talking about:

• Loss of movement authority data
• Trains forced to stop or slow down
• Downtime penalties
• Loss of federal compliance

That's a big price to pay for something as simple as a failed battery or an unmonitored temperature spike. Unfortunately, even rare events happen sometimes. You need to detect them so that you can respond.

Danger Ahead!

Many rail operators still rely on minimal - or even reactive - monitoring at their remote PTC sites.

You might see setups like:

• One-way alerts that don't allow remote diagnostics or control
• Siloed systems for telecom, power, and security (each with its own login)
• Field techs having to physically drive out to investigate issues
• Little or no automation in how alerts are routed or escalated

This creates a few big problems down the line:

1. You Don't Know Something's Broken Until It's Too Late

If your equipment fails and you don't know about it, you can't fix it. And when PTC is down, it means train delays - or worse.

2. Your Field Teams Waste Time

Without smart monitoring, field crews get vague work orders like "Check this site" with no clue what's wrong. That means wasted truck rolls, longer MTTR, and higher labor costs.

3. Compliance Reporting Becomes a Nightmare

PTC systems have to meet strict availability targets. If your documentation is scattered across different systems - or worse, nonexistent - it becomes hard to prove that you met uptime requirements during audits.

4. You're Not Proactive

Instead of getting early warnings about rising temperatures, increasing latency, or deteriorating voltage, you only get notified after the failure happens.

That's not how a modern, AI-assisted safety system should operate.

What If Your PTC Network Could Monitor Itself?

Let's imagine something better - something that's already happening for major U.S. railroads.

Imagine a system where:

• You could get real-time alarms from every PTC site, even the ones in the most remote locations.
• Your team had a single dashboard that showed every sensor, every RTU, every system status - whether it's trackside or on the train.
• You receive automatic notifications when a site is overheating, a sensor goes offline, or a communications link drops.
• Your technicians have secure web and mobile access to see alarm states and even remotely reset equipment - without driving hours to the site?

That's what a good and modern remote monitoring solution delivers.

It's how you eliminate the "last-mile" blind spots that plague so many PTC rollouts. It's how you make sure the system you've invested millions into stays online and compliant.

DPS Telecom Provides Solutions for Positive Train Control

At DPS Telecom, we've spent more than 30 years helping clients monitor the critical infrastructure that makes their networks - and their businesses - work.

In fact, we've worked with major rail operators across North America to solve the exact problems we're talking about here.

NetGuardian RTUs: Rugged, Flexible, Built for Rail

NetGuardian Remote Telemetry Units (RTUs) are installed at trackside cabinets and other remote sites to monitor everything that matters in your PTC network.

These RTUs give you:

• 8 to 80 discrete alarm inputs - Monitor door sensors, power failures, smoke detectors, and more.
• Analog monitoring - Check temperature, humidity, and voltage levels.
• Control relays - Remotely reboot equipment or change configuration on the fly.
• Multiple LAN/WAN options - Choose from LTE, 5G, fiber, or satellite.
• Integrated Ethernet switch - Provide local LAN access to other devices.
• SNMP, Modbus, and legacy protocol support - Tie into your existing systems without expensive retrofits.

Whether you need a compact DIN-rail RTU or a 1RU high-density model, we've got a configuration that will fit your cabinet, your environment, and your budget.

Bonus: These aren't "off the shelf" units from a company that also makes HVAC systems. We design, build, and test these units ourselves, here in the U.S.

T/Mon LNX: One Master, Every Alarm

When you've got hundreds of sites, you can't afford to manage each one separately. That's where T/Mon becomes a helpful tool.

T/Mon LNX is your central alarm master system. It collects alerts and data from every NetGuardian (and even third-party devices) and brings them into one screen for your operations team.

Key features of this master station include:

• Protocol Mediation - T/Mon speaks SNMP, TL1, Modbus, and even proprietary formats. Mix and match as needed.
• Graphical Maps - Use T/GFX to view alarm status geographically, making outages easy to spot.
• Multi-Channel Notifications - Receive email, SMS, SNMP traps, or voice alerts. Choose whatever works best for your team.
• Escalation Scheduling - Make sure the right person responds, during the correct shift (based on the problem urgency), every time.
• Web + Mobile Access - Your team can get real-time visibility from HQ or in the field.

Together, NetGuardian and T/Mon create a complete, closed-loop visibility and control system that's purpose-built for large, distributed networks like Positive Train Control.

Monitoring a Remote Trackside Cabinet

Let's say you've got a track segment in the Midwest that includes:

• Two LTE-connected base stations
• Multiple track switches with sensors
• A solar-powered equipment cabinet
• A fiber-optic backhaul link to dispatch

You install a NetGuardian RTU inside the cabinet to monitor:

• Power supply status
• Battery voltage
• Internal temperature
• Door access sensors
• Signal switch status via discrete inputs

That RTU will report alarms via SNMP over LTE and fiber to your central T/Mon server. If the temperature starts creeping above your threshold - or the battery voltage drops due to cloudy weather - you get an instant alert. That way, you dispatch techs before a shutdown occurs. This prevents delays and guesswork.

5 Benefits You Get from Good PTC Monitoring

Some of the real-world improvements our rail clients see are:

1. Faster Incident Response
   Know exactly what's wrong and where - before a train has to get delayed or suffers a major incident.
2. Fewer Truck Rolls
   Many issues can be handled remotely via relays or remote configuration changes.
3. Simplified Compliance
   Centralized logs and reports help you prove uptime and availability metrics to federal regulators.
4. Improved Safety Continuity
   Avoid blind spots that can lead to operational hazards or safety system downtime.
5. Lower Total Cost of Ownership
   Avoid surprise failures, reduce emergency repairs, and optimize labor usage.

Make Your PTC Network as Reliable as the Trains It Protects

You've invested millions into Positive Train Control - and you've probably seen firsthand how effective it can be.

But you also know that complex systems need smart support to cover the basics of backup power and communications infrastructure.

Let's make sure your PTC network stays online, monitored, and protected.

• We'll help you design a monitoring strategy that gives you total visibility.
• We'll guide your team through hardware selection and deployment.
• We'll customize dashboards, maps, notifications, and protocols to match your environment.

Call DPS Telecom at 1-800-693-0351
Or email us at sales@dpstele.com

Let's talk about your PTC project and get you the tools to keep it online, safe, and resilient - 365 days a year.