QNS&L Railway CTC Upgrade
- Installed and commissioned a new electronic CTC system
- Changed out all CTC bungalows
- Replaced all signals on the line
PNR Railworks upgraded QNS&L’s centralized traffic control (CTC) system, which was more than 50 years old, to a new electronic system along the entire 250-mile line.
PNR RailWorks served as a subcontractor to Union Switch & Signal (now known as Ansaldo STS) to install and commission the new electronic CTC system. The Signal division changed out every CTC bungalow and intermediate bungalow and replaced all the signals on the line.
All work was completed while maintaining the existing signal system in service. The project was completed over a two-year period in 2007 and 2008.
The line’s remote location in northern Quebec presented a range of logistical and communications challenges. Because there was no road access, all materials were transported to the project site by rail cars. Communications were limited to the existing railway line.
PNR RailWorks performed work over two, five-month summer seasons, before and after extreme snow and cold in the fall and spring. Employees lived in movable camps along the railway and were confronted with seasonal pests.
