Wabtec Corporation has signed a $27 million contract with Parsons to provide equipment and services for the implementation of Positive Train Control (PTC) at Metrolink, a commuter rail agency that serves Southern California.

Parsons was awarded a contract in 2010 to manage and implement PTC across Metrolink’s 512-mile system.

Wabtec will provide its Vital Electronic Train Management System (V-ETMS®), including its Commlink® and Train Trax™ products, for 109 cab cars and locomotives.

In addition, Wabtec will provide back office engineering and systems integration support, as well as enhanced locomotive simulators. The project represents the first use of interoperable PTC equipment in the transit industry under the U.S. Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008, and Metrolink’s goal is to have PTC implemented system-wide by the end of 2012, three years ahead of the federal mandate. The Metrolink system will be fully interoperable with PTC systems being implemented by Class I railroads.

“We’re pleased to be working with Metrolink, Parsons and other industry suppliers on this important project,” said Albert J. Neupaver, Wabtec’s president and chief executive officer. “As PTC technology is deployed by other transit agencies around the U.S. over the next several years, Wabtec expects to play a significant role in the process.”

Wabtec Corporation is a global provider of technology-based products and services for rail and other industrial markets. Through its subsidiaries, the company manufactures a range of products for locomotives, freight cars and passenger transit vehicles. The company also builds new switcher and commuter locomotives, and provides. The company has facilities throughout the world.