Safetran was founded in 1920[4] when Safetran's predecessors started developing and fielding products for the growing railroad infrastructure (See Timeline of United States railway history for details about the significant development of the United States' rail infrastructure.)
Safetran previously owned Burco Services[5] which provides warehousing, purchasing, packaging, pre-assembly and total "logistics management" for construction projects. In July 1984, Hawker Siddeley purchased a 40% shareholding.[6][7]
The company was headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky.[4][8] Safetran was part of Invensys Rail Systems; however, Siemens acquired the rail company officially in April 2013.[9]
The whole Invensys company (excluding the Invensys Rail division that owned Safetran) was acquired by Schneider Electric in July 2013.[10][11]
The city of Placentia, California implemented a Quiet Zone[12] 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 (PTC) along the two lines which span Long Island as part of a consortium upgrade of signaling headed by Bombardier Inc. and Siemens.[13] The Metropolitan Transportation Authority 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.[14]
The Colorado company named "Safetran Traffic"[15] 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.