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ASAP Funding Helps Transit Agencies Accelerate ADA Improvements at Legacy Rail Stations For SFMTA, the grant funding plays a critical role in bringing accessibility to surface rail stations while freeing up resources to strengthen system resilience.
A look at how agencies across the U.S. are making adaptations to infrastructure and operations to protect against flooding, extreme heat and coastal erosion.
Utilizing AI, machine learning to detect trespasser hotspots
▶ AI and machine learning that detects railroad trespassers off ers benefi ts and potential to improve overall safety for all rail users. MassTransitmag.com/55318271
VDC set to transform delivery of rail transit infrastructure
▶ Stakeholders should embrace a unified digital methodology for the design, construction and operation of major rail projects in North America. MassTransitmag.com/55318828
How PPPs and innovation are accelerating transit fleet electrification in North America
▶ Creative partnerships can help reduce project costs and mitigate risks. MassTransitmag.com/55318852
How bus fleets can deploy AI-enabled video surveillance
▶ AI advancements off er predictive capabilities and easier fleet management. MassTransitmag.com/55318823
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Yes, Your Agency Has a Brand. Are You Investing in It?
Whether you’re prioritizing it or not, all transit agencies have a brand, informing how your riders and community should think and feel about you.
What is a brand? It’s more than a color palette, a logo, a catchy slogan or even the marketing campaign you developed. Think about a commercial. They’re not just selling you a product, they are trying to hook you on a concept, a feeling. Take insurance commercials—some leverage the feeling of safety, others lean into relatability or even peace of mind. Car commercials (I know, I know) frequently try to capture the feelings of freedom, adventure and independence.
But if you really want to understand what I’m talking about, perfume commercials are the essence (see what I did there) of selling a feeling. After all, how do you sell a scent through a TV screen? Some brands have models galivanting through city centers, others traverse through deserts, fields of flowers or isolated beaches. Each setting is carefully crafted to curate the exact aura that brand’s scent is trying to embody. When you go to purchase a particular scent, you’re saying, “I relate to that. That seems like me.” The company has successfully sold you their product because of how they made you feel. That’s branding, and no, it’s not a bad thing.
What does this have to do with transit, and why should you care? How people feel about you leads into how they think about you. And how your community and stakeholders think and feel about you establishes your reputation. When it comes to providing a service, your reputation is one of the most important assets you have.
Here’s the thing: Whether you’ve defined it or not, you already have a brand. The good thing is that it’s a two-way street. Branding can be managed; it’s up to you on how actively you shape it. How do you do this? It’s about consistency, clarity and authenticity. Branding requires that you establish core values, a voice and a visual identity. While there are several subcomponents to each, these three pillars lay the foundation.
The beautiful thing about having an established brand is that you can then focus on visibility—where the impact becomes clear. When you have an informed direction, you will know what to say, how to say it and who to say it to. For instance, during the annual American Public Transportation Association’s TRANSform conference in Boston, I was chatting with a transit agency leader. They were catching me up on their own rebranding initiative. While it was a big undertaking, their brand is uniquely them—setting them apart from agencies across the country while authentically representing the community they serve. The result? People thought there was new or expanded service, but not a single route change or vehicle was added. The difference was that people were noticing the buses, not just because of the refreshed bright and bold colors, but because the look and feel resembled the community. The branding resonated with them.
Your brand isn’t a static thing you never revisit—it should shape every story you tell. If you’re struggling to “tell your story,” then it may be because you’re unsure of your brand. A brand is the foundation for all communication, whether it’s marketing, advertising, media relations or public relations. Before you jump into your next big campaign or story pitch, take a moment to ask yourself, how will this content make my audience feel and is that in line with our brand.
Whether you’ve defined it or not, you already have a brand.
“ ”
m perrero@ masstransitmag.com
( 603) 891-9454
linkedin.com/in/ m egan-perrero
Megan Perrero, editor in chief
People & Places
ZEMU begins passenger service on Metrolink system
A Zero Emission Multiple Unit (ZEMU), a hybrid hydrogen fuel-cell battery-electric passenger train, began Metrolink service on Sept. 13, serving riders on the nine-mile Arrow Corridor of Metrolink’s San Bernardino Line in the city of San Bernardino, Calif. The train had undergone testing since June 2024 to ensure compliance with Metrolink systems and guidelines set by the Federal Railroad Administration for hybrid hydrogen fuel-cell battery-electric passenger trains.
MassTransitmag.com/55315497
Station.
Sound Transit’s Federal Way
Link Extension to begin passenger service Dec. 6
▶ Sound Transit will begin service on the Link 1 Line to Federal Way on Dec. 6, 2025. The 7.8-mile Federal Way Link Extension includes three new stations in South King County, Wash., serving
Kent Des Moines, Star Lake and downtown Federal Way. During peak hours, the agency notes trains will operate every eight minutes. The new Federal Way bus loop connects King County Metro, ST Express and Pierce Transit buses directly to the station, providing fast and reliable light rail connections to South King and Pierce counties.
MassTransitmag.com/55313567
Pasadena Transit to transition nearly half of its bus fleet to zero emissions in 2027
▶ The Pasadena Transit fleet is set to receive 17 hydrogen fuel cell electric buses that will start service in spring of 2027 after the Pasadena Department of Transportation received council authorization for the purchase. Once active, nearly half of
Pasadena Transit will be replacing its current natural gas buses with hydrogen fuel cell buses for its standard routes and battery-electric buses for its Dial-A-Ride service.
Photo: 60397329 | Dreamstime
Pasadena Transit’s fleet will be zero emissions. Pasadena Transit already has one battery-electric bus in its fleet, with its first zero-emissions bus to join the Pasadena Dial-A-Ride ride fleet later this year.
MassTransitmag.com/55314828
Denver RTD launches on-site testing for East Colfax BRT
project
▶ The Denver Regional Transportation District (RTD), alongside the city and county of Denver, have begun on-site testing for the East Colfax Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project at one of its new center-running platforms. The agency notes the project, located along East Colfax Avenue, will bring faster, more accessible transit to thousands of riders who rely on traveling one of Denver’s busiest corridors daily. The segment features five miles of center-running BRT from Broadway Street to Yosemite Street. The city of Aurora, Colo.’s, portion includes three miles of side-running BRT from Yosemite Street to Colfax Station. MassTransitmag.com/55315506
Overview of the Stadler FLIRT ZEMU tested at the Transportation Technology Center prior to delivery to the San Bernardino County Transportation Authority.
Photo: Stadler
A Sound Transit train crossing Star Lake
Photo: Sound Transit
Denver RTD, alongside the city and county of Denver, have begun on-site testing for the East Colfax BRT project at one of its new centerrunning platforms.
Photo: Denver RTD
Government of Ontario breaks ground on first of three stations for Scarborough Subway Extension
▶ The government of Ontario has broken ground on the first of three stations for the Scarborough Subway Extension. When complete, the 7.8-kilometer (4.8 mile) extension of the Toronto Transit Commission’s Line 2 subway service will accommodate more than 10,000 passengers and facilitate over 7,000 transfers during rush hour. A new bus terminal with passenger pickup and drop-off spaces will allow riders to transfer between buses and the new extension. The extension aims to be completed by 2030 and will accommodate an estimated 105,000 daily trips, reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 10,000 metric tons annually.
MassTransitmag.com/55314811
Amtrak launches NextGen Acela trains
▶ Amtrak has launched its NextGen Acela trains on the Northeast Corridor. With a 27% increase in passenger capacity and top speeds of 160 mph, the new trains can usher more people between Washington, D.C., and Boston in just over six hours. The 28 Alstom-built trains are the first new premium high-speed trainsets to operate on the Northeast Corridor since Acela’s debut in 2000. The new trains feature wider walkways and doors, wheelchair accessible seating areas, in-seat reading lights and free 5G-enabled Wi-Fi.
MassTransitmag.com/55313270
A rendering of Scarborough Center Station’s entrance interior.
Photo: Government of Ontario
The NextGen Acela will traverse the Northeast Corridor, running from Washington, D.C.’s, Union Station to Boston’s South Station while reaching a top speed of 160 mph in some segments.
Photo: Noah Kolenda | Mass Transit
North Central Regional Transit District (NCRTD)
Nicholas A. Sofoul , AICP, a Mass Transit magazine 2025 40 Under 40 awardee, has been appointed as the new executive director of NCRTD, effective Oct. 31. Sofoul will succeed longtime Executive Director Anthony Mortillaro, who is retiring after more than a decade of leading the NCRTD Blue Bus system. Sofoul will guide the district as it embarks on new initiatives, including the development of a rural rapid transit network and the transition to low- and zero-emission vehicles. MassTransitmag.com/55316185
Denver Regional Transportation District (RTD)
Denver RTD has named Patrick Preusser its next COO. Preusser most recently served as COO of the Utah Transit Authority and has held senior leadership roles with the city and county of Honolulu Department of Transportation Services, TriMet and the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority. He also managed national passenger rail programs for the Federal Railroad Administration. He serves as a member of the American Public Transportation Association’s (APTA) Rail Transit Operating Practices Working Group and Bus Operations Committee.
MassTransitmag.com/55313271
Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA)
Santa Clara VTA has appointed Nauni Singh as its next COO. Singh has spent 26 years at the agency, beginning as a coach operator in 1999. He advanced through nearly every level of transit operations, including light-rail operator, transportation supervisor, assistant superintendent of service management, transportation superintendent of Guadalupe light-rail division and deputy director of transit operations. Singh has been instrumental in preparing for light-rail service to Super Bowl LX and the 2026 FIFA World Cup. He is a Leadership APTA Class of 2023 graduate with a bachelor’s in geography from Punjab University, India.
MassTransitmag.com/55313271
Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA)
The MARTA Board of Directors appointed MARTA Chief Legal Counsel Jonathan Hunt as interim general manager and CEO of the authority following the retirement of Collie Greenwood on July 17, 2025. Hunt has worked in MARTA’s legal department for almost 12 years and was named chief legal counsel in 2024. Prior to joining MARTA, Hunt served as assistant city attorney for the city of Atlanta, representing among other entities, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. He also serves as president of the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) Legal Affairs Committee and sits on the national board of APTA.
MassTransitmag.com/55311665
The redesign implements a new rush service, making local stops in distant Queens neighborhoods before making express connections to transit hubs. Photo: MTA
MTA fully implements Queens bus network redesign
▶ The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) announced the full implementation of the Queens bus network redesign, the largest bus redesign in the country and one of the most comprehensive service changes in MTA history. The second and last phase began Sunday, Aug. 31, and Sept. 2 marked the full implementation of the redesign. The first phase, with nearly two thirds of the changes, launched on June 29. The new bus network includes 124 routes, consisting of 94 local and 30 express routes, a net increase of 11 routes from the existing network and a $33.7 million annual investment to operations.
MassTransitmag.com/55313893
CUTA’s annual ZEB Readiness and Procurement Survey shows growing readiness for Canadian public transit agencies to transition fleets to ZEBs
▶ The Canadian Urban Transit Association (CUTA) has revealed results of its annual ZEB Readiness and Procurement Survey. This year’s survey introduced new questions to better capture technical specifications and assess the impact of evolving policy factors, including U.S. tariffs. According to the survey, there is growing readiness among Canadian transit systems to transition to ZEBs while also highlighting short-term
shifts in procurement strategies. The survey notes that nationally reported readiness rose by about 15%, with every region outside Ontario describing higher confidence in their ability to move forward. Several agencies that were once only researching ZEBs have advanced to planning or early implementation stages.
MassTransitmag.com/55315836
MORE NEWS AT A GLANCE
▶ New Jersey Transit has exercised a contract option with Alstom for the purchase of 200 additional multilevel rail cars to replace aging Comet II, IV and V single-level cars.
MassTransitmag.com/55315833
▶ The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority selected FlatironDragados to build the Southeast Gateway Line and Link Union Station to enhance rail traffic efficiency and expand access to safe, reliable transit.
MassTransitmag.com/55314202
▶ Calgary Transit has awarded a contract to Nova Bus to produce 120 LFSe+ fully electric city buses for the agency.
MassTransitmag.com/55309484
▶ Trillium Rail Partners was selected by Infrastructure Ontario and Metrolinx to deliver the stations, rail and systems for the Eglinton Crosstown West Extension.
MassTransitmag.com/55313578
▶ Hitachi Rail opened its new, carbon-neutral lighthouse factory in Maryland that will deliver railcars throughout the region.
MassTransitmag.com/55315188
Photo: CUTRIC
MBTA Creating A Better Passenger Experience
With more than 300,000 people per weekday taking a Massachusetts Bay Area Transportation Authority (MBTA) bus for work or leisure activities, the MBTA is one of the most heavily populated transit systems in the U.S., with ridership growing by approximately 12% from January 2024 through January 2025 across all modes, according to the MBTA’s Performance Metrics Database.
A dedicated bus lane at St. James Avenue in Boston.
Photo: Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority
Experience with Bus Network Improvements
The Better Bus Project is improving service with dedicated tra c lane infrastructure for buses and modernized transit facilities for riders.
BY BRANDON LEWIS, ASSOCIATE EDITOR
Part of the reason for the growth in transit ridership is due to MBTA overhauling its bus network, known as the Better Bus Project. MBTA first launched the program in 2018, with the goal to improve service, install bus lane infrastructure and modernize transit facilities as buses account for 40% of the agency’s ridership.
Improving the bus experience
According to MBTA Director of Transit Priority Alex Hallowell, the Better Bus Project is the first project the MBTA has launched that puts specific funding and effort exclusively towards buses. Hallowell notes the project has four key initiatives:
1. Make the bus an easy choice for riders.
2. Make buses go when and where riders need them to go.
3. Make riding the bus a reliable experience.
4. Make bus stops comfortable, accessible and safe.
As part of the Better Bus Project, the MBTA has begun to redesign its bus network, with the goal of offering more frequent service in heavily populated neighborhoods and providing all day service. In December 2024, the agency launched Phase 1 of the redesign, which included six route changes in Chelsea, Everett, Revere, Malden, Somerville, Cambridge, Allston, Brighton and East Boston, as well as new connections to the Red, Orange, Green and Blue rail lines and Boston Logan International Airport.
Hallowell notes improving frequency throughout MBTA service areas was the first step of the project.
“We’ve done a lot of service promotions [throughout the Boston area],” Hallowell noted. “Service is now operating from 5:00 a.m. to 1:00 a.m., seven days a week, at least every 15 minutes, and that makes bus transit in particular just a much easier choice.”
The agency does not have a set timeline for a Phase 2 of the project and says routes will continue to be adjusted through seasonal service adjustments. According to the agency, a new phase will be introduced when needed.
Transit Priority Vision
MBTA’s Transit Priority Vision is part of the Better Bus Project that aims to install infrastructure and technology improvements to speed up bus service. It details the most congested areas in which the MBTA operates by what the agency describes as “persons hours of delay.” This pinpoints exactly where riders are stuck in traffic using CAD/AVL that tracks buses to develop a dataset, showing the agency how travel times change over the course of time during the week.
In a statement to Mass Transit magazine, MBTA’s Deputy Press Secretary Lisa Battiston said, “We generally get a
An aerial view of the Columbus Avenue bus lanes in November 2021.
Photo: Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority
sense of what good performance looks like by looking at early morning/late night service when there is relatively little traffic delaying our buses. Comparing different periods of the day against that baseline demonstrates how much we expect traffic to impact service. We pair this delay factor with our passenger counts, weighing the delay of the bus service by the number of people impacted. The corridors with the highest passenger delay are what we used to generate our Priority Vision.”
The 26 most congested areas identified by the Transit Priority Vision represent 80% of the agency’s ridership, but the areas only cover between 10 and 15% of the MBTA service area.
To help address these congested areas, the agency has a Bus Priority Toolkit that outlines available Transit Priority Vision designs and technological tools. According to the agency, the most common Transit Priority Vision options are:
• Dedicated bus lanes
• Shared bus/bike lanes
• Center-running bus lanes
• Transit signal priority (TSP)
• Queue jumps
• Fixed guideways
“The
corridors with the highest passenger delay are what we used to generate our Priority Vision.”
Lisa Battiston, Deputy Press Secretary, MBTA
MBTA has started implementing bus lanes as part of the Transit Priority Vision at the 2nd Street project in Everett and Chelsea in the westbound direction as part of the service changes that took place in December 2024.
Traffic Management Center
Transit Priority Vision is monitored at the Traffic Management Center, which is managed by the Boston Transportation Department (BTD) and enables more accurate detection and response to bus timing needs with traffic signal technology.
Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority
At the beginning of this year, MBTA and the city announced their intentions to upgrade the Traffic Management Center to integrate MBTA bus locations into real-time traffic signal adjustments. At the time of the announcement, MBTA attributed the upgrade to the Traffic Management Center as an important piece to speed up transit-related traffic delays; although the traffic signal software had a positive impact, up to 50 percent of transit delays still consisted of waiting at red lights in signalized intersections.
“We said, ‘Let’s look at this not as vehicle throughput, but as moving people, and the best way to move people through these corridors is creating a protected space for buses.’”
Nick Osbourne, Public Information Officer, BTD
TSP
MBTA and the city worked with BTD’s traffic signal vendor, Control Technologies, Inc, to update the Traffic Management Center to help speed up bus service delayed by red lights. The company LYT deployed its machine-learning TSP technology to track and predict bus locations. The updates took place during 2023 and wrapped up in early 2024.
According to BTD Public Information Officer Nick Osbourne, the MBTA and the city of Boston have been running a three-intersection, one-year proof-ofconcept test since July 2024 to make sure the TSP technology would function properly. Osbourne notes the test is along Brighton Avenue at the intersections of Allston Street, Harvard Avenue and Linden Street, improving reliability on the 57 and 66 bus routes. The routes have approximately 15,000 daily riders each, and both are in the top 10 for highest ridership throughout the MBTA service area.
Osbourne says the testing phase has had some setbacks.
“The server needed to be upgraded to support the new technology; resolving communications issues between the MBTA and the city’s systems and addressing compatibility concerns to ensure the upgraded TSP could integrate smoothly with both existing traffic signal infrastructure and MBTA bus systems,” Osbourne noted. “These technical hurdles had to be worked through collaboratively to enable a stable and effective deployment.”
A dedicated bus lane in Arlington, Mass.
Photo:
According to Osbourne, since the server upgrades, buses traveling through the corridor spent 21% less time waiting at red lights on average and arrived at a green light 5% more often, which has resulted in buses saving an average of 16 seconds per arrival time for a combined total of 110 minutes saved each weekday.
Bus lanes and queue jumps
The agency has begun installing bus lanes throughout many cities in the area, including Cambridge, Somerville, Chelsea, Everett and Brookline. Along with the bus lanes, the MBTA has also installed queue jumps, which allow buses to use dedicated lanes to dodge rows of traffic and lights on roads, making the bus a safer and faster mode of transportation than a car.
“When we would be having discussions within our team about transit, our goal was to create a space for people,” Hallowell noted. “We said, ‘Let’s look at this not as vehicle throughput, but as moving people, and the best way to move people through these corridors is creating a protected space for buses.’”
According to Hallowell, the queue jumps don’t take up a lot of space on the road, approximately a couple parking spaces. The agency has also deployed bus-only peak hour lanes in some areas to speed up service. Hallowell says they are mostly used during rush hour.
“What’s great about peak hour lanes is we can take some of that area for cars and give it to a bus lane, but only during a peak period, and then that lane reverts to other needs for the community during the hours buses don’t need them. We can make those projects more effective and more politically viable when there’s a lot of competing needs on the roadway,” Hallowell said.
Future projects
Hallowell says that by 2030, MBTA is hoping to complete many Transit Priority Vision projects that are currently under construction. For instance, the Tremont/Columbus Project will extend the existing bus lane on Columbus Avenue a mile north, giving better transit access and reliability for
220,000 daily riders.
MBTA and the city are also working together on the Blue Hill Avenue Transportation Action Plan, which will redesign the corridor between Warren Street in Grove Hall and River Street in Mattapan Square. The redesign aims to save riders up to 10 minutes a day.
All the changes that have already taken place have affected Hallowell’s personal life.
“My service went from maybe every 20ish minutes during the week and maybe every half an hour, even 45 minutes on Sundays to every 15 minutes seven days a week,” Hallowell noted.
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For SFMTA, the grant funding plays a critical role in bringing accessibility to surface rail stations while freeing up resources to strengthen system resilience.
BY MEGAN PERRERO, EDITOR IN CHIEF
Nearly four years ago, the All Stations Accessibility Program (ASAP) was signed into law as part of the Infrastructure Investments and Jobs Act, marking the rst time federal competitive grant funding was exclusively dedicated to making accessibility upgrades at legacy passenger rail stations. e program, championed in part by Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), has played a major role in bringing legacy
SFMTA has been using a cast-in-place approach to install wheelchair ramps at surface stations.
Photo: SFMTA
By transitioning from the typical cast-in-place approach, the precast method aims to dramatically reduce transit impacts during these projects.
Photo: SFMTA
passenger rail stations into compliance with Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) standards. The program is authorized to award $1.75 billion through 2026. Since fiscal year (FY) 2022, the program has awarded over $1 billion to help finance projects supporting accessibility improvements.
In a few short years, it seems ASAP funding is already having an impact. As reported in Mass Transit’s 2025 Passenger Rail Trends report, 2023 National Transit Database (NTD) Transit Stations data revealed 45% of legacy stations are not ADA compliant compared to 55% that are compliant. This is an improvement from NTD’s 2022 numbers, where 47% of legacy rail stations were not ADA compliant compared to 48% that are compliant.
ASAP jumpstarts station accessibility efforts Duckworth agrees that ASAP funding has played a “big part” in getting many of these projects done, especially for transit
agencies that simply lacked the funding to get started.
“I think ASAP really jumpstarted a lot of these stations. They had plans in place, and they were just not able to get the funding for it and by having the dedicated revenue streams...they were able to execute right away,” Duckworth said.
The program funding is reserved for agencies and government entities that operate legacy rail fixed guideway systems and can only be used to either:
• Repair, modify, improve, retrofit or relocate station or facility infrastructure used by passengers; or
• Develop or modify plans for accessibility projects, accessibility assessments or assessments of upcoming changes to passenger stations or facilities.
For example, funding has allowed Metra to reconstruct a platform, add a pedestrian tunnel and upgrade its audio and visual communication displays at one of its stations. The Maryland Transit Administration is using its funding to draft plans and complete environmental activities for the upcoming renovation of its Martin Airport Station. The New Orleans Regional Transit Authority is applying its funding to help redesign and upgrade its St. Charles streetcar route, including finishing the design and construction of ADA-compliant stops.
SFMTA pilots quick-build approach to construct accessibility improvements
The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) has also benefited from ASAP funding, having received over $4.6 million as part of the FY 2024 project awards to add new platforms, wheelchair ramps and other accessibility improvements on eight stops along various light-rail lines.
Erin McAuliff, SFMTA’s acting director of accessible services, echos Duckworth’s insight on how the program funding has expedited the agency’s ability to bring its stations into ADA compliance. The stops that were awarded funding fall outside of the agency’s 41 “key stations,” which have all been modified to meet ADA compliance. Instead, they fall within “2nd tier” lo-
cations that should be prioritized a er the key stations are addressed. Of the 15, seven second tier stops have been built. Once the project is completed on the J-Church Line, over half of the second tier locations will be ADA compliant.
“ e ASAP funding really is critical there because it helps us address those stops and stations much faster than we would without the additional funding,” McAuli said. “We’ve been using local funding for a lot of these projects, and the ASAP funding just helps us close the gap much faster than we would otherwise.”
In addition to the grant’s eligibility requirements, SFMTA used current ridership levels, proximity to key destinations, distance to the nearest accessible stop and coordination with existing Muni Forward projects as guidelines to identify the ve stops on the J-Church Line and three stops on the M-Ocean View Line to undergo station upgrades.
“We have several wheelchair accessible ramps that we intend on adding to
This rendering depicts how SFMTA plans to establish the ramp grade after the installation of precast elements.
Rendering: SFMTA
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This rendering shows the final ramp following the new quickbuild approach.
Rendering: SFMTA
either existing non-accessible islands or to brand new transit islands that we’ll be installing on those projects,” said Ben Volberding, SFMTA project manager, Planning & Project Delivery. “The ASAP funding will give us even more ability financially to add these accessibility features on these projects.”
“The approach we’re pursuing right now is to use precast concrete in lieu of the traditional cast-in-place concrete,” Volberding said. “So the plan is that we would be able to kind of piecemeal build these accessible ramps away from the rail, and then during non-revenue hour periods, so during overnight operations, be able to drop in these kind of segmented pieces of the accessible ramps, so that the transit impacts are just limited to taking that given stop out of service during construction.”
With this method, a contractor would create precast concrete U-shaped elements that city crews would then drop in on the transit island at a rail stop after service hours. Crews would then add in the slope line for the ramp after marking the grade within the precast elements. A horizontal support piece would then be installed to support the platform. Volberding explains that in this process, they would be able to control the grade of the walkway and platform “without needing to be 100% dialed in on the levelness of the island itself.”
“We’re intending on piloting this here, hopefully in the next six months or so, at the first location on the M Line that’s identified in the ASAP grant,” Volberding said.
If all goes smoothly, Volberding wants to roll this out on all Muni Foward projects he oversees.
see in without leaving
Just as important to making the stops accessible is ensuring the disruption to service is minimal. To accomplish this, Volberding explains the agency is considering an alternative construction method specifically for installing wheelchair accessible ramps. The goal of this method is to drastically reduce, or completely eliminate, transit impacts associated with installing wheelchair ramps and platforms at above ground stations.
The ASAP funding really is critical there because it helps us address those stops and stations much faster than we would without the additional funding.
Erin McAuliff, acting director of accessible services, SFMTA
“Ideally I think we would see it become the new standard for our accessible ramps on our surface-level transit islands,” Volberding explained.
Adding redundancy to underground station accessibility
While SFMTA is working to bring all of its legacy surface rail stops into ADA compliance, the agency is concurrently building redundancy into its underground Muni Metro rail stations.
For example, SFMTA is currently working on adding an additional elevator at its Castro Station. The agency is in the final phase of installing a tempered glass elevator, which was chosen so that station agents can see into it from their booth. Christian Kalinowski, SFMTA
The new elevator at Castro Station will be enclosed in tempered glass, so that station attendants can easily
their booth.
Photo: Megan Perrero | Mass Transit
project manager, Planning & Project Delivery, explains while this station was on the list to receive accessibility improvements, it was also prioritized because the surrounding walkways weren’t ADA compliant. That led to the project having a larger footprint, extending beyond the immediate infrastructure of the station and into the surrounding plaza area.
Kalinowski explains before the project, buses dropped off riders on the Market Street level, which has a relatively steep slope with no proper path between the buses and the station.
“Part of our project here is also to regrade the area where the buses will drop off, so that somebody in a wheelchair or somebody who just has to use a cane... they could go from the bus right into the elevator,” Kalinowski said. “Then they could take that elevator down to the concourse of the station.”
The project broke ground in the fall of 2023 and looped in the community early on. It was their feedback during the design phase that led SFMTA to regrade the area for the improved bus path. Kalinowski emphasizes that the public can still provide input, noting community feedback is “an ongoing thing.”
Though the project has taken a couple of years, Kalinowski shares the community for the most part is understanding. The project length is in part due to the same goal of reducing service disruptions and keeping the station in service.
“We want to maintain that access for them at all times,” Kalinowski said. “Sometimes that will limit us to overnight working windows when our trains aren’t running.”
However, unlike Volberding’s hope to roll out a repeatable construction approach for wheelchair ramps, Kalinowski explains when it comes to designing for elevators, each site is unique and project specific.
“We have a general idea about how we should construct elevators, but each site is definitely unique because we have different platform height, or do we need a bridge here or there,” Kalinowski said. “Sometimes if we’re building inside of a building, we wouldn’t do a glass enclosed elevator inside. That also changes quite
a bit with the structure or what kind of weights you need to support.”
Ensuring connectivity beyond the station
Whether it’s installing new accessibility features or building in redundancy,
SFMTA ensures the project footprint extends beyond the immediate station or transit island. Connectivity is crucial to ensure access; the newly installed elevator at Castro Station wouldn’t have been as usable without regrading and repaving the sidewalks and paths.
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Kalinowski explains the city of San Fransico has a building code that requires any city department or private contractor doing work adjacent to curb ramps to construct them according to standards and specifications that ensure ADA compliance. Volberding shares they take the same approach when working on transit islands, coordinating with the public works team on surveying existing ramps and reconstructing where needed to meet ADA standards.
“Some of these projects where we have long corridors of transit improvements we’ll have [many] curb ramps, so we’re developing a working process with public works to go out kind of proactively early in design and do the evaluation of these ramps,” Volberding said.
These types of connectivity improvements between sidewalks and stops or stations are exactly where Duckworth hopes to continue investing in.
“If you’re stuck at the sidewalk, and you can’t go anywhere, then that doesn’t
I don’t want this funding to bring us up to accessibility today and say we’re done...
Sen. Tammy Duckworth
do you any good,” Duckworth said. “It’s that connecting the different modes of transportation so that somebody who takes a train into the city can get out of the train station, have a viable sidewalk that will connect them to the bus stop or will connect them to a bike path.”
As Congress starts discussions on the next Surface Transportation Reauthorization, Duckworth shares her plans to look into allocating money for overall accessibility and connectivity between transportation modes. She says another $2 billion is needed for the second five years, noting ASAP is a 10-year project. She also wants to encourage transit agencies to look beyond the physical infrastructure.
“I think right now, correctly, the operators are actually doing the physical upgrades, but I do think that there are other upgrades that are not just about wheelchair ramps and elevators that also need to be fixed that will make these stations more accessible,” Duckworth said. “I think that there are things that could be done for people with vision impairment, for people with cognitive disabilities, especially when it comes to ticketing stations [and] the ticketing machines—all of that can be worked on.”
The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) and the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) have each outlined their own set of priorities for the next iteration of surface transportation funding. While USDOT wants to prioritize accelerating project delivery and reforming permitting, APTA wants to focus on driving economic growth and streamlining collaborative decision-making. For Duckworth, she wants the transit industry to plan for the future.
“I don’t want this funding to bring us up to accessibility today and say, okay, we’re done for another 35 years, right? We need for future upgrades to be easily upgradable,” Duckworth said. “It may be as part of the architecture or engineering to think into the future. We’ve got the money to do this, but this is what the next phase would be if we had the money and do some future planning as well.”
Regardless of the amount that is authorized or the potential project requirements that would be eligible for funding in a future ASAP grant, McAuliff stresses “how critical” this type of funding is, especially in this current period of “financial uncertainty.”
“The more financial support we have for these sorts of one-time projects means we can do more of them, or it helps us continue to deliver on that commitment, so it was really exciting to see the ASAP program and see that commitment to just providing really critical services to our city,” McAuliff concluded.
Adapting Infrastructure CLIMATE RESILIENT
A look at how transit agencies across the U.S. are making adaptations to infrastructure and operations to protect against flooding, extreme heat and coastal erosion.
BY NOAH KOLENDA, ASSOCIATE EDITOR
to be RESILIENT A
s heavy precipitation events become more frequent and severe, average temperatures continue to increase and sea levels rise as glaciers melt and ocean volumes burgeon due to rising water temperatures, weather-related impacts to public transit systems have become more commonplace, requiring resiliency e orts to sustain passenger service.
Multiple transit systems have grounded to a halt because of infrastructure designs that weren’t built to withstand the current climate conditions, though agencies have begun work to target these problems and keep systems running.
ese issues pose costly as not only must agencies endure the emergent cost to restore service at the time of incident, but also due to the lost revenue from riders that can’t utilize these services during down events.
While the issue of climate change impacts all agencies, the products of the severe weather it produces poses unique challenges for each of them. From New York City’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) subways and buses ooding multiple times during heavy rainfall, to Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) having a heat-related derailment and service slowdowns during heatwaves and Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) having service suspensions as coastal erosion caused by storm surges impact its coastal rail line, these systems host individual problems that require region and weather-type speci c solutions.
Coastal erosion and bluff slides: An update on OCTA
OCTA has suspended passenger rail service along the portion of the Los Angeles – San Diego – San Luis Obispo (LOSSAN) corridor due to a combination of debris from the blu side of the track
OCTA placed 2,500 cubic yards of sand along the coast in midSeptember to better protect the rail from storm surge.
Photo:
Photo: Orange County Transportation Authority
OCTA plans to add a total of 540,000 cubic yards of sand nourishment pending local and federal permitting approval.
and from track destabilization from coastal erosion on the coast side of the track.
OCTA Communications Specialist Eric Carpenter describes how the agency is breaking down the resiliency e orts to keep passenger service going without interruption in the future.
“We have identi ed four, what we call hotspots, that we want to address before they become a problem, and at the same time, we’re leading a study that looks at trying to preserve the rail line in place for roughly the next 30 years,” Carpenter said. “Beyond that, we’re working with the state of California to look at a longer-term study that would look at solutions for generations to come.” e agency’s approach is two-fold:
1. Contain landslide debris that may continue to fall o the privately-owned blu s above the track.
2. Reinforce the coast below to ensure the track remains in place and is better protected from storm surge.
For the blu s, OCTA is creating a 1,400-foot catchment wall that will stretch from the El Portal Beach access point to Linda Lane. e wall will be a permanent structure that’s designed to complement the coastal landscape. Construction of the catchment wall began on Sept. 15, 2025, with an estimated completion date in the summer of 2026.
For the coast, OCTA has begun the process of sand nourishment along North Beach in San Clemente. e agency placed approximately 2,500 cubic yards of sand between the rail line and the ocean in mid-September—a move the agency calls a “deposit” on a larger e ort to reinforce the coast. Its overall goal is to add a total of 540,000 cubic yards of sand along the San Clemente coastline, pending further state and federal permitting approvals and the sourcing of that volume of sand.
OCTA has kept the community involved, hosting a multitude of public meetings that allowed the public to share their opinions on the project.
Photo: Orange County Transportation Authority
“One thing we heard repeatedly during our community meeting is about the importance of sand,” Carpenter said. “People are really concerned about the coastal erosion, and they want to make sure that sand is part of any solution for protecting our rail line.”
The agency is taking the opportunity now not only to protect and conserve the rail line’s usage, but also because of the financial benefit of acting. While this nourishment project will cost $900,000, the agency notes it’s an investment in the future.
“What we found is that once it becomes an emergency, it’s always the worst case in terms of having to pay for emergency repairs, and the more we can plan for this in advance, the better it is economically,” Carpenter said. “Ultimately, our goal as a transportation agency is to make sure this rail line continues to run, and it’s run pretty much uninterrupted for 125 years.”
Carpenter stresses the agency is learning as it goes as it deals with the unprecedented times that are generating emergencies that the agency wasn’t anticipating even as recently as 10 years ago.
Rain related flooding: An update on MTA
As the largest subway system in North America, the MTA is often the most noteworthy example when flooding on public transit occurs, like MTA experienced in mid and late July 2025. These floods forced several subway lines to skip stops, reroute or cancel service altogether because of unusable track and station flooding. Bus services were also impacted as operators drove through streets that were quickly flooding.
The flooding results from a lack of adequate drainage required from storms that are more significant than when the subway and sewer systems were created. The city’s sewer system and the subway’s drainage system, which were built more than 100 years ago, are designed to handle 1.75 inches of rainfall per hour, as noted in the city’s Climate Resiliency Roadmap. However, the storms that caused the flooding in July produced rainfall totals that exceeded 2.5 inches per hour. That system is also not just handling storm runoff; it’s a combined sewer system that handles wastewater as well.
To handle this, the MTA has begun implementation of a multi-pronged approach outlined in its roadmap that engages multiple city agencies to prevent major infrastructure downtimes.
The implementation will come in two forms:
1. Keeping water out of the subway system.
2. Better methods for removing water that still invades.
The phase of keeping water out begins with better waterproofing of subway tunnel walls with a long-term grouting program coupled with tunnel inspections and spot grouting as needed. Further, the agency is working to improve sidewalk-level protections at stations most prone to flooding with measures such as more significant safeguards for vent batteries that aid in keeping water out and examining new mechanical vent closures that could replace those systems altogether.
In removing water that still enters, the MTA is working to upgrade or rehabilitate aging pump rooms at priority sta-
tions where possible, as well as expanding capacity at stations with the most significant needs. It’s also working to decouple direct connections between its track and vent drains from the city sewer system while increasing the capacity of constrained vents where possible. Finally, the agency is working to implement a stormwater retention and
OCTA is procuring the sand from Palm Springs, Calif., to minimize the distance for importing it.
Community members urged the agency to make any resiliency plan include sand nourishment.
Photo: Orange County Transportation Authority
detention system that would allow that water to be held until it can be safely discharged without overwhelming drainage systems.
The MTA also faces challenges above ground, both with at-grade and open cut subway infrastructure and in the streets its bus network operates on. To address the subway infrastructure challenges above ground, the agency seeks improvements like increased pumping capacity while also bolstering programs that keep drains clear in preparation for torrential rain events.
Regarding bus operations, the agency notes in its roadmap that 95% of bus routes encounter at minimum one street that experiences stormwater floods during torrential rain, an issue it intends to combat through partnerships with the New York City Department of Environmental Protection and the New York City Department of Transportation. In the short term, these measures will include alternate route planning, so buses may still proceed with service during rainfall events. In the long term, MTA is considering permanent route and stop changes to keep buses off the most impacted streets while working on other at-grade and sidewalk-level improvements.
In a statement to Mass Transit magazine, the MTA expressed its continued efforts at making the system resilient, referencing its plans of mitigation and its commitment of funding.
“The MTA is working harder than ever to invest in climate resilience to protect the largest transit system in North America from coastal storms and torrential rainfall,” an MTA spokesperson said in a statement. “…We’ve committed $700 million in flood protections as part of the 2025-2029 Capital Plan, which will fortify more parts of the system from the increasing effects of climate change.”
Extreme heat challenges: An update from BART
BART has seen a share of heat-related issues to its system, ranging from general passenger discomfort to aging equipment that can overheat and cause service delays, extreme heat causing sun kinks—an impact of high temperatures that causes tracks to bend or become distorted—and a partial derailment the agency says was heat related.
To remedy these situations, BART has been making strides to address heat-related impacts to passengers and service. For instance, BART has created a weather guide to alert riders on how the heat can impact BART services.
“This [guide] helps riders to learn more about how weather can impact BART. BART runs trains at reduced speeds during extreme heat events. This is common practice for rail systems with open-air tracks across the world,” said BART Communications Officer Chris Filippi. “BART is very transparent with riders when we run trains at reduced speeds, and we issue BART service advisories and make announcements, so people know what to expect.”
Dictating those reduced speeds are temperature sensors the agency has implemented along its rail tracks. They allow BART to keep tabs on temperatures and reduce speeds should they exceed 115 degrees; a threshold the agency has set in an effort to prevent heat-related derailments.
BART is also taking steps to prevent heat-related expansion before the track is even laid.
“BART rail is heat-treated prior to installation, which allows for thermal expansion of the rail,” Filippi said. “However, when there are sharp rises in ambient temperatures, the thermal forces exerted on the rail increase, making it possible for the rail to expand beyond its designed temperature.”
The agency has also accented these preventive measures with increased BART crew inspections in the most heat-prone areas to ensure passenger safety and to protect its infrastructure through extreme heat events.
The impacts on ridership patterns from extreme weather
A recent study conducted by the University of Oregon examined the ridership patterns of transit systems across 48 U.S. cities over an 18-year period (stopping at the end of 2019 to not have COVID-19 ridership reductions impact the data) in comparison to extreme weather patterns to see how ridership was affected during extreme weather events.
Principal researcher and Associate Professor of Disability Studies Nicole Ngo, Ph.D., notes her team found reductions in ridership across all studied weather types: very hot days, very cold days and days with heavy precipitation.
“We find this trend pretty consistent over time, especially for very cold days and on very rainy days, but more recently, there’s sort of a stronger effect when the weather is very hot,” Ngo said.
While the study could only compare ridership totals on a monthly basis due to available data, it did see drops in ridership in months with additional very hot or very cold days above the baseline. Further, when an area experienced a heat event—a four or more day period with temperatures above the 90th percentile for the area—ridership impacts were greater for each additional day than for single day events of extreme heat. The researchers saw decreases of .14% of the mean unlinked passenger trips (UPT) per capita from the baseline of three UPT, which is the average number of trips over the study period. This was an occurrence that increased from 2016 through 2019. The study also found that bus ridership was more sensitive to heat than rail ridership.
Throughout the study period, ridership levels were consistently
lower on days with heavy precipitation; ridership levels remained steady at these lower levels even as days with heavy precipitation became more common.
Heavy precipitation, defined as precipitation above the 90th percentile for an area, saw both bus and rail ridership decreasing during these events. The trend of bus ridership being more sensitive also continued, though the impacts did not become more severe with additional days of precipitation.
While Ngo says the overall effects are modest as “if you have to get to work, you have to get to work,” she acknowledged how this could have future impacts.
“Even though our study took place before [COVID-19], this could lead to concerns over future trends, especially as... these very hot days and cold days and days of heavy rain are expected to become more common,” Ngo said.
Climate change has impacted transit systems across the country, though how agencies manage those impacts differ due to their specific needs. The MTA and OCTA are actively piloting resiliency solutions to reinforce their systems. Resiliency efforts in other systems have shown fruitful. For instance, BART hasn’t seen a similar derailment event to the one it experienced in 2022 since it implemented heat-resistant solutions to combat its previous problems. While there’s no one-size-fits-all solution, resiliency efforts keep passengers moving and should continue to be at the forefront of current and future planning.
OCTA is constructing a catchment wall to keep debris off the track from the bluff above, slated to be complete in summer 2026.
Photo: Orange County Transportation Authority
Artificial Intelligence
Strategies to improve performance and safety
Four Best Practices for Using AI to Prevent Rail Trespassing
By Acacia Reber Director of Business Development ENSCO
TRESPASSING
REMAINS one of the leading causes of rail-related deaths in the U.S., creating safety risks for passengers, rail workers and communities. Traditional deterrents like signage, fencing, anti-trespass panels and enforcement are invaluable but impractical to have 100% coverage of the right-of-way. Advances in arti cial intelligence (AI) are giving transit agencies new tools to address this persistent challenge.
Want to learn more?
Based on recent research and testing at the Transportation Technology Center, here are the four best practices transit leaders can apply when considering AI-enabled trespass detection and prevention.
Read Samantha Kirkpatrick’s full online article, How AI is Combating Rail Trespassing, at MassTransitmag. com/55318271
Best practice 1: Start with data-driven
hotspot analysis
Agencies should identify trespassing hotspots using a mix of historical incident reports, physical evidence and mobile data analytics. e latest AI enables mobile data to be utilized to identify trespasser hotspots that would otherwise go unnoticed until it’s too late. is ensures limited resources are focused on the areas where trespasser prevention technologies will deliver the greatest impact.
Best practice 2: Funding for trespasser prevention
With tight budgets, obtaining funding for trespasser prevention infrastructure and technology is a challenge. Many grants from the Federal Railroad Administration and Federal Transit Administration provide a means for agencies to obtain funds
to help reduce trespasser causalities.
Best practice 3: Prioritized implementation
It’s impractical for any agency to have 100% coverage of anti-trespasser infrastructure. However, by leveraging AI-identi ed hotspots with proper funding, a transit agency can prioritize locations to make improvements in areas that will have the greatest impact to reducing trespassing.
Best practice 4: Post-upgrade assessment
Following the implementation of anti-trespasser infrastructure and technology, the same AI technology to identify trespasser hotspots can also be used to assess if the upgrade obtained the desired e ect. is ensures that the anti-trespasser measures were able to prevent the occurrences and not have them move to a di erent location.
Conclusion
AI is not a silver bullet, but it is a powerful tool to make rail corridors safer and reduce trespassing incidents. Transit leaders who take a thoughtful, data-driven approach can move from reactive measures to proactive prevention.
My Co-Founder is AI: A Playbook for the Modern Transit Agency
By Stephen Kuban Founder and CEO Kuban Transit Solutions
I COULDN’T HAVE started Kuban Transit Solutions (KTS) on my own ve years ago, but my digital co-founder has made the impossible possible: arti cial intelligence (AI) is a force multiplier that makes it easier than ever to deliver excellence. e transit agencies that adopt it now will be the ones who come out of this administration further ahead.
Today, AI helps me break inertia by eliminating mental context switching, enabling me to stay focused in the strategy or execution role I need at any given moment.
Establishing the strategy at the executive level
To build KTS, I rst had to create my north star: “Why does KTS exist?” Luckily for us, AI democratizes expertise in a way that has never existed before. I used it as my strategic consultant to help establish my di erentiated business plan. It performed deep market analyses, sourced academic reports and synthesized them into strategy frameworks that have become the core of the KTS mission.
Transit leaders face the same challenge in dening a clear direction amid tight funding, rising demand and stretched sta . Do what I did. Download every relevant industry report and ask AI to synthesize the proven solutions that match your city’s challenges. Feed it your strategic plans, ridership data and demographic data. e process is iterative—you can push back, re ne and challenge assumptions until you have a strategy that genuinely feels like yours.
Translating vision into action at the director level
e harder part is turning vision into action. In writing this article, I knew my goal was to inspire and empower agency leaders, but it wasn’t immediately clear how to tell a meaningful story. I used AI as my strategic sparring partner by literally talking while I was out on a walk. We debated
outlines and experimented with angles until the structure matched my vision before writing a word. Now imagine applying this to solving workforce development. You want to plan a driver recruitment campaign. You spar with an AI co-strategist to evaluate the best practices while considering your speci c community and goals. Together, you map out which channels are likely to yield the best results, rank them and dra timelines. In this way, you generate a powerful plan faster than you could before. When used e ectively, AI gets you out of the swamp of indecision and into the river of action.
My toolkit: WisprFlow for voice dictation, and all of Gemini, ChatGPT and Claude.
Amplifying your people at the execution level
e real value in AI comes from amplifying your people’s strengths, not in replacing them. For example, I’m a better speaker and editor than I am a writer. For this article, AI acted as my junior writer, turning my messy, voice-dictated transcripts into structured dra s, enabling me to be the editor re ning the message to my vision. Now, ip this model based on your individual strengths. Consider a communications coordinator who writes beautiful, engaging content but struggles with brevity. ey can dra content in their natural voice, then use AI as their editor while maintaining their unique voice. Every team member gets to focus on what they do best and use AI to ll out their skillsets. at means less time on personally energy-draining tasks (for me, those are emails), and more time spent leveling up work quality. e result is far more than e ciency—it’s a feeling of empowerment.
Unlike a static consultant report, the process is iterative—you can push back, refine and challenge assumptions until you have a strategy that genuinely feels like yours.
Stephen Kuban
My toolkit: Gemini for writing, Superhuman for emails, Claude Code for development, CapCut for videos, Nano Banana for images
The time is now
When we’re all using AI tools independently, we’re all operating at a higher level. at shared baseline is AI’s true power; it’s a force multiplier for the entire team.
e challenges facing transit aren’t getting easier. is new paradigm of tools is available right now to address them more e ectively than ever. e only investment required is your time and willingness to experiment with new approaches.
e playbook is yours. e time to start is now.
Products IN FOCUS: SAFETY & SECURITY
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In A Blink can help enhance security, boost efficiency and reduce energy consumption.
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View more products at MassTransitmag.com/directory
Electro Code™ (EC6™)
Electro Code 6 (EC6) is a track circuit that does not require adjustments. It uses secure, failsafe digital communication in the rails. EC6 performs well in poor ballast and noisy conditions over longer distances. It enables the end user to add their own custom data to the communications. Not only can it detect broken rails, but it has the ability to locate them. EC6 also provides real time ballast and rail resistance measurements as a useful indication of track health.
KB SIGNALING INC. www.rail.knorr-bremse.com/en/us/
Linear Motor Door Drive™
IFE Linear Motor Door Drive offers a compact, simple train door system. Its minimal moving parts and lack of spindles, gears, belts or moving wires can increase reliability and help reduce maintenance. The system requires no lubrication or routine upkeep, lowering lifecycle costs. Its compact, lightweight design uses powerful permanent magnets for more efficient performance. Each door leaf operates independently, ensuring continued operation even if one is blocked. Built for tough environments, it withstands dirt and dust with sealed electronics and durable mechanics. Easy-torepair components help reduce downtime, and dual-stage obstruction detection can enhance passenger safety, meeting strict industry standards.
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CubeControl
CubeControl, Knorr-Bremse’s next-gen decentralized brake control system, now supports regional, commuter and high-speed trains. Building on the legacy of EP2002, CubeControl offers reproducible braking distances (RBD), even in low adhesion, via advanced deceleration and wheel-slideprotection algorithms. The compact, underfloor-ready unit integrates direct EP brake control, cybersecure Ethernet communication, conditionbased maintenance and remote diagnostics. With over 130,000 units deployed globally, CubeControl helps ensure reliable, low-cost operation and can support autonomous train functions. Smart features include brake disc temperature monitoring, per-bogie control, long overhaul intervals and reduced spare part needs. Its lightweight, compact design optimizes space and enables fast installation and upgrades.
KNORR-BREMSE
www.knorr-bremse.com/en/
AFTC5™
AFTC5 is a highly configurable, jointless Audio Frequency Track Circuit. It operates between the interlocking and trackside AFTC equipment to generate and receive vital rate-coded carrier frequencies for train detection and generate rate-coded speed commands for the train. Additionally, AFTC5 generates and receives bi-directional nonvital train wayside communication signals. AFTC5 eliminates the need for discrete wiring due to Ethernet communications with other AFTC5 units and interlocking processors. Consisting of only three lowestlevel replacement units, AFTC5 can lower lifetime maintenance costs and replacement unit inventory is minimized compared to legacy systems. Preventative maintenance can be performed remotely on any PC connected to the signaling network.
KB SIGNALING INC.
www.rail.knorr-bremse.com/en/us/
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