Passenger Bus, Rail and Motorcoach Industry News

Follows the completion of extensive safety testing, the review of replacement parts, and inspections of the overall vehicle and railroad infrastructure by the FRA and the California Public Utilities Commission.

The agency hopes to receive replacement parts by late April and install and test them in May, but requires regulatory approvals before it can return any of its trains to service.

Launched in 2008, the SPRINTER has become the backbone of east/west public transit in North County, serving 15 stations along a 22-mile route from Escondido to Oceanside. The rail line has seen record-breaking ridership in recent months, with averages of over 10,000 passengers per weekday.

North County Transit District is adding the system to all COASTER trains, along the wayside, and in the control office. The Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008 requires fully functional PTC systems to be in place on railroads, such as the COASTER, by December 31, 2015.

North County Transit District Coaster commuter trains will go without the service while officials explore possible improvements.

North County Transit District’s computer-based safety project would help prevent disasters such as train collisions. The technology requires the use of fiber optic cable and other infrastructure.

The new service, offered by North County Transit District, is an effort to "make up" for some of the traditional routes that have been cut in communities including Solana Beach and Encinitas.

The new technology, developed with CooCoo Inc., a Huntington, N.Y.-based transit technology company, allows customers to use a credit or debit card to purchase a Coaster train ticket from a computer, smart phone or tablet. The Coaster commuter train runs between Oceanside and San Diego seven days a week with a weekday ridership of about 5,600.

In January 2011, NCTD awarded a contract to HTSI for the installation of a new train control management system and the provision of dispatch services for a 10-year period on the coastal rail line and the inland SPRINTER light-rail line that runs from Oceanside to Escondido.

The grant, which requires a 20% match, or $1,155,465 million in local TRANSNET funding, totals $5,777,325 million, enabling NCTD to purchase up to 12 CNG buses, replacing 12 older diesel coaches.