The $1.1 million system includes the installation of GPS antennas, cellular modems, specialized software and computers on all 53 light rail vehicles. Much like a car navigation system or the Google Navigation App, the Next Train Arrival system uses GPS coordinates to predict a train’s arrival time for each of the light rail vehicle’s destination routes.
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In addition to viewing LED platform signs at all stations, which display a train’s final station destination and arrival time for the next two closest trains, riders will be able to receive real-time information for up to the next four trains arriving by going to the agency’s myMTAtracker site on the Web or by using a mobile device.
Once at the website, light rail customers will have a choice of ways to view and locate live trains by using a simple schematic map or a Google map. Users need to just simply touch or hover over a station or moving train on either map and real-time information pops up.
The mobile website, specifically engineered for smartphones, will be viewable with any operating system including Android, Apple, Windows and Blackberry, as well as tablet browsers.
One of the most requested items from customers, Next Train Arrival technology is part of the MTA’s Transit Modernization Program — an all-inclusive strategic effort to improve public transit throughout the state. Light rail’s Next Train Arrival system will be followed by similar technology roll-outs for MTA local bus and Metro subway service scheduled to launch before the end of 2014.
The Denmark Station $2.3 million construction investment project includes a new 280-foot concrete boarding platform, built eight inches above the top of rail, for improved accessibility for passengers with disabilities and families with small children and much more.
Caltrain and its partners have implemented safety improvements at specific locations in response to known risk conditions, operational needs, and available funding since the agency’s founding.
On a recent episode of METROspectives, METRO Magazine’s Executive Editor Alex Roman sat down with Ana-Maria Tomlinson, Director of Strategic & Cross-Sector Programs at the CSA Group, to explore a bold initiative aimed at addressing those challenges: the development of a National Code for Transit and Passenger Rail Systems in Canada.
Competitive FTA grants will support accessibility upgrades, family-friendly improvements, and cost-efficient capital projects at some of the nation’s oldest and busiest transit hubs.
The 3.92-mile addition will soon take riders west beyond its current Wilshire and Western station in Koreatown, continuing under Wilshire Boulevard through neighborhoods and communities including Hancock Park, Windsor Square, the Fairfax District, and Carthay Circle into Beverly Hills.
Under the plan, all long-distance routes will transition to a universal single-level fleet, replacing today’s mix of bi-level and single-level equipment.
The milestone is a significant step toward modernizing the MAX Blue Line’s power infrastructure, one of the oldest components of the region’s light rail system.
