Siemens leads consortium to upgrade PATH signaling system

Port Authority Trans-Hudson Corporation (PATH) has placed an order worth $321 million with a consortium led by Siemens Mobility for the design, manufacture and installation of a new Communication-based Train Control System. Upgrading the PATH system to CBTC will increase the system's throughput to meet future peak time demands, in addition to increasing safety and reliability while reducing ongoing maintenance costs. The project is due to be completed in 2017.

The PATH rail system is
over 100 years old and connects New York City and New Jersey. Running from both
Newark and Hoboken in New Jersey to the World Trade Center and Herald Square in
Manhattan, the network includes two tunnels under the Hudson River. PATH
operates 24/7, running its trains on a total of 43 track miles and connecting
13 stations. With reconstruction under way for the World Trade Center site,
forecasts project that the daily volume of 240,000 passengers will increase to
290,000 riders per day.

PATH is undergoing an
upgrade to ATC using Communication-based Train Control technology. CBTC will
reduce the distance between trains and, in tandem with other improvements,
passenger capacity is expected to increase by up to 20 percent.

In addition, the consortium
will provide and install a state-of-the-art conventional signaling system. To
implement CBTC technology, specialized computer and communications equipment
will be installed on many of its rail cars. Siemens will supply its Trainguard
MT CBTC equipment for 130 of the 340 new railcars currently being procured by
PATH. An option exists to equip up to 90 more cars. Coupled with equipment to
be installed along the tracks, the system will allow trains to run more closely
together.

In addition to this
increase in capacity, a new Siemens-provided train supervision system will help
PATH operate more efficiently and know exactly where each train is located in
its rail network.

The Siemens-led consortium
includes Invensys Rail Corporation (formerly Safetran Systems) and D/A
Builders, LLC, a joint venture between Daidone Electric of Newark, N.J., and Aldridge
Electric of Libertyville, Ill.