GE wins All Aboard Florida signaling contract

Written by Jenifer Nunez, assistant editor

All Aboard Florida (AAF) has selected GE Transportation to design and manufacture signaling equipment for the entire length of the 235-mile rail corridor connecting Miami and Orlando. The passenger-rail project is scheduled to begin initial service from Miami to West Pam Beach in late 2016.

 

AAF is investing $1.5 billion to improve existing railway and, where needed, build new track in advance of launching its service. GE Transportation will provide a signaling system that includes upgrades to grade crossings in the corridor, effective communications with approaching trains, a system for triggering gate openings and closings and regulation of train-crossing times. As a result, AAF’s trains will clear grade crossings in less than 60 seconds, less time than vehicles stop for a traffic light. GE’s communications-and-engineering enhancements will be fully integrated into the service’s corridor-wide Positive Train Control system. These improvements build on a safety system in place now for existing trains operated by affiliate Florida East Coast Railroad, which worked closely with AAF in this selection process.

“This project introduces advanced communications and engineering improvements in an existing rail corridor that wouldn’t be possible without the investment from this project,” said AAF President Mike Reininger. “It’s significant that we’re awarding our first major infrastructure contract for the project to GE. It should attest to how highly we prioritize safety in the corridor.”

Teams at GE Transportation’s Melbourne and Jacksonville, Fla., facilities will take the lead on signal design and engineering. A second GE plant in Warrensburg, Mo., will manufacture the equipment.

Once service is inaugurated, AAF will connect Florida’s two most popular travel destinations in less than three hours. Its express trains will traverse south and central Florida, making intermediate stops in Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach. Construction has already started at both stations, as well as at MiamiCentral in downtown Miami and Orlando
International Airport in Orlando. The new rail service is expected to remove approximately three million vehicles from the region’s highways.

 

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