Is BART AATC equipment in use?
Just curious...are the wayside radio beacons and train mounted receivers installed for the AATC project currently in use for train control? I've noticed that some of the receiver antennas on top of the trains have been upgraded with a new, sleeker style, so I take it they are in use for something. Also, I noticed recently that there is no wayside equipment that I could see south of Daly City and on the L line. Was this equipment omitted because it wasn't deemed necessary at the time or was it to be added in a later phase that was cancelled? Or is it there but different from that on the older parts of the system?
Sadly, AATC is not, nor has
Sadly, AATC is not, nor has it ever been in use. The system was shelved about 6 years ago when the contractor, GETS(General Electric Transportation Systems) failed to deliver a viable product. BART sued GETS for $80M for failure to perform, and the suite was recently settled out of court for $50M. The new antennas you're seeing on top of some cars belong to 'WiFi Rail'. The objective is to provide wifi service district-wide for every train. The system has been working for about 5 years now for free in certain stations (the first 4 downtown SF) and now the Trans-Bay Tube. www.wifirail.com