SF Bay Area: BART found a fix for the problem that caused 34,000 delays in a year

[marmar]

An atmospheric river roiling in the clouds this week presents a critical test for BART.

The rail system, famous for slowing, perceptibly, at any hint of moisture in the air, got a software upgrade last year that made it resilient to wet weather. Now trains can keep rolling at 70 miles per hour without fear of the wheels skidding, no matter how slippery the tracks get.

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“We realized we needed a solution,” BART spokesperson Alicia Trost said, noting how the agency’s rain protocol had affected its image and its on-time performance.

Before the fix, trains had to abruptly slow down whenever they reached an outdoor segment of track that had been exposed to storms, drizzle or even heavy mist. That meant dropping to 50 miles per hour in what would otherwise be a 70-mph zone, or to 36 mph in what would normally be a 50-mph zone. The wettest months could see upward of 7,000 train delays. Riders exchanged a tense joke that the fleet “must be made out of paper.” ..................(more)

https://www.masstransitmag.com/rail/news/55360460/ca-bart-found-a-fix-for-the-problem-that-caused-34000-delays-in-a-year