After D.C. Crash SEPTA Scans Its Signals
By PAT DOLENTE
Updated 3:33 PM EST, Wed, Jul 22, 2009
Safety first.
That’s the idea behind SEPTA’s latest inspections.
With the possibility that the deadly Metro crash in D.C. was caused by a possible signal malfunction, SEPTA planned to inspect automatic train-control signals on the Market-Frankford Line, Philly.com reported.
Alstom S.A., a French manufacturer of transportation equipment, manufactured the signals for both cities.
SEPTA officials plan to inspect all of the circuits on the 13-mile Market Frankford line, Michael J. Monastero, SEPTA's assistant chief engineer for communications and signals, said.
The circuits are inspected constantly, Monastero said, “and we've had no problem with those.”
But after the crash in D.C., as well as other signal problems in Boston, another city that uses Alstom S.A. signals, SEPTA decided to “go to DEFCON 3,” according to Philly.com.
Last month, the signals did not pick up trains along one section of Boston's Orange Line. Engineers noticed the problem and stopped using the system until they checked all of the circuits.
During the inspection, trains were dispatched by radio and Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority employees were posted at each station to signal trains that it was clear, according to Philly.com.
Monastero will join other engineers in Boston next week to discuss their Alstom signals problems.
But without knowing what exactly went wrong in D.C., transit agencies all over scrambled to make sure everything worked properly.
“Once we see the [National Transportation Safety Board] report, or even a draft, we'll know better what happened there,” Monastero said.
But those reports could take months.
First Published: Jun 26, 2009 2:40 PM EST
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