Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART)

Improving rail operations and passenger satisfaction

The Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) rail system operates on the longest light rail network in the U.S. Along with The T commuter rail services and Trinity Railway Express, the train systems needed a better way to track trains and provide arrival times to passengers.

Project at a glance

163

light rail vehicles

33

commuter rail cars

4

streetcars

  • Automatic Vehicle Location (AVL)
  • Automatic Passenger Counting (APC) system
  • Planning and data management
  • Automated Voice Announcement (AVA) system to audibly announce rail station arrivals, departures, next stop and other customer-driven messages

The Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) Rail System boasts the longest light rail network in the United States. The system operates 72 miles of track and services an annual ridership of over 22 million. DART and the Fort Worth Transportation Authority (The T) also jointly operate 35 miles of commuter rail. The Trinity Railway Express (TRE) serves as the link between downtown Dallas and Fort Worth and offers service to DFW International Airport.

The task

Based on the agency‘s five-year strategic plan to focus on customer needs, strive for continual improvement and deliver quality service, DART pursued an operations control solution including INIT’s COPILOTpc, MOBILE-PLAN, MOBILEstatistics, MOBILEflow, MOBILE-APC, MOBILE-ITCS that would help them better manage their fleet and service their passengers. A primary goal w as to track trains throughout the city with greater accuracy than the existing Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system allowed.

Capture of train operational statistics such as precise arrival and departure times and passenger loads was a manual process, and other statistics like dwell times and door opening events were captured only by limited sampling. In addition to the difficulty with tracking and predicting train arrival and departure times, passengers onboard or at the stops relied solely on train operators to make announcements. Messages were not always articulated clearly, and making the announcements added to operator workload. DART needed a way to give passengers stop information consistently and with clarity – an important part of their approach to ensuring the safety and security of their passengers and employees.

The solution

DART partnered with INIT to provide a Vehicle Business System (VBS, operations control system) for their light rail network. The system would address the challenges faced by DART and assist them in achieving their strategic goals. A comprehensive fleet management system was purchased along with Automatic Vehicle Location (AVL) technology, Automatic Passenger Counting (APC) technology.

The results

By partnering with INIT, DART realized several advantages, not just on the operations side, but on the passenger side as well. The new system afforded them the tools to efficiently manage their light rail fleet and better serve their riders. Having real-time information available was a service improvement that ultimately increased passenger satisfaction.

For DART dispatchers, being able to track vehicles - above ground with GPS and through the tunnels via logical positioning - was a step towards safety and operational efficiency. This was accomplished through the on-board mobile data terminal where operators logged on to a block and trip, allowing them to communicate with the central operations control system. This communication - every 20 seconds via GPRS - gave DART dispatchers location information displayed right at their workstations inside the control center. The real-time ETA (expected time of arrival) could now be sent to the station signs for next train arrival information for the waiting passengers.

For train operators, the mobile data terminals gave them the ability to log on using a built-in card reader. From there, all timing information was displayed for each stop on the route giving the operator the correct information to help him or her know when to leave the station. For safety reasons, DART specified that the displays go dark while the vehicle is in motion to avoid operator distraction. As soon as the train stops at the station, the driver displays light up with all the necessary information.

On the passenger side, on-board announcements are generated through announcement files uploaded via WLAN to the trains. This allows riders to receive clear communications for their journeys.

The benefits

  • Safer and more efficient operations
  • Fast, reliable real-time passenger information
  • Accurate passenger counting data
  • Detailed information for train operators

Contact

Andreas Rakebrandt

Business Development Director

INIT Inc

Virginia/USA

Contact
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