PORT AUTHORITY AWARDS NEW PATH SIGNAL SYSTEM CONTRACTS

New computerized signals will help increase PATH ridership capacity by 20% 28 October 2009 Fulfilling a commitment to the PATH rail system’s long-term growth, on 22 October the Port Authority’s Board of Commissioners authorized more than $340 million worth of contracts to help replace antiquated mechanical train controls on the 101-year-old system with state-of-the-art, computerised signals.

The overall signal project is expected to cost $580 million and is a major part of the Port Authority’s $3.3 billion plan to modernise the entire PATH system, an initiative that also includes a new 340-car train fleet and 10-car platforms on the Newark to World Trade Centre line. PATH trains transported nearly 75 million riders in 2008 and the new signals, in tandem with other improvements, are designed to add up to 20% capacity to meet the system’s future peak-time demands, in addition to increasing safety and reliability while reducing ongoing maintenance costs. Today’s largest contract, worth $321 million, was awarded to the Siemen’s Team for the design, manufacture and installation of the new signal technology, as well as the removal of the old system. Siemen’s Team is a consortium of Siemens Transportation Systems, Safetran Systems Corp. and D/A Builders, LLC. A $21 million professional management contract also was awarded to Booz, Allen, Hamilton Inc. to help oversee the signal project. Additionally, a $2 million contract was awarded to The Rail Safety Consulting, LLC, which will provide an independent assessment and certification of safety standards for the project. PATH’s current signal technology is a century old and still uses key equipment put into service between the early 1900s and the 1940s. Relying on obsolete components has made it difficult to obtain spare parts, resulting in rising numbers of repairs, costs and service delays. Conversely, the new system, called Automatic Train Control (ATC), uses technology in newly designed transit systems as well as replacement of signals in older systems, like New York City Transit subways and the London Underground. ATC coordinates train movements via a computer-controlled radio network. Following a Los Angeles Metrolink fatal accident in 2008, the Federal Railroad Administration proposed legislation to make FRA-regulated rail lines install “Positive Train Control” technology to prevent train collisions, avoid derailments caused by excessive speeds and protect rail workers in track right-of-ways. The ATC system being adopted and installed by the Port Authority meets the requirements of the FRA’s pending legislation. Signals will be replaced throughout the PATH line’s 43 track miles and 13 stations, while the new communications equipment also will be installed inside 130 of the new PATH railcars that have an operating engineer’s cab. The project is slated to start later this year with design and field assessments made next year. Installation of equipment is expected to be ongoing by 2011, with testing of the new signals in 2013. Old signals will be removed as the new system becomes operational, with the project slated to be finished in 2017, though ongoing logistics coordination must be managed carefully to ensure that date is met given all of the other upgrades going on concurrently inside the PATH tunnels. "Our region's economic future is tied to building modern, efficient mass transit systems and today's action helps us meet that vital need," said Anthony Coscia, the Port Authority's chairman. "Replacing PATH's century-old signal system with state-of-the-art technology will result in more capacity and greater reliability, enhance passenger safety and help reduce our carbon footprint." Christopher O. Ward, the Port Authority’s executive director, said, “The Port Authority’s action today will reduce PATH delays, increase the number of trains that can be run at any given time and improve overall safety and cost efficiency as we bring a century-old system up to 21st Century standards.’’ “The new, state-of-the-art signal system will mean a better ride for commuters by allowing trains to travel closer together, saving time and increasing capacity by 20%,” said Susan Bass Levin, the agency’s deputy executive director. “That extra capacity will mean fewer people in automobiles, resulting in reduced CO2 emissions.” - End - Note to Editors The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey operates many of the busiest and most important transportation links in the region. They include John F. Kennedy International, Newark Liberty International, LaGuardia, Stewart International and Teterboro airports; AirTrain JFK and AirTrain Newark; the George Washington Bridge and Bus Station; the Lincoln and Holland tunnels; the three bridges between Staten Island and New Jersey; the PATH (Port Authority Trans-Hudson) rapid-transit system; Port Newark; the Elizabeth-Port Authority Marine Terminal; the Howland Hook Marine Terminal on Staten Island; the Port Authority Auto Marine Terminal; the Brooklyn Piers/Red Hook Container Terminal; and the Port Authority Bus Terminal in midtown Manhattan. The agency also owns the 16-acre World Trade Center site in Lower Manhattan and is a partner in the Access to the Region’s Core tunnel project. www.panynj.gov For further information please call John Stanley or Simon Quarendon on 020 7839 2140 or email john@keenepa.co.uk.