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| Providing Automatic Train Supervision System for
New York City Transit Subway |
Project Description
Parsons is providing engineering support services to the MTA - New York City Transit (NYCT), Construction Management office, for the Automatic Train Supervision (ATS) system for the A Division.
Parsons is managing a multi-disciplined team for control center design and implementation to provide hardware and software engineering for the systems to be installed at the Rail Control Center (RCC) in midtown Manhattan. Parsons tasks include software process audits, monitoring contract compliance, review of design documentation, oversight during installation, performing and witnessing Factory and Field testing, and developing the technical documentation for additional work. The Parsons Team is also responsible for monitoring the system’s performance during the reliability and availability testing period.
Today’s NYCT subway system was created from three formerly separate transit systems: the Brooklyn Manhattan Transit (BMT), Interborough Rapid Transit (IRT), and Independent Subway (IND) and is now managed as two separate A and B Divisions. The ATS-A project is NYCT’s first attempt at centralizing their operations by co-locating all train control of the A Division with Command Center activities at a newly built Rail Control Center. Planning for this new train control system began in 1992 with goals of improving safety, service reliability, and operating efficiency.
The A Division encompasses approximately 175 of the 722 total track miles in the system, 156 passenger stations, 16 terminals, and the 2,558 rail cars assigned to meet revenue service. The ATS-A contractor is supplying a computer-based, fully integrated command, control, and communications system that will allow NYCT’s staff, previously managing operations from the command center at 370 Jay Street and 11 outlying towers along the lines, to have full monitoring and control of the railroad from the new Rail Control Center.
Key elements of the ATS-A project include interconnection with the existing NYCT backbone fiber optics network, remote telemetry from all field locations, multi-monitor workstations in the RCC for train dispatchers, supervisors and support staff, a digital light processing (DLP)-based overview display system, and an integrated communications switch to allow the radio, telephone and other systems to be accessed and controlled from the various workstations. The system fully integrates NYCT systems for data gathering and incident reporting with the new central traffic control functionality to permit increased safety, service reliability and operating efficiency.
Parsons has begun the next phase of design for NYCT by leading the design effort for an ATS system, which monitors and controls the B Division. Parsons is the lead designer in writing a Specification for procurement of the ATS-B System. Parsons will support procurement and provide engineering services during the construction of ATS-B.
Parsons is taking the lessons learned for the ATS-A implementation and integrating it into the design of ATS-B. In addition to the Centralized Traffic Control functionality of ATS-A, ATS-B will fully integrate Communications Based Train Control (CBTC), support Public Address/Customer Information Screen (PA/CIS) functionality, and provide a Unified Reporting System (URS) for all NYCT departments. Along with Parsons support for other major NYCT projects, contributions to ATS-A and ATS-B reinforce Parsons as the industry leader for Rail Transit Train Control and the future of Control Center technology.
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