Metro is preparing to roll out a new radio system for its railcars that officials said will help eliminate tunnel “dead zones” where operators are unable to communicate with the agency’s control center.
Metro bought the new $73 million Motorola radio system in 2000, but the agency and the company have been unable to get it to perform up to standard in the underground parts of the rail system.
“The whole intention was to get a very robust system that’s better than what we currently have,” Metro rail chief Dave Kubicek said. “That’s why it’s taking time — I’m not going to accept dead zones.”
Metrobuses and transit police already use the Motorola system, but transit police switch their radios to the old system’s frequency when they go underground, he said.
Kubicek said Metro engineers and Motorola employees have been aggressively testing the new system underground for the past year, and officials are now comfortable that it is ready to go.
“Have you seen the Verizon commercials?” Kubicek asked. “It’s like that — we literally have those people walking around in the field and they’re calling in on the radio asking, can you hear me? Can you hear me?”
Metro’s newest fleet of 184 railcars, called the 6000 Series, was ordered with radio panels that are compatible with the Motorola system but not the agency’s current radio network because officials believed the new system would be in place by the time they arrived, Kubicek said.
Operators who drive 6000 Series railcars use handheld radios to communicate with the operations control center instead of the radios on their train consoles.
Metro’s board of directors is expected to approve a measure today to order new radio control panels that are compatible with the Motorola system for the agency’s 900 older railcars.
Metro should complete the process of ordering and installing the new panels in about two and a half years, Kubicek said.
