SFMTA awards contract to Hitachi Rail to implement CBTC on Muni
The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) has awarded a contract to Hitachi Rail to transform Muni with its advanced train control technology. Hitachi Rail will deploy its SelTrac™ communications-based train control (CBTC) technology across the entire 71-mile and 33-station network.
Hitachi Rail will expand the train control system to the network’s surface portions, providing a single system for surface and subway areas to regulate flow of vehicles throughout the entire system. The contract will also include a 10-year long-term service support agreement for ongoing support and maintenance, with an option for 10 additional years.
Hitachi Rail notes CBTC uses wireless communication between trains and infrastructure to operate urban transit and subway systems more efficiently and safely than conventional signaling. SelTrac™ will allow trains to run closer together, boosting capacity and revenue potential, allowing for more reliable, efficient and safer operations while supporting future growth.
According to Hitachi Rail, the Muni network is a unique transit system that features heritage vehicles, including cable cars, streetcars and light rail, operating both at street level and through underground subway connections. CBTC will modernize the train control technology across the entire fleet, including the historic vehicles.
“Modernizing the Muni network of light-rail Metro trains and historic streetcars with an industry leading signaling technology is an important step for the city of San Francisco. Hitachi Rail looks forward to expanding our long-standing partnership with the SFMTA by delivering our SelTrac™ CBTC technology to enhance mobility, sustainability and passenger experience,” said Hitachi Rail’s Director of Urban Rail Signaling Ziad Rizk.
“We’re grateful for the vision and foresight of the board of supervisors and former Mayor [London] Breed, who gave us permission to pursue a negotiated, long-range contract, and we’re eager to start our next-generation partnership with Hitachi Rail,” said SFMTA’s Acting Director of Transportation Julie Kirshbaum. "Hitachi Rail's product is the most technologically advanced we have seen. A major strength of their proposal was their thoughtful approach to applying their technology to San Francisco's unique challenges. Hitachi Rail will help the SFMTA deliver a project that improves daily rail service by improving Muni Metro reliability citywide."
The train control upgrade project is expected to finish in 2032.
