Metra Board greenlights new GPS tracking and passenger information system contract
The Metra Board of Directors approved a contract with Clever Devices Ltd. for a new state-of-the-art GPS tracking and passenger announcement system aimed at improving the passenger experience.
Metra noted that 20 to 30 percent of its current trains do not track due to failing GPS units, which means the trains do not trip automated platform announcements and do not appear in Metra’s tracker or GTFS feed, preventing Metra workers from providing real-time updates. Glitches in the system also sometimes result in incomplete, unintelligible or repetitive announcements.
Metra CEO/Executive Director Jim Derwinski says the new system will be a major upgrade and will carry out a variety of tasks currently handled by two separate systems originally installed in 2006 and 2010.
“It will enable us to do a better job of tracking trains and conveying timely, accurate information to our customers, and it will address some of the common sources of complaints about our communication efforts," explained Derwinski.
The new system will be used to track train movement, report a train’s adherence to the schedule, make onboard and platform announcements, send digital information to onboard and platform signs and communicate operational changes and alerts to customers. It will entail a new communication network with a complete replacement of all hardware, including computers, GPS units, modems and other components that are no longer supported or past their useful life or capacity.
The $26.7 million contract also call for a test on 11 cars of an automatic passenger counting system that uses cameras in the entrances. If the test is successful, Metra would have to decide whether it wanted to expand the system to replace or supplement its current manual counting of riders at stations.
Mischa Wanek-Libman | Group Editorial Director
Mischa Wanek-Libman is director of communications with Transdev North America. She has more than 20 years of experience working in the transportation industry covering construction projects, engineering challenges, transit and rail operations and best practices.
Wanek-Libman has held top editorial positions at freight rail and public transportation business-to-business publications including as editor-in-chief and editorial director of Mass Transit from 2018-2024. She has been recognized for editorial excellence through her individual work, as well as for collaborative content.
She is an active member of the American Public Transportation Association's Marketing and Communications Committee and served 14 years as a Board Observer on the National Railroad Construction and Maintenance Association (NRC) Board of Directors.
She is a graduate of Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism and Mass Communication.
