News item: New Jersey Transit approves Nextel for train crews

From trains.com:

Wireless direct-connect communication devices approved for NJ Transit crews

JERSEY CITY, N.J. - NJ Transit’s Board of Directors yesterday approved a
two-year contract with Nextel Communications to provide up to 1,500
wireless direct-connect communication devices for on-train employees.

The wireless equipment will allow the transit’s rail operations center to
communicate with employees on board trains without relying on radio relays
between dispatchers and engineers. The direct-connect feature will also
provide immediate communications between crewmembers who may be several
cars apart. The devices’ ability to do text messaging will allow crews to
receive train status and service issues that they can share with
passengers.

The devices are being distributed following an eight-week pilot program in
which they were tested by 30 crewmembers. The program is modeled after one
that has proven very successful on Chicago’s Metra system. NJ Transit plans
to begin distributing the wireless direct-connect devices by the end of the
year.

Copyright 2003 Kalmbach Publishing Company
All rights reserved.


----------------------------

The second sentence of the last paragraph is of special interest to me,
because I heard through an unofficial (and not necessarily reliable)
backchannel that they're investigating use of the Nextel as a possible
contributing factor in Metra's wreck last month which severely damaged one
brand new locomotive and totaled another. To wit, the engineer may have
missed the signal to slow down because he was looking at his phone in order
to call someone -- a call directly related to the operation of his train,
but requiring more attention than simply grabbing the handset of a 2-way
radio and pushing the PTT button.

--
David Streeter, "an internet god" -- Dave Barry
http://home.att.net/~dwstreeter
Expect a train on ANY track at ANY time.
"Hi. How've you been?" - Buffy
"Rat. You?" - Amy
"Dead." - Buffy
"Oh." - Amy

---

› See More: News item: New Jersey Transit approves Nextel for train crews

Of course....why would they use a non-professional company like Verizon to
provide those communications? Anyway, Verizon Wireless is now geared for
teenagers..."fun and games" as it says on most cell phone boxes today.

"David S" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> From trains.com:
>
> Wireless direct-connect communication devices approved for NJ Transit
crews
>
> JERSEY CITY, N.J. - NJ Transit's Board of Directors yesterday approved a
> two-year contract with Nextel Communications to provide up to 1,500
> wireless direct-connect communication devices for on-train employees.
>
> The wireless equipment will allow the transit's rail operations center to
> communicate with employees on board trains without relying on radio relays
> between dispatchers and engineers. The direct-connect feature will also
> provide immediate communications between crewmembers who may be several
> cars apart. The devices' ability to do text messaging will allow crews to
> receive train status and service issues that they can share with
> passengers.
>
> The devices are being distributed following an eight-week pilot program in
> which they were tested by 30 crewmembers. The program is modeled after one
> that has proven very successful on Chicago's Metra system. NJ Transit
plans
> to begin distributing the wireless direct-connect devices by the end of
the
> year.
>
> Copyright 2003 Kalmbach Publishing Company
> All rights reserved.
>
>
> ----------------------------
>
> The second sentence of the last paragraph is of special interest to me,
> because I heard through an unofficial (and not necessarily reliable)
> backchannel that they're investigating use of the Nextel as a possible
> contributing factor in Metra's wreck last month which severely damaged one
> brand new locomotive and totaled another. To wit, the engineer may have
> missed the signal to slow down because he was looking at his phone in
order
> to call someone -- a call directly related to the operation of his train,
> but requiring more attention than simply grabbing the handset of a 2-way
> radio and pushing the PTT button.
>
> --
> David Streeter, "an internet god" -- Dave Barry
> http://home.att.net/~dwstreeter
> Expect a train on ANY track at ANY time.
> "Hi. How've you been?" - Buffy
> "Rat. You?" - Amy
> "Dead." - Buffy
> "Oh." - Amy
>

In article <[email protected]>, Michael
<[email protected]> wrote:

> Of course....why would they use a non-professional company like Verizon to
> provide those communications? Anyway, Verizon Wireless is now geared for
> teenagers..."fun and games" as it says on most cell phone boxes today.

Verizon works well in New York Penn station and it works in the tunnel
under the Hudson River. Unless Nextel has done something lately it does
not work in the tunnel. Along the rail lines on the northeast corrider
Verizon has the best coverage of all the carriers. That is the main
reason I switched carriers to Verizon, because I needed their coverage
along the NEC.

--
Charles