State Safety Oversight Program

Event Data Recorder Analysis Results

February 21, 2007

Overview

  1. Between February 9 and 21, 2007, FTA’s Office of Safety and Security (TPM-30) surveyed the 37 rail transit agencies operating heavy and light rail vehicles in the State Safety Oversight (SSO) Program (49 CFR Part 659).
  2. For the purpose of this survey, event data recorders (EDRs) included only those devices meeting the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Standard 1482.1.
  3. The following specific information was requested:
  4. Fleet size by mode.
  5. Number of vehicles equipped with EDRs by mode.
  6. Are there any current rehabilitation projects that include EDR installation?
  7. Are there any current vehicle procurement projects that include EDRs?
  8. Information from the National Transit Database was used to supplement Inquiry data.

Analysis Results

  1. FTA made contact with all 37 rail transit agencies.
  2. Of the 37 rail transit agencies:
  3. 51% have equipped some or all of their fleet with EDRs.
  4. 46% of the HEAVY RAIL systems have equipped some or all of their fleet with EDRs.
  5. 52% of the LIGHT RAIL systems have equipped some or all of their vehicles with EDRs.
  6. Of the 37 rail transit agencies:
  7. 26% of ALL RAIL TRANSIT vehicles have been equipped with EDRs.
  8. 24% of HEAVY RAIL vehicles have been equipped with EDRs.
  9. 34% of LIGHT RAIL vehicles have been equipped with EDRs
  10. In 2003:
  11. 30% of rail transit agencies had equipped some or all of their fleet with EDRs (51% in 2007).
  12. 25% of HEAVY RAIL systems had equipped some or all of their fleet with EDRs (46% in 2007).
  13. 26% of LIGHT RAIL systems had equipped some or all of their vehicles with EDRs (52% in 2007).
  14. Between 2003 and 2007, 609 rail transit vehicles have been through a rehabilitation process. The rehabilitations included the installation of an EDR for 311 of these vehicles (51%).
  15. Of the 470 HEAVY RAIL vehicles that were rehabilitated, 274 included the incorporation of EDRs (58%).
  16. Of the 139 LIGHT RAIL vehicles that were rehabilitated, 37 included the incorporation of EDRs (27%).
  17. Between 2003 and 2007, 333 rail transit vehicles were procured by the responding agencies. In these procurements, 255 vehicles were equipped with an EDR (77%).
  18. All 110 HEAVY RAIL vehicles that were procured were equipped with an EDR (100%).
  19. Of the 223 LIGHT RAIL vehicles that were procured, 145 were equipped with an EDR (65%).

Graphic Representation

HeavyRail System EDR Usage
Heavy Rail systems using EDRs, 2003 / Heavy Rail systems using EDRs, 2007
Light Rail System EDR Usage
Light Rail systems using EDRs, 2003 / Light Rail systems using EDRs, 2007
Vehicle Procurements and Rehabilitations: 2003 – 2007
EDRs on Procured Vehicles: 2003 – 2007 / EDRs on Rehabilitated Vehicles: 2003 – 2007
Rail Transit Agency / Mode / Fleet size / Vehicles Equipped / Note
Central Arkansas Transit Authority (CATA) / LR / 5 / 5
Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) / HR / 669 / 0 / Maintenance recordersare used on all BART vehicles; however, these recorders do not meet IEEE Standard 1482.1
Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LACMTA) / HR / 104 / 0
LR / 121 / 0 / 50 new EDR-equipped LRVs are scheduled to be delivered
San Francisco Municipal Railway (SF MUNI) / LR / 181 / 0
Santa Clara Valley Transit Authority (SCVTA ) / LR / 101 / 0 / Cameras on-board all trains; however, no EDRs
San Diego Trolley, Inc. (SDT)I / LR / 134 / 0 / 11 vehicles procured in 2005 did not include EDRs
Sacramento Regional Transit District (SRTD) / LR / 76 / 0 / 40 vehicles procured in 2003 did not include EDRs
Denver Regional Transit District (RTD) / LR / 83 / 34 / 34 EDR-equipped LRVs were purchased in ’05-’06. 34 more vehicles are scheduled for delivery
Miami-Dade Transit (MDT) / HR / 136 / 0
Hillsborough Area Regional Transit (HART) / LR / 10 / 0
Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA ) / HR / 316 / 220 / 26 EDR-equipped vehicles were procured since 2003. 52 vehicles were rehabilitated to include EDRs since 2003. Entire fleet will be equipped by December, 2008.
New Orleans Regional Transit Authority (NORTA) / LR / 6 / 0
Maryland Transit Administration (MTA-MD) / HR / 100 / 0
LR / 53 / 0
Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) / HR / 408 / 2 / 2 EDR-equipped HR vehicles received since 2003; 92 scheduled for delivery in next year
LR / 239 / 85
Metropolitan Council, Hiawatha Metropolitan Transit Light Rail (Hiawatha) / LR / 25 / 25 / 1 EDR-equipped LRV procured in 2006
St. Louis MetroLink / LR / 83 / 83 / 18 EDR-equipped LRVs procured in 2004
New Jersey Transit – Hudson-Bergen
(NJT-HB) / LR / 54 / 54 / 25 EDR-equipped LRVs procured in 2005
New Jersey Transit – Newark City Subway
(NJT-NCS) / LR / 21 / 21
New Jersey Transit – River Line (NJT-RL) / LR / 20 / 20
Port Authority Transit Corporation (PATCO) / HR / 121 / 0
New York City Transit (NYCT) / HR / 6202 / 1842 / 800 EDR-equipped vehicles scheduled for delivery over the next 4 years
Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority (GCRTA) / HR / 60 / 0
LR / 48 / 0
Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District of Oregon (Portland Tri-Met) / LR / 105 / 105 / 27 EDR-equipped vehicles procured since 2003.
Portland Streetcar (PSC) / LR / 7 / 7 / 3 EDR-equipped vehicles are scheduled for delivery.
Southeastern Pennsylvania Transit Authority (SEPTA) / HR / 369 / 0
LR / 159 / 0
Port Authority of Allegheny County (PAAC) / LR / 83 / 65 / 28 EDR-equipped LRVs procured since 2003. 37 vehicles rehabilitated to include EDRs since 2003. Entire fleet will be equipped with EDRs upon completion of rehabilitation program.
Tren Urbano (TU) / HR / 74 / 74
Memphis Area Transit Authority (MATA) / LR / 15 / 0 / 3 cars were rehabilitated in since 2003 and 1 vehicle was procured. No EDRs were included.
Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) / LR / 107 / 107 / 12 EDR-equipped LRVs were procured in 2005
Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County (MTA-HC) / LR / 18 / 18
Galveston Island Transit (GIT) / LR / 4 / 0
Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) / HR / 998 / 476 / 2k and 3k series are being upgraded to include EDRs: 222 are complete with 142 still waiting rehab. 5k and 6k series cars have EDRs, 4k series will be upgraded in 2011.
Utah Transit Authority (UTA) / LR / 51 / 0 / 7 vehicles were procured in 2003. No EDRs were included.
Sound Transit, Tacoma Link / LR / 3 / 3 / Just expanded existing EDRs to increase recording time (20 hours for 20 elements)
Kenosha Transit / LR / 5 / 0
Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) / HR / 1,190 / 0 / CTA is unsure of plans to equip any newly purchased vehicles with EDRs
Niagara Frontier Transit Authority (NFTA) / LR / 27 / 0 / NFTA has no EDRs, but all rail transit vehicles are equipped with cameras
TOTAL / 12,591 / 3,246 / 26% of ALL rail transit vehicles are equipped with EDRs

FTA Office of Safety and Security

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