California railroad tests use of quake alerts to stop trains
A Southern California regional passenger rail service announced Thursday, June 16, that is testing technology that will use the West Coast’s earthquake early warning system to automatically slow or stop trains before shaking begins.The five-county Metrolink system said the technology is an advancement of a previous version deployed in September 2021 that sends automated messages instructing train crews to slow or stop but does not have automated braking.The new technology is an interface between earthquake warnings from the ShakeAlert system and a system called Positive Train Control that is designed to prevent train-versus-train collisions, derailments due to excess speed and other dangerous situations.“The combination of ShakeAlert and PTC is a true game-changer for Met