Proud to Live in Boston

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From Wired... this is classic:

Boston Brings ’70s-Style Crash Avoidance To WWII-Era Trolleys

mattapanpcccardannyman

Following a series of high-profile collisions on public transit systems in Boston, Washington D.C. and Los Angeles, Boston’s mass-transit system is finally testing a crash avoidance system on some of the world’s oldest continually-operating trolleys.

The crash avoidance system uses radio waves to detect upcoming obstacles such as other trains and is hardly high tech. Then again, neither is the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority’s 1940s-era trolleys on the Mattapan Line that will be used for the tests. “The [anti-crash] technology has been around 30 years,” Stephan MacDougall, president of the union representing trolley drivers, told The Boston Globe. “They’re playing catch-up.” Indeed, even the recent DC Metro crash may have been the result of a failed crash protection system — not a complete lack thereof.

The anti-crash system will be tested on the Mattapan Line at a cost of $500,000, though it’s final destination may be the T’s Green Line if the pilot is successful and the funds can be raised.

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