Kinkisharyo and DART expand contract with INIT

Following a recent decision by Dallas Area Rapid Transit, INIT has been awarded an additional contract to expand its Vehicle Business System (VBS), including INIT hardware and software by an additional 48 light rail vehicles. The vehicle manufacturer Kinkisharyo will install INIT’s on-board computer (COPILOTpc), mobile data terminals with built-in card readers, global positioning system (GPS) and GPRS data radio communication. Furthermore, INIT’s state-of-the-art automatic passenger counting system, MOBILE-APC will be implemented and subsequently provide DART with counting accuracy results of 96% or better.
The on-board computers will provide automatic next stop announcements and communicate vehicle location and event messages to the central computer-aided dispatch / automatic vehicle location system (MOBILE-ITCS). This system will interface to a Public Announcement / Visual Message Board (PA/VMB) system and the Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition (SCADA) system giving DART passengers real-time information at station displays.
The new contract follows the successful agreement between Kinkisharyo and INIT (January 2007) for a VBS to be installed on 115 of DART’s light rail vehicles. Kinkisharyo International manufactures the light rail vehicles and will equip them with the INIT VBS. The INIT technology will provide a complete ITS solution for DART, ensuring greater efficiency in managing their fleet and improved service for their customers. The additional vehicle installations will bring the total fleet counts to 163.

Source: Transportweekly