Summary

Located in northern San Diego County, the SPRINTER Rail Transit Project parallels the SR-78 corridor and is currently being used by freight trains. Right now, it is being converted into a passenger rail system with 15 service stations and 22 miles of track. It will connect Escondido, Oceanside, San Marcos, Vista, and other unconnected points in San Diego County.

A study aimed at identifying the impact of signal preemption on the new rail system was conducted in 2006. This project compliments that study with aims to relieve congestion and conflicts at grade crossings and nearby intersections, and to develop and implement adaptive transit priority (ATSP) for Samtrans. Because of the similarities of the previous and present projects, the simulation model, field data collection method and analysis approach, time-to-arrival prediction algorithm, and Hardware-in-the-Loop simulation platform can remain the same.

At the end of this project, countermeasures will be produced to optimize traffic control efficiency and minimize the impact of SPINTER operations on local traffic operations. In a two-step approach - the first basic signal timing optimization based on train detection, and the second the improvement of signal timing using time-to-arrival detection algorithms and other advanced detection technologies - light-rail system preemptions will be improved.

Related PATH Articles/Journals

(None Published)