AboutChris Holliday Expertise Questions related to contemporary passenger rail vehicles and their technology, including subway, light rail, commuter and intercity rolling stock. Includes all vehicle systems and features along with integration of the vehicles into the general railroad system.
Experience I have over 22 years of experience in the passenger rail vehicle business as both an engineering manager at a car builder and as a provider of engineering services to commuter railroads and transit agencies in the US. I have worked to apply the latest technologies to passanger rail equipment. I have worked with leaders in our industry to develop and establish Standards and Recommended practices.
Expert: Chris Holliday Date: 6/4/2007 Subject: Quad gate cost
Question QUESTION: I am amazed at the $700K to $1M cost associated with converting to quad gates to get a quiet zone. This should be off the shelf equipment in my view. Is it made of gold?
Also, why not extend the two gates to cover the crossing completely?
ANSWER: I am not surprised at the cost. One of these systems involves site work, interface with the operating railroad, a process which can be quite inefficient, as priority is always given to revenue traffic. The software in these systems must be "vital", which means that all possible failure modes of every controlling component is tested to proves that the systems assumes a safe state upon failure. All this is expensive.
I am a rolling stock expert, but it seems to me that Quad gates are more effective at blocking the crossing than two extended gates. The need for that is driven by the fact that the public will always find the weakness in any barrier system, so while it looks vastly overengineered, it must be designed to protect the most malicious fools among us.
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QUESTION: Is there any competition between RR suppliers that would allow our community to ensure that we get the most for our money as we seek a quiet zone?
Answer There are several suppliers of most equipment types, including grade crossing control systems. That does not mean that a competitive process is used for any given installation, however. Bare in mind that the railroads own their right of way in this country, so any given installation must be a collaboration between the railroad (a "for profit" company)and the public entity or municipality that owns the crossing road. It could also be in some cases that there are state standards imposed on how a crossing must be equipped. It is far from a uniform process. I can only suggest that you involve yourself with the local officials responsible for the grade crossing you are concerned about
