GE Transportation Completes $80 Million Project with Sound Transit in Seattle

Five-year Train Control Signaling and Communications Project Enables Seattle-area Riders to Travel Safely and Efficiently

GE Transportation announced today that Central Puget Sound’s transportation authority, Sound Transit, has officially opened its north-south Central Link light rail line, operating with a complete GE Transportation communications and train control signaling solution.

In 1996, the voters of Central Puget Sound (Seattle, Tacoma and the surrounding area) approved a plan to bring mass transit to the region. Since then, Sound Transit has been planning, building and operating the Sounder commuter rail, Link light rail and ST Express bus service.

Today, Sound Transit reached another milestone with the grand opening of the 14.2-mile (about 23 kilometers) Central Link light rail line that runs from downtown Seattle to the 154th Street station in Tukwila near the Sea-Tac airport. The new line will allow riders to travel between Tukwila and downtown Seattle in 30 minutes, with trains running up to 20 hours per day, every 7.5 to 15 minutes. When the Link light rail line is extended to the University of Washington (University Link) it will serve an estimated 100,000 riders a day.

“We are extremely pleased to have had the opportunity to assist the Central Puget Sound transportation authority, Sound Transit, to equip the new light rail line,” said Pierre Comte, President of GE Transportation’s Intelligent Control Systems division. “This project is strategic for us because it reflects our desire to deliver solutions that involve moving goods and people safely and efficiently in all parts of the world, and in particular, helping metropolitan areas more efficiently manage the flow of people and traffic through the use of intelligent transportation systems. In fact, we serve global metropolitan customers around the world, including metros in Rotterdam, the Rotterdam; Rio, Brazil; and Hangzhou, China.”

GE Transportation was selected to provide and install an integrated and cost-effective communications and train control solution across the 14.2-mile route, consisting of a SCADA (Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition) system that supervises critical fire detection, security, and ventilation systems. GE’s solution also includes an operations control center system, station messaging signs, public address system, fiber optic network, radio network, train movement detection, train traffic safety interlocking systems, power switch machines, train signals, grade crossing control equipment, train-to-trackside communications, and track-to-vehicle speed limit communications. GE’s integrated solution spans five street-level, two elevated and five underground stations. In the Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel (DSTT), the GE system will manage both train and bus traffic, which share lanes in the dual-use tunnel.

GE is also contracted to extend communications and train control signaling for the airport extension of the Central Link, which will connect the Tukwila Station to the Sea-Tac airport, which is expected to open in December 2009.

About GE Transportation

Established more than 100 years ago, GE Transportation, a unit of GE (NYSE: GE), is a global technology leader and supplier to the railroad, marine, drilling, mining and wind industries. GE provides freight and passenger locomotives, railway signaling and communications systems, information technology solutions, marine engines, motorized drive systems for mining trucks and drills, high-quality replacement parts and value added services. GE Transportation is headquartered in Erie, Pennsylvania, USA, and employs approximately 10,000 employees worldwide. For more information visit www.getransportation.com.
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