Boston Magazine online, 11/17:
MBTA Operations Control Center Undergoes $6 Million Upgrade
More screens, fewer problems.
Come New Year’s Eve, when thousands of people pack the platforms and MBTA trains to get in and out of the city for the midnight celebrations, the “brains” behind the transit agency’s entire operations will be ready for nearly anything to happen.
On Monday, MassDOT officials showed off $6 million of upgrades recently made to the MBTA Operations Control Center on High Street near South Station, an expansive room of gadgetry where workers attentively sit behind desks and monitor dozens of large screens displaying blinking and flashing lights, and scan live feeds coming in from the hundreds of cameras that hang above riders’ heads at various stops, showing what’s happening along the tracks.
The overhaul, which included the installation of new HDTV screens with optimal imagery and supporting software, an upgraded internal network that allows employees manning the stations to handle more tasks than the previous operating system, and a brand new setup for the Transit Police officers tracking activity from the headquarters, was paid for through grant funding from the Department of Homeland Security. Officials said the equipment installation took five months, and wrapped up in late October.
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