RTD will get another chance to plead its case over crossing gate problems and the long-delayed launch of the G-Line to Denver’s western suburbs, as state regulators Wednesday showed a willingness to reconsider their decision last week to reject the transit agency’s safety plan for its commuter rail lines.
The Colorado Public Utilities Commission’s request for more data on the timing of crossing gates along the University of Colorado A-Line and B-Line came less than a week after for the crossings, which use technology that keeps the gates down as long as 20 seconds beyond what federal rules stipulate.
“Did we miss something?” PUC chairman Jeffrey Ackermann asked. “If there is additional information, bring it forth.”
Commissioner Frances Koncilja said she was troubled by the Sept. 28 ruling from the Federal Railroad Administration that was “180 degrees” away from what she and her colleagues had issued a day prior and wondered if the FRA had information the PUC didn’t.
“We have what I think is a conflict,” Koncilja said. “We have an obligation … to figure this out.”
She suggested putting on hold the PUC’s rejections but didn’t get support for doing so from her fellow commissioners. Once the PUC officially publishes its rulings from last week, RTD will have 20 days to request a hearing on the matter.
“We have our work cut out for us in making sure we get correct information to the commissioners,” RTD spokesman Nate Currey said after the PUC meeting. “The FRA doesn’t make these decisions lightly.”
The PUC’s decision to revisit the crossing gate timing issue, as well as a request by RTD to resume full testing on the G-Line to Arvada and Wheat Ridge, came as a surprise to the transit agency’s top officials. RTD General Manager Dave Genova that the matter was once again on the PUC’s agenda for the next day.
RTD needs both the FRA and the PUC to sign off on its signaling technology on the A-Line and B-Line. The transit agency claims the wireless technology it is trying to incorporate into a dozen crossings is new in the United States and has been a challenge to calibrate precisely.
But Currey said it is safe.
Until the crossings get certification from both agencies, to act as a safety backstop. Regulators have told RTD that , which uses the same crossing technology, until it fixes the problem on the first two lines.
The G-Line was first slated for passenger service last October.
At issue with the gate timing on the rail lines is whether an additional 20 seconds of gate activation time poses a safety hazard by prompting motorists to try and sneak across the tracks to avoid having to wait.
“I think it’s RTD’s obligation to show us their system is working,” said PUC commissioner Wendy Moser.