Governor Patrick today toured the MBTA Operations Control Center with MassDOT Secretary & CEO Jeff Mullan and newly-appointed MassDOT Rail and Transit Administrator Richard Davey. The Governor has recommended that Davey as part of his duties be appointed MBTA General Manager, pending MassDOT Board approval Thursday.
The Operations Control Center is the hub for T operations and safety-related communications.
The state-of-the-art Control Center equipped with wall-sized electronic monitors closely tracks location and movement of hundreds of subway cars and trolleys on all four Rapid Transit Lines (Red, Orange, Blue, and Green) around the clock.
Supervisors and dispatchers constantly communicate with train crews and other subway personnel throughout the 63-mile Rapid Transit System that sees more than 2,600 trips a day.
The OCC is also staffed by MBTA Transit Police, who monitor images from over 700 closed circuit television cameras in subway stations, platforms, and tunnels.
MBTA staff briefed the Governor on Operations Control Center functions, and Administrator Davey later led a roundtable discussion with T riders. Acting T GM William Mitchell joined the Governor and Secretary Mullan today. Mitchell will return to his prior position as MBTA General Counsel.
I tip my hat to those folks. I was awestruck the first couple times I saw the so called "Star Wars" room. I can safely say all of those folks take their jobs seriously and do their best to make sure things are operating smoothly.
Posted by: J. Payne | March 29, 2010 at 02:32 AM