Patco's New Rail Cars Delayed Again; Persistent Software Bugs Blamed
By Jim Melwert
CAMDEN, N.J. (CBS) -- The rollout of Patco's refurbished train cars for its High-Speed Line continues to be plagued by problems.
The transit agency had hoped the eight renovated cars would be ready before spring of this year. That was pushed back to summer, then to last month.
Now, the hope is that the next phase of testing can begin later this month, to squash persistent bugs in the software that lets the cars send control signals to each other.
"What we want to do, obviously, is move forward with all deliberate speed to get this issue -- this communications issue -- solved, but solved right," said Pennsylvania lieutenant governor Jim Cawley, also chair of the DRPA board. "Rather than speed, we're looking for accuracy here."
Once the bugs are worked out, the cars will need to undergo a 500-mile test run before going into service.
Rehab work continues on other cars in the twelve-car fleet.