Automated Commuter Train: Request for Proposal
The following three memos compose the RFP for the Automated Commuter Train System. 
MEMORANDUM 
TO: All Bidders 
FROM: The Office of the Mayor 
SUBJECT: Proposed Automated Commuter Train DATE: October 1, 1999 
The City hereby requests proposals for the design and construction of an automated commuter train system to operate throughout the metropolitan area beginning on October 1, 2005. The proposal must provide support for the following requirements. 
1.0 The trains in this system will be powered via a third rail. At no point will pedestrians or auto- mobiles have access to the tracks. 
2.0 The trains will be fully automated. Each train will be equipped with its own control system to direct and monitor train acceleration, deceleration, stopping patterns, door opening and closing, lighting, climate control, and announcements to passengers. The operator's only charge will be to override the control system in the case of an emergency. 
.3.0 Each train will run according to a precise itinerary. Trains will stop and start at the appropriate locations and times. Each train will record this information for every run. It will send this information in a report to the Maintenance Database at the end of each run. 
4.0 Each train will be equipped with a self-monitoring engine and with the following automated on- train systems: doors, brakes, lights, public address, and climate control. In the event of a malfunction, manual controls will be enabled and monitored by the on-train control system. 

4.1 Each train will have four separate brake systems: phase I brakes for general speed regulation, phase II brakes for stopping the train, emergency brakes for stopping the train in the event of failure by either phase lor II brakes, and safety brakes for extra security when the train stops to load and unload passengers. 
4.2 Each train will have two separate door systems, left and right. Itineraries will indicate which side to open at each stop. When doors open at a stop, an on-train timer will be activated. The timer will tell the system when it is appropriate to close the doors, given the stop and the time of day. Doors will not close fully until they are unobstructed. 
5.0 The Maintenance Computer System will keep complete and up-to-date records on all trains, communications hardware, and other components of the automated commuter train network. The Maintenance System Database will store service and repair histories for all these components. 
6.0 In the event of equipment failure or accident, the on-train control system will notify the Maintenance System automatically, and will provide precise data about the problem. Appropriate data will be made available to maintenance crews before they make service calls. 
7.0 Each train will be equipped with scanners to warn it of any obstacles in its path.  

MEMORANDUM 
TO: All Bidders 
FROM:  City Planning Department 
SUBJECT: Off-Train Systems for Proposed Automated Commuter Train 
DATE: October 5. 1999 
This memo documents a change to paragraph 7.0 in the Mayor's October 1 memo. 
7.1 Information about obstacles in the train's path will come from a Central Computer system. The Central Computer will monitor the positions of all vehicles on all track sections. The Central Computer system will provide information about obstacles in the train's path such as a service vehicle or another train. This system will also warn the train about traffic signals and track switches as well as turns and gradient changes in each section of track. 
7.2 A communications network running parallel to the track will link the Central Computer to each train. Messages will pass from train to network {or network to train) via trackside devices located on each track section. 
7.3 The Central Computer system will coordinate scheduling data for all trains. It will send an appropriate itinerary to each train in the automated commuter train network. The Central Computer system will be capable of changing the schedule at any time and will disseminate these changes throughout the system via the communications network. 

MEMORANDUM 
TO: All Bidders 
FROM: City Planning Department 
SUBJECT: Local, Express. and Request-Only Modes for Proposed Automated Commuter Train 
DATE: October 7.1999 
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The Automated Commuter Train proposal will account for the following additional requirements: 
8.0 The automated commuter train will operate in three modes: a Local mode in which it will stop at every stop an Express mode in which it will go directly to a designated stop and bypass all stops in between, and a Request-Only mode in which the train will stop only if prompted by a passenger. 
9.0 In Request-Only mode, passengers on the train will prompt the train to stop using the Next Stop cord. Passengers waiting at the next stop will be able to stop an approaching train using a button located at the stop.