Operational train testing has begun on San Bernardino County Transportation Authority (SBCTA) and Metrolink's Redlands Passenger Rail/Arrow Line.
Arrow has been more than a decade in the making, featuring new tracks, enhanced street crossings, quiet zones and improved stations. Full service is scheduled to start later this year.
For the next few weeks, Metrolink trains will be used between the San Bernardino Transit Center and the University of Redlands to test the tracks, signals at the crossings and communication systems. Low-emission Diesel Multiple Units (DMUs), which will be part of the Arrow Line, will start testing in mid-March.
Preliminary testing took place Feb. 16. Full nighttime train testing will occur Feb. 22, in San Bernardino and Feb. 23, in Redlands, followed by daytime testing on Feb. 25. Flaggers and safety personnel will be onsite in San Bernardino and Redlands to assist with traffic and pedestrians at the intersections/crossings.
The Metrolink trains being tested will vary, with up to six cars at one time being used.
There will be minimal delays during testing at the 24 intersections and crossings, and when Arrow service starts, delay times at the intersections/crossings are anticipated to be less. Sidewalks will remain open and accessible; however pedestrians will be stopped when trains are approaching. For safety, and in compliance with the Federal Railroad Administration regulations, horns (two long, one short, one long) and bells will sound at street crossings throughout the nine-mile corridor during testing.
When Arrow service begins later this year, the routine sounding of the train horn will be eliminated by the established quiet zones throughout the corridor. However, the horn may sound at any time by the locomotive engineer, Metrolink or Arrow, for safety reasons.
