New ‘Smart’ Technology at Juniper Avenue Crossing Provides Long-Awaited Relief for Fontana Community

New 'Smart' Technology at Juniper Avenue Crossing Provides Long-Awaited Relief for Fontana Community

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LOS ANGELES - Metrolink, Southern California's regional passenger rail provider, has upgraded the Juniper Avenue crossing in the City of Fontana with Wireless Crossing Nearside Station Stop (WCNSS) technology designed to eliminate unnecessary activations when trains stop at the nearby Fontana Station. The newly installed 'smart' system, which launched yesterday, Monday, April 14, will reduce traffic congestion on Juniper Avenue between Orange Way and Ceres Avenue, while improving safety for drivers and pedestrians along the corridor.

"Thanks to this much-anticipated enhancement, frustrated Fontana residents will no longer experience delays at the Juniper Avenue crossing caused by trains preparing to stop at the station," said Metrolink and San Bernardino County Transportation Authority Board Member Alan Wapner, who also serves as a council member for the City of Ontario, which borders Fontana. "In addition to delivering relief for the community, eliminating unnecessary crossing activations is making Metrolink's system safer by deterring risky behavior from drivers and pedestrians who may be tempted to bypass lowered gates because they don't believe a train is coming."

Previously, as westbound Metrolink San Bernardino Line trains approached the Fontana Station, the safety features at the downstream Juniper Avenue crossing would activate. While the train was stopped at the station, the gate arms would reset before they were triggered a second time once the stop was complete, and the train was back on the move. With WCNSS technology now in place, the crossing's safety mechanisms won't activate until the train leaves the Fontana Station following its stop, eliminating the first, superfluous cycle.

Metrolink's WCNSS technology was first developed for use at seven crossings along the Arrow service between San Bernardino and Redlands and has been in operation since Arrow launched in October 2022. Last June, Metrolink implemented WCNSS at the Del Obispo crossingnear the San Juan Capistrano Station in Orange County. Additional upgrades are currently underway at the Moorpark Avenue crossing near the Moorpark Station on the Ventura County Line and the Columbia Avenue crossing near the Riverside-UCR/Hunter Park Station on the 91/Perris Valley Line.

The Federal Railroad Administration supported the installation of WCNSS technology at Juniper Avenue through a Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements (CRISI) grant awarded in 2020. Metrolink staff are working to procure the funding and resources needed to equip a total of 52 crossings across the six-county network with WCNSS capability.