Williams Controls Subsidiary Announces Contract With Metrolink Commuter Rail System
27 September 2000
Williams Controls Subsidiary Announces Contract With Metrolink Commuter Rail System
PORTLAND, Ore., Sept. 27 Williams Controls, Inc.
announced that its subsidiary, GeoFocus, Inc., has signed an
agreement to provide the company's on-train Global Positioning System (GPS)
based train information management system, called TrainTrac(R), to the
Southern California Regional Rail Authority, popularly known as Metrolink.
Metrolink provides rail service to six counties throughout Southern
California.
In late August, the SCRRA Governing Board authorized the purchase of the
train performance and passenger notification system from GeoFocus. The
agreement is in the form of a base system to be delivered over a period of
approximately 13 months. The estimated start date of the project is
October 1, 2000.
Metrolink is one of the nation's fastest growing commuter rail systems
operating 126 trains daily on 6 routes totaling 416 miles. They provide
transportation to over 31,000 daily riders throughout the six county service
area.
Although a basic system is being installed at this point, Metrolink has
asked that GeoFocus provide a system infrastructure that allows for future
additional features, including an interface to Metrolink's Interactive Voice
Response (IVR) telephone system, a paging notification system for sending
train status directly to riders and operations personnel, connection to
Metrolink's local and wide area network (LAN/WAN) system for expansion, and an
Internet-based real time train information display for customers connecting to
the Metrolink website to get train arrival and departure status. These
options, which must be reviewed and approved by the SCRRA Board, will be
considered for system enhancements once the base system is in place and
operating.
The TrainTrac(R) system will provide fully automated information to
monitor Metrolink trains throughout the Los Angeles area including train
performance to published schedules, Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
compliant train operational information, and arrival messages to Metrolink
station platforms. The system will also archive all operational data for
later analysis and report generation. The basic system is intended to work
automatically with no human intervention, but the future feature enhancements
will provide train location and performance information to anyone on
Metrolink's existing network and to anyone who needs real time train status.
"This is the third major contract we have received from a well known
commuter rail system, following contract awards in South Florida and Chicago,"
stated Thomas W. Itin, chairman and chief executive of Williams Controls.
"Our TrainTrac system is a technology that is beginning to get noticed by rail
systems around the country, as they look for ways to offer a unique and
differentiated service level so that they can more effectively compete for
ridership."
Mr. Itin continued, "We expect the South Florida, Chicago and Los Angeles
contracts will be the catalyst to bring this technology to the attention of
more commuter rail systems in the U.S. and Europe and give us tremendous
credibility with those prospects. We believe that the features and value we
have demonstrated in our existing installations will allow us to accelerate
the growth of our customer base in these markets."
GeoFocus is a Geographic Information System (GIS) / Global Positioning
Satellite (GPS) technology solutions company that specializes in providing
combined GIS, GPS and wireless data transmission technology products to the
transportation industry, utilizing its TrainTrac(R) Train Information
Management System (TIMS). Its parent company, Williams Controls, is a
designer, manufacturer and integrator of sensors, controls and communications
systems for the transportation and communications industries. For more
information, you can find Williams Controls on the Internet at http://www.wmco.com .
The statements included in this news release concerning predictions of
economic performance and management's plans and objectives constitute forward-
looking statements made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of Section 21E
of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and Section 27A of the
Securities Act of 1934, as amended. These statements involve risks and
uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the
forward-looking statements. Factors which could cause or contribute to such
differences include, but are not limited to, factors detailed in the
Securities and Exchange Commission filings of the companies; economic
downturns affecting the operations of the company or any of its business
operations, competition, and the ability of GeoFocus to complete the contract
with Metrolink on a timely and profitable basis. The forward-looking
statements contained in this press release speak only as of the date hereof
and the company disclaims any intent or obligation to update these forward-
looking statements.