Under unusually cloudy skies for southern California in June*, Metrolink train 683, heading from Irvine to Los Angeles, passes the old citrus packing houses along the carrier’s Orange Sub behind F125 921. Metrolink’s Orange Sub is still utilizing Automatic Train Stop (ATS) – notice the yellow signs indicating this. ATS is still in effect on the Orange and San Diego Subdivisions until the FRA grants permission for it to be removed. It is complicated to remove as the signals are tied into it, modifications need to be administered to every wayside signal house, etc. – a huge undertaking. All Metrolink engines and cab cars, however, are equipped with Positive Train Control (PTC). (Orange California – June 23, 2021)
* - While most of the western US is baking in 100ºF weather, much of southern California is enjoying this “natural air conditioning”
