San Francisco is Paying $212 Million to Replace Floppy Disks That Control Its Railways

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Key Takeaways

  • San Francisco is getting rid of floppy disks used in its metro rail system.
  • The floppy disks control everything including the movement of trains, intercommunication, and onboard computers.
  • SF’s Muni Metro plans to adopt modern systems with Wi-Fi by 2028.

San Francisco’s Muni Metro rail has commissioned a $212 million transition to eliminate floppy disks that are still the system’s backbone.

San Francisco’s local railway network is set for a major overhaul. As part of its modernization drive, the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) has agreed to pay $212 million to replace the ancient system.

The SFMTA has reached an agreement with Hitachi Rail to upgrade the existing communications system that relies on 5¼-inch floppy disks. This expenditure is part of the $700 fund the city has allocated to revamp the system, the San Francisco Chronicle reported last week.

As part of the upgrade, a new system that uses Wi-Fi and cellular connectivity will detect the precise location of trains, establish rcommunication between trains, and provide software updates for onboard computers. In addition to replacing the system, the contract requires Hitachi to service it for 20 years.

Although talks of ditching floppies and upgrading the system started in 2018, the authority had to stop discussions mid-way due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The project is currently in Phase 1 of the overhaul, and will enter Phase 2 when Hitachi starts replacing the existing communications framework. This phase is expected to begin in 2027 or 2028, the agency’s own plans state, and the new systems will be used alongside legacy Automatic Train Control System (ATCS) for calibration and as a fallback if the former fails.

The proposed upgrade is expected to be five generations ahead of the current system with floppies, and is supposedly the “best train control system on the market,” according to Muni Director of Transit Julie Kirschbaum.

Floppies were first introduced to the Muni Metro’s Automatic Train Control System (ATCS) in 1998, and have since controlled multiple essential components, including the throttle and braking on trains, servers, and communication infrastructure such as loop cable signal wire. The software on the floppy disks controls the coaches automatically when they enter or exit a station, while the drive has the controls otherwise, ABC7 News was told earlier this year.

Floppy Disks are More Popular Than You Think

While floppy disks have long been absent on PCs, it  might be baffling to learn that several commercial machines still rely on them. Floppy disks are abundant in industries where machines from a few decades ago are still in use, and read data off a floppy disk. For instance, some older industrial CNC cutters or embroidery equipment still read patterns from floppies. In addition to legacy controls in theaters, music samples, synthesizers, and piano, floppy disks are still alive in medical equipment such as CT scanners and ECG machines.

If we look at other forms of transport, some old and salvaged aircraft from the 1980s and 1990s still run their onboard navigation systems using these tiny diskettes. Until five years ago, eight-inch floppies were still being used to control critical systems such as nuclear missile control sites in the US.

The US government isn’t alone in struggling to replace the outdated technology. The German Navy has yet to fully transition away from floppies that control Brandenburg class F123 anti-submarine frigates. Meanwhile, Japan recently won its “war on floppy disks,” emerging victorious after completely relegating outdated storage systems from all government organizations. The country’s Digital Minister is now fighting to scrap fax machines.