Metro Transit Terminology Audit

Executive Readout

What Most Risks Signaling Outsider Authorship

The strongest risks are not spelling errors. They are category errors: treating an LRV as a generic “train,” collapsing line, corridor, route, and alignment into one concept, and using simulator vocabulary where Metro-specific operating vocabulary is required.

1. “Multiuser Training Mode”

High risk. Current discussion describes a trainee operator station plus a separate instructor station—not multiple trainees jointly operating one simulation. Prefer Instructor Station and Live Session Control unless true multi-operator scope is added.

2. “Vehicle Exterior”

Medium risk. Industry-facing wording should identify an individual Siemens S700 light rail vehicle (LRV). Avoid “front light-rail vehicle,” which reads as a generated approximation rather than fleet terminology.

3. Signal Vocabulary

High risk. Aspect is the visible display; indication is its operating meaning. Bar signals, lunar crossing lights, ABS, and interlockings require Metro-specific rules. Do not infer logic from generic signal colors or shapes.

4. Route / Line / Corridor / Alignment

High risk. The terms serve different purposes. Official METRO line names identify service; corridor describes broader geography; alignment is the physical track path; route is the course traveled.

5. Recording vs. Playback

Medium risk. Current scope is time-sequenced simulator data used for in-simulator replay. Calling it “video recording” or “video playback” would materially misstate the deliverable.

6. Fault vs. Operating Condition

Medium risk. Weather, time, traffic, and visibility are persistent operating conditions. A train, cab, signal, or system malfunction is a discrete injected event. Keep these as separate scope categories.

External

Public and Industry Sources

FTA National Transit Database Glossary — LRT/LRV, guideway, right-of-way, grade crossing, revenue service, and deadhead terminology.
FTA Rail Transit Roadway/Pedestrian Grade Crossing report — street-intersection crossings and bar-signal convention, with explicit agency-variation caveat.
APTA Rail Systems Definitions Compendium — interlocking, wayside signal, signal indication, and related rail-system terms.
APTA Route Locking standard — signal aspect, route, locking, OCC, and rail-transit-system definitions.
Metropolitan Council: METRO Blue Line Extension — official project name, current 13.4-mile figure, 13 new stations, and relationship to the existing line.
Metropolitan Council: METRO Green Line Extension — official project name, 14.5 miles, 16 stations, Type 3 Siemens fleet context, and 2027 opening target.
Blue Line Extension SFEIS glossary — distinguishes project alignment, project area, route, and corridor.

Internal

Client and ForgeFX Sources

channels/metropolitan_council_proposals/Metro-Rail-Requirements.html — primary source-cited client requirement baseline, especially §§2.1–2.6, 3.1–3.3, 4.1–4.4, and 5.2–5.4.
Client RFP and Addendum 1 via the precise SharePoint page links embedded in the requirements baseline — signal systems, field of view, instructor station, and recording/playback.
Fireflies 01KT6YHDGSBQ9W11C7YABCVHA1 — pre-proposal scope discussion and Metro-specific operating context.
Fireflies 01KX1G8D4W9JYFKJKNBWQX4AFG — pricing workshop clarification that replay occurs inside the simulator rather than as browser or video playback.
Slack #metropolitan_council_proposals / C0B3XJGLLJY — Siemens-only 1:1 cab scope, signal list, line context, instructor/fault-injection discussion, and workbook provenance.
Live workbook Metro-Rail-Sim-Cost-Table.xlsx, Cost!A1:F22 — current buyer-facing terms audited without changing Cost or Feature Catalog.

Glossary Coverage

43 Proposal-Relevant Terms Added to Excel

Family	Terms	Proposal Value
Vehicle and stations	LRT, LRV, Type 3 / S700, operator cab, operator station, instructor station, OCC	Separates the vehicle, physical trainee position, instructor role, and real rail-control function.
Geography and infrastructure	Line, corridor, alignment, route, extension, guideway, ROW, mixed traffic, street-running, grade crossing, station platform, yard, mainline	Prevents scope from drifting between branded service, geography, track geometry, and operating areas.
Operations	Revenue service, non-revenue movement/deadhead, route familiarization	Uses transit-operating language without promising qualification or certification.
Signals and power	Wayside, aspect, indication, interlocking, ABS, bar signal, lunar crossing light, ATP, OCS/catenary, pantograph	Flags terms that require rulebook-specific meaning rather than generic simulation assumptions.
Training and acceptance	Scenario, operating condition, event injection, malfunction/fault injection, recording, replay/playback, observer mode, FOV, commissioning, acceptance testing	Keeps feature boundaries auditable and supports measurable acceptance language.

Confidence and Caveats

Use the Glossary as a Proposal Guardrail

High confidence: general LRT/LRV, ROW, grade crossing, interlocking, aspect/indication, line/extension, FOV requirement, and recording-versus-replay distinctions. Client confirmation required: exact Metro ABS logic, each bar-signal aspect and indication, the meaning and timing of “lunar crossing lights,” yard/mainline rule boundaries, and whether “deadhead” is Metro’s preferred rulebook term. FRA material was used only where it provided useful general rail terminology; FTA, APTA, Metropolitan Council, and client documents govern this LRT proposal.