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Metro to Test New Software During Monday Morning Rush

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Metro is pilot testing new software designed to serve as a backup for the system Metro uses to prevent crashes. The software would allow controllers to see in real time if there are circuit irregularities in the automatic train control system. That's the system designed to keep trains a safe distance apart.

Currently, Metro runs checks for anomalies twice a day -- not during rush hours.

Metro has worked on the software with an engineering firm called ARINC since the crash that killed 9 people in June. Investigators have not announced the cause of the crash. But the National Transportation Safety Board told Metro that its crash-avoidance system was inadequate and called for the transit agency to develop a backup.

Metro trains have been running in manual mode since the collision.

Rebecca Blatt reports...

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