San Francisco is paying millions to end its dependence on this iconic, yet age-old technology: floppy disks that still power the Muni Metro light rail system on DOS software
Smartphones can perform a million tasks, self-driving cars are just around the corner and AI is everywhere… yet floppy disks – those relics of the 1980s – still remain relevant in some places.
The Japanese government finally said goodbye to floppy disks in administrative proceedings earlier in 2024, and the German Navy also decided it was time to cut ties with the age-old storage technology.
Now, in an equally belated move, San Francisco transportation officials are saying goodbye to the Muni Metro’s diskette-driven operating system, a move that won’t come cheap.
Five generations ahead
The city’s Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) board has approved a $212 million contract with Hitachi Rail to upgrade the Muni Metro’s train control system.
The existing system, installed in the Market Street subway in 1998, still runs on software stored on five-and-a-quarter-inch floppy disks, which must be loaded every morning. Additionally, it uses an outdated wire loop communications system that is prone to disruptions.
According to Muni officials, the current system is expected to last 20 to 25 years and move data more slowly than a dial-up modem. Some parts of the operating system are not even made anymore and cannot be extended outside the subway, along the subway corridors on the street.
The San Francisco Chronicle reports that the upgrade, for which Hitachi will provide 20 years of support, is part of a broader $700 million project to modernize the Muni Metro’s control system. The new communications-based system, which uses Wi-Fi and mobile signals to accurately track train locations, will be operational in late 2027 and early 2028.
While the current monitoring system is limited to the Market Street subway and Central Subway, the improved system will cover the entire network, including overhead lines. Muni Director of Transit Julie Kirschbaum described the new Hitachi system as “five generations ahead” of the existing one and praised it as the best train control system available on the market.