Floppy Discs Still Run A U.S. Metro? Japan Steps In With 'project Kill Floppy'

San Francisco's Muni Metro could be finally getting ready to wave goodbye to the antiquated and archaic floppy disk-based train control system.

Yes, we're talking about the good old 5.25-inch floppy disk, which is somehow still being utilized for something as important as a critical function of a public transport network within a major city. In a move that many are wondering why and how it took this long to get around to it.

The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) has approved a deal totaling up to $212 million with Hitachi Rail, the external division of Japanese conglomerate Hitachi, with the aim to overhaul its entire train control system and scrapping a timeless relic that dates all the way back to 1998​ - how retro!

For years, this dinosaur of a system has operated on 5.25-inch floppy disks, with staff physically required to load the software every morning like it's still been living in the Windows 95 era.

To make matters worse, the current tech used within the infrastructure communicates via wire loops, a system prone to disruptions and as sluggish as a dial-up modem, which doesn't help the network's regular train delays and a whole lot of commuter frustration​. And if something breaks down, is a spare part needed? They've had to be scrounged off online marketplaces such as eBay and borrowed from other transit agencies. I don't think it gets any more cutting edge than that.

Looking to replace the old system, Muni Metro will adopt a brand-new, shiny communications-based train control (CBTC) system. This move aims finally to drag the Muni Metro kicking and screaming into not just the modern age with Wi-Fi and cellular technology, but through a portal in time when the Nintendo Game Boy Color was at the cutting-edge technology during that time period.

The new CBTC system, which is looking to employ its rendition of 'Project Kill Floppy,' promises to bring much faster data transmission, better and modern-day tracking of trains, which is hoped to translate, and, fingers crossed for the people of San Francisco required to use the Muni Metro, fewer delays. The goal is simple: to bring Muni Metro into the current times with the new CBTC installed and in place by late 2027 or early 2028.

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If you're a subscribed member of Team Kill Floppy, we wouldn't be popping out the champers just yet, as this is just one part of a larger modernization effort of a larger $700 million project. It's unlikely the floppy disks won't just vanish overnight.

In fact, the whole upgrade could even drag on for the better part of a decade​. So, until the moment the entire network is updated from the clearly outdated system that moves data slower than a Nokia 3310, it will continue to govern, or cause chaos, depending on your experience, one of the busiest urban rail networks in the entire US.

Still, when all is said and done, this upgrade will make Muni Metro one of just a few transit systems in the country to employ the CBTC technology, joining the ranks of cities like London, England and Vancouver, Canada​.

Those old and loyal thin diskette relics of our past, which time will never forget, are something San Francisco commuters will likely never want to see return.