USA: The Chicago Transit Authority has a hard problem to solve: how do you let train operators practice for a brake fault, a signal failure or a snowstorm without waiting for one to actually happen on a live train? CTA’s answer is a portable virtual-reality simulator now heading into a one-year pilot.

CTA Tests Portable VR Simulator for Train Operators
Photo: CTA

The Chicago Transit Board authorized the pilot agreement for a simulator built for CTA’s 5000-series railcars by the Center for Research in Railway Technologies (CITEF), according to Railway Age. CTA selected CITEF’s proposal from six submissions responding to a 2025 Innovation Studio challenge and will provide the company a $75,000 stipend to develop the tool.

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Filling a gap after initial training ends

CTA’s challenge statement, issued through its Innovation Studio, asked specifically how the agency could provide “simulated training opportunities for rail operators to gain additional hands-on experience” once they’ve completed initial training — a period the agency says currently offers limited practice beyond real, on-the-job experience. The new tool is meant to complement CTA’s existing operator cab simulator, giving operators a lightweight, portable way to rehearse propulsion loss, brake faults, signal failures, adverse weather and temporary service scenarios that are difficult to reproduce safely in revenue service.

What CTA asked for, and what it’s testing

CTA had told prospective bidders it preferred proposals that could reasonably model rail cabs while staying portable, offering scenarios across a range of weather and time-of-day conditions; simulators built on standard PCs or tablets were also acceptable. The announcement does not specify when the one-year pilot will begin operating with actual CTA crews, or how CTA will measure whether it should be expanded system-wide after the pilot concludes.

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