Recent content by swtat

https://bc.mbta.com/uploadedfiles/Business_Center/Bidding_and_Solicitations/Vol.%201,%20Section%20B-3.pdf

"The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) invites qualified Transit Vehicle Manufacturers (TVMs) to submit Proposals for the provision of 165 a new fleet of “Type 10” light rail vehicles for MBTA’s Green Line, in accordance with Technical Specifications No. VE-19-049 and the RFP...

The distances between stations are very subway-like except beyond Maidenhead and on the Heathrow branch. In central London, I see it as an express of the Central Line. It's also partially running: TfL Rail operates the segment between Liverpool Street and Shenfield sans Whitechapel and the...

LACMTA owns the only 65-foot bus in existence in North America. It is a lengthened NABI 60-BRT and was a prototype that never went to mass production. There aren't any other manufacturers that offer 65-foot buses to the North American market.

In addition to this, make the PA system announce the routes instead of a generic "bus connection" and make them time-based. It grinds my gears whenever I hear "bus connection" at a transfer point on a weekend for a single route (why not just announce the route to begin with?) that runs on...

The MBTA has put out a RFQ for a PM to oversee the project. These coaches will presumably replace most (all?) of the remaining single-level coaches as well as include options to expand the fleet for SCR.

One of the slides in the "Orange Line Improvements" presentation at today's FMCB meeting suggested that Orange Line trains could operate at 60 MPH between Malden Center and Wellington once the Charles and Adams Street bridges are upgraded.

The FMCB approved a contract today with LTK Engineering Services to provide program management services for the Type 10 contract. LTK will, among other things, be drafting the specifications for the vehicles and related infrastructure, overseeing the contractors to ensure that everything moves...

This was talked about in an FMCB meeting a few months ago. Jeff Gonneville mentioned that the Orange Line ran 102 cars during rush hours before 2011; today, that number is 96. He said it's very possible that the Orange Line can return to the 102 car number. However, there's one thing preventing...

I highly doubt he saw one. It would be foolish for the T to test them during rush hour on revenue service tracks because if they break down, it can cripple the entire line. There also aren't enough cars on property to make up a full train.

For the new cars, it's 225 on an "A" car (cab car) and 240 on a "B" car. These numbers assume that each standing passenger occupies 1.5 square feet of space and each sitting passenger occupies 12" of knee room in front of them. I don't have any numbers for the current fleet.

As far as I'm aware, only the carbody shells are being manufactured in China. Everything else is being manufactured in the US or another country. There is a 60% US content requirement in the contract and CRRC has exceeded that.

The Red-Blue Connector project was briefly brought up by Jeff Gonneville at today's FMCB meeting. The MBTA will be re-evaluating the project and will factor in ridership and population growth trends as well as modern construction methodologies. The study is expected to begin this month and last...

An RFP won't be put together for another few years. The T has only just entered the pre-procurement stage for the project (in other words, putting the project into existence). They are currently looking for a program manager to oversee the design phase of the vehicles, which includes developing...

The current #12 Orange Line cars were designed to last 25 years. They'll be 40 years old when they retire, but their carbodies are rusting through and they're maintenance intensive. Before 2011, there used to be 102 cars in service during rush hours. There are now 96 because an extra set has to...