General MBTA Topics (Multi Modal, Budget, MassDOT)

Re: Driven By Customer 'Service' Parte Dos

If only they had kept a dozen or so blue line trains. Yes they were shot beyond belief, but even one extra train would do wonders on a day like today.

Nope...no easy answers. The rebuild program to send 24 Blue cars into Orange service proved too expensive because there were too few un-corroded carbodies left after 30 years in the salt air, so that didn't happen. And the 18 they kept on lease in storage and work duty at Orient Heights for interim considerations proved too far shot to continue operating at all. For the same reason as this week's issues: cold + ice + motionless traction motors sitting in a yard = death on a cold start. Only in this case it wasn't just 1 cold night, but days and weeks of cold nights without moving. Or 18 straight hours without moving on the cars that were still being taken out for work duty.

Basically, short of rotating them out all night in "zombie" shifts one at a time to keep the motors loose--and hoping that doesn't crap something else out in the process--there's nothing more they can do. And nothing they could've done with those 18 Blue cars to buy time to figure out whether any more could get squeezed out of them for Orange. Old cars are old. They act their age. And there's no dialing back the clock unless you're replacing the oldest, most brittle, and most weather-susceptible-with-age components in a a major rebuild program. This is already the shop staff that's pioneered the use of hairnets...bulk-purchase food service hairnets...to keep snow from getting sucked into the motors and crapping them out. We're way past duct tape solutions here.

First thing they're replacing on the Type 7's that are in rebuild is the propulsion system. Short of taking the OLD Orange and Red cars offline for months at a time to do the similar scope of component replacement...there's nothing that'll improve their reliability before the new cars arrive. Either way you're buying half-or-more a new car, and can't move fast enough to stave off the next winter on the calendar.



This is their bed. They made it by not making these vehicle procurements in timely fashion, and now they're sleeping in it. The only thing that matters from here forward is not delaying that car purchase any longer, and stepping up their PR and customer service game for dealing with the fallout. Because they'll need it. This winter and the next three.
 
Re: Driven By Customer 'Service' Parte Dos

They made it by not making these vehicle procurements in timely fashion, and now we're sleeping in it.

fixed.
 
Re: Driven By Customer 'Service' Parte Dos

There is some temporary relief coming for the Red and Orange Line fleets. MBTA maintenance has been moving forward with a "Service, Maintenance and Reliability" (SMR) program for the #1 1969 Red Line cars and the Orange Line fleet to get them through to 2018/2019 when the new fleet starts coming in. Just like the order for the new cars, funding for the SMR program had to wait for the legislature to pass a transportation bill this past year. For the #1 Red Line cars they have started purchasing parts to get a truck rebuild program going. The Orange Line will also see a truck program, a program to replace the jumper cables and hoses at the #2 end couplers (which is underway), an HVAC compressor replacement program, and electrical system upgrades including replacing relays and a battery replacement program. The Orange Line cars also require partial floor replacements at the door sills (which has been underway for awhile).
The SMR program is nowhere near a full rebuild, but it includes some important upgrades which have been targeted to deal with major reliability issues. They are planning on installing the upgraded equipment in packages of modules that will minimize the number of cars out of service at any one time for the work.
 
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Re: Driven By Customer 'Service' Parte Dos

If only they had kept a dozen or so blue line trains. Yes they were shot beyond belief, but even one extra train would do wonders on a day like today.

The cost of installing cab signal equipment (ATO equipment) in the old Blue Line cars and the difficulty in obtaining the required obsolete parts to install the identical ATO system found on the existing fleet was the primary reason they did not move forward 10 years ago with a program to rebuild 24 Blue Line cars for Orange Line service. There was also a major issue with weight restrictions on the Dana Bridge over the Mystic River, as an eight-car train of ex-Blue Line cars would weigh much more than a six-car train of the standard Orange Line equipment (16 sets of trucks vs. 12 sets of trucks was the major difference in the weight of 8 48-foot long cars vs. 6 65-foot long cars).

The last of the old Blue Line cars were kept on the property because they were part of a sale/leaseback agreement and had to remain intact until last year. They were scrapped because they had more value as a source of parts for the Orange Line vs. being kept as extra cars for the Blue Line that were not needed. There are still stacks of parts from these cars sitting in the employee parking lot at Wellington (from a passing Orange Line train you can see the truck frames stacked in the lot).
 
Re: Driven By Customer 'Service' Parte Dos

ATO I can understand, but why weight restrictions? 8 #4s is 480,800; 6 #12s is 408,520. With crush loads, that's another 200,000 on each. Out of 600,000 pound loads, is another 80k going to matter compared to a million-pound CR train 12 feet away?
 
Re: Driven By Customer 'Service' Parte Dos

There is some temporary relief coming for the Red and Orange Line fleets. MBTA maintenance has been moving forward with a "Service, Maintenance and Reliability" (SMR) program for the #1 1969 Red Line cars and the Orange Line fleet to get them through to 2018/2019 when the new fleet starts coming in. Just like the order for the new cars, funding for the SMR program had to wait for the legislature to pass a transportation bill this past year. For the #1 Red Line cars they have started purchasing parts to get a truck rebuild program going. The Orange Line will also see a truck program, a program to replace the jumper cables and hoses at the #2 end couplers (which is underway), an HVAC compressor replacement program, and electrical system upgrades including replacing relays and a battery replacement program. The Orange Line cars also require partial floor replacements at the door sills (which has been underway for awhile).
The SMR program is nowhere near a full rebuild, but it includes some important upgrades which have been targeted to deal with major reliability issues. They are planning on installing the upgraded equipment in packages of modules that will minimize the number of cars out of service at any one time for the work.

Until this is completed, the new normal on the Orange Line is "Significant delays due to multiple disabled trains" -- three days in a row now.
 
Re: Driven By Customer 'Service' Parte Dos

ATO I can understand, but why weight restrictions? 8 #4s is 480,800; 6 #12s is 408,520. With crush loads, that's another 200,000 on each. Out of 600,000 pound loads, is another 80k going to matter compared to a million-pound CR train 12 feet away?

The bridge segment under the commuter rail track was designed to carry the weight of commuter rail and freight trains, its really built like two independent bridges side by side, a three-track rapid transit bridge and a one track railroad bridge. That's why the unused rapid transit track between Wellington and Sullivan was never turned over for railroad operations.

Additional edit:
Link to a Google streetview from under the bridge, where you can see the support for the single commuter rail track vs. the support for the three rapid-transit tracks (if the link works correctly)
https://www.google.com/maps/preview...an+Way!5m2!1sPbhQkM6V9wcYw4OapvNC7g!2e0&fid=5
 
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Re: Driven By Customer 'Service' Parte Dos

I'm trying to think back here, remember the days we screamed about Grabauskas, that blog documenting ever failure, and everything. Now years later, it is evident we should have ordered new trains with the Blue Line trains if not earlier. I remember it was mentioned that it was time, but funding only been announced now.

How did all those years passed that it got to this point? MBTA never seem to be a priority and it was said then and it said now, but how was funding skipped over until now? It's been a long time now since we have a GM we hate that much with any administration we can accuse of being anti-transit.

Also in regards to old Blue line trains, even if they did still worked enough for use for the OL, I thought they were too small/low? They are made of the same parts only a smaller body, but wouldn't the difference in height prevent use?
 
Re: Driven By Customer 'Service' Parte Dos

Also in regards to old Blue line trains, even if they did still worked enough for use for the OL, I thought they were too small/low? They are made of the same parts only a smaller body, but wouldn't the difference in height prevent use?

There is a several inch difference from the top of the rail head to the platform for Blue vs Orange. The plan discussed at the time was to modify the suspension on the Blue Line cars to raise the floor height slightly. The Blue Line cars also had more equipment mounted on the roof. Besides pantographs (which could be removed and are not required on the Orange Line), they also had brake resistors (which could not be moved). They did clearance testing at night with a train of Orange Line cars with styrofoam cut-outs mounted to the roof that were the shape of Blue Line car resistors. They found some minor clearance issues in the tunnel near State St., but nothing major.
 
Re: Driven By Customer 'Service' Parte Dos

Amusing to see a tweet last night, "E Line service being terminated at Heath Street due to traffic. Use the 39."

Why didn't they consider the option of closing the street down to auto traffic so people using public transit could get home?
 
Re: Driven By Customer 'Service' Parte Dos

Amusing to see a tweet last night, "E Line service being terminated at Heath Street due to traffic. Use the 39."

Why didn't they consider the option of closing the street down to auto traffic so people using public transit could get home?

John -- Surely you jest

The highway traffic problem was front and center on the Weather Channel and Jim Cantore reporting from the tunnel to Bridge transition at Causeway St.

4 hours was quite common for some of the highway commuters just getting from their offices in the Financial District through downtown Boston to I-93 and then out to Rt-128 N or S
 
Re: Driven By Customer 'Service' Parte Dos

I do jest but at the same time, I'm serious. Why does public transportation play second fiddle to roads?

Oh, and Mayor Menino tweeted yesterday, "If you drove to work this morning please consider taking the T home tonight."

Says the guy who gets chauffeured around town by the BPD.
 
Re: Driven By Customer 'Service' Parte Dos

The street tracks get extremely slippery when they are wet and people drive like idiots on/around them. That stretch of Huntington/S Huntington is bad in normal rush hour conditions. Throw in a snowstorm and you have a mess. They should have just said "due to weather" instead of traffic.
 
Re: Driven By Customer 'Service' Parte Dos

MBCR leaks out part of the their capital investment plan in commuter rail system, if they get the new operating contract:

http://www.boston.com/news/local/ma...-facilities/GOV1rc9toSQ7wdEkzulAwL/story.html

(they are proposing to spend their own money to build a new maintenance facility at Readville on the Stop & Shop parcel)

When it comes time for the MassDOT/MBTA board to choose the winning bidder, it will be interesting to see what if any other capital items are included in the two competing proposals. Potential items could include:
-Financing additional new coaches and locomotives beyond what the MBTA already has on order
-Taking the lead on procuring Fairmount DMUs for the MBTA. Have either of the two bidders have been in talks with Nippon-Sharyo? Does MBCR's new proposed Readville facility specifically include provisions for DMU maintenance?
-Helping to finance the installation and implementation of the MBTA's PTC plan
-Installing new rail above and beyond the annual minimum required in the contract.

There are other smaller capital items the contractor could in theory sweeten the pot with. As the 10-year operator of the system, MBCR might have an advantage over Keolis in that they know just what some of the greatest capital needs of the system are. Will be interesting to see what the final proposals look like when they are presented to the Board of Directors.
 
Re: Driven By Customer 'Service' Parte Dos

Well our Silver Line bus driver back from Logan yesterday must have been a rookie. Took her over 10 minutes to figure out how to restart the bus as electric at Silver Line Way. It was pretty pathetic to witness her scrambling about. Not a problem with the bus. Hey, at least she apologized to the whole bus once it got going again!

Also, I received yet another confirmation of how damn foolish the grade-crossing at D Street is. An empty street on a Sunday morning has more priority than a bus full of weary early-morning flyers? That's a long-ass light too... Signal-prioritize that intersection YESTERDAY! Out of curiosity, what was the reason they didn't continue the tunnel under D Street and come up on the other side?
 
Re: Driven By Customer 'Service' Parte Dos

I think a lot about the MBTA can be explained by bureaucratic ineptness as well as a lack of caring, lack of interest in providing a better product, on the part of the people in charge at key moments.

I can see not continuing the tunnel due to cost, but no signal priority? That's just a waste of money, and a lack of interest. Building Boston's "first BRT" probably made someone's career. Getting little details right don't matter towards that end. The people who design and run the T don't ride it. That's what it tells me.
 
Re: Driven By Customer 'Service' Parte Dos

I think a lot about the MBTA can be explained by bureaucratic ineptness as well as a lack of caring, lack of interest in providing a better product, on the part of the people in charge at key moments.

I can see not continuing the tunnel due to cost, but no signal priority? That's just a waste of money, and a lack of interest. Building Boston's "first BRT" probably made someone's career. Getting little details right don't matter towards that end. The people who design and run the T don't ride it. That's what it tells me.

Mathew -- it's worse than that -- prior to the recent reorg of all the Transportation entities minus of course Massport -- there was not only no coordination there was often outright contention amongst Turnpike [aka Big Dig], T and Massport

When the Big dig + Silver Line + new Logan were being planned there should have been a sec DOT level coordination -- making sure that one guy's plans didn't inconvenience or eliminate the potential of another member of the team -- NO SUCH LUCK

Massport did as they always do -- whatever suits their board -- the Turnpike with the Biggest $ played the Biggest Fiddle and the T was left holding the bag -- and as an after thought there was also Boston

So how did that result in the failure of the Silver Line to cross under D Street -- its all about the ownership of the land that Manulife is built upon and who controls such; who controls things such ad signals on D St.. etc.

Even with the T, Turnpike and nominally Massport under the guidance of the Sec. of Transportation -- there are still entrenched feudal fiefdoms in the bureauKraptsy

I've suggested in many forra that the immediate solution is:

1) Dig under D St. -- with provision for ultimately making Silver Line Way a major nexus station
2) Connect Silver Line Way directly to the Ted
Pay for the above by leasing the air rights over Silver Line Way for major project

3) SL-1 becomes a direct loop from South Station via Silver Line Way to the Terminals -- no travel on city streets
4) SL-2 Loops from Silver Line Way to Cruise Terminal & Design Center

5) SL-3 Loops from Silver Line Way to Channel Center via BCEC [underground Silver Line Station]
6) Moving Sidewalk in Gerbil Tube between WTC Station and BCEC
7) Gerbil Tubes between BCEC & at least 2000 hotel rooms
paid for #5,6,7 as part of expansion of BCEC
 
Re: Driven By Customer 'Service' Parte Dos

http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/20...mmuter-rail/LlewWhoM6Kn8rerkLd3zAJ/story.html

After months of tightly guarded review, the general manager of the MBTA plans to recommend dropping the T’s long-time commuter rail operator and awarding the billion-dollar contract to the French firm Keolis, two people briefed on the decision said Friday.

The recommendation, for the largest operating contract in state history, would still require a vote from the board of directors that oversees the MBTA and state Department of Transportation. The board is scheduled to meet on Wednesday.

“Keolis has been selected. The one thing remaining is the board approval,” said one of the people briefed on the deal, who was not authorized to comment. “The T board is the wild card.”

The proposed deal — to begin when the current contract expires at the end of June — calls for an eight-year term with the possibility of multiple two-year options after that, said the person, who added that MBTA General Manager Beverly A. Scott personally took part in negotiations with Keolis executives in Boston earlier this week.

Intriguing. Scott seems willing to challenge the suspiciously cozy relationship between MBTA and MBCR.
 
Re: Driven By Customer 'Service' Parte Dos

This will get interesting. The bidding has already been subject to a lot of shit-slinging accusations between Keolis and MBCR...leaks about Keolis' parent company's discriminatory employment practices in Europe, leaks about Keolis' parent's supposed involvement with the Nazis during WWII. Followed by accusations from Keolis that MBCR is doing the leaking and following the same rumor-mongering playbook that MBCR partner Bombardier did when the two parties faced off for the MARC and Virginia Railway Express operating contracts. Those ended up getting split...Keolis got VRE, Bombardier got MARC's 2 non-NEC lines (Amtrak has a separate contract for their Penn Line). They went scorched-earth on each other to avoid having to share space and ops at D.C. Union but ended up having to do that all the same. The tension and bad feelings between these firms was palpable well before MBTA bidding ever started.


There's already been an escalation in the hostilities in recent weeks. Safe to say it's ON now, and they're going to empty the chambers of all remaining ammo to either derail/discredit Scott's preference or enweapon it.
 

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