General MBTA Topics (Multi Modal, Budget, MassDOT)

sneijder said:
I really wish they would communicate/appreciate how absolutely important travel times/removing slow zones are. It is so much more than just "getting riders where they need to go faster". Running trains at track speed will:

- Reduce car traffic on streets by improving travel times of alternatives to driving (Downs-Thompson Paradox), effectively speeding up trips for BOTH car and transit users
- Improve the public's faith in transit being a viable transportation option. I'm talking about all the business people, bar hoppers in southie, and yuppie's who just automatically call a uber from wherever they are without thinking if the T would be faster or more economical.
- Reduce the amount of rolling stock and train operators needed to provide the same level of service & headways. Or, if we keep the amount of rolling stock fixed, increase the amount of service we can provide with the same equipment (need to buy & maintain fewer train cars). Removing the 5-6 mins of slow zones on the Orange Line is literally equivalent to having an ENTIRE extra trainset in service. I don't know how much it costs to fix slow zones, but I'm sure it costs a hell of a lot less than a 6-car trainset, not to mention the extra wages and pensions of the people operating and maintaining that extra train.
- Since faster trip times = lower headways, this reduces the dwell time at each station (since more frequent trains = fewer people that need to enter/exit each train)
- Reduce the amount of train bunching (trains can clear their fixed block in the signal system faster, reducing the chance that the train behind would hit a red signal).

Like, it's about time that speeding trains up is taken seriously as a solution to fixing traffic.
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All of that is true, but at the same time, how much of that is useful information to general audiences? Most people, when considering transportation options, aren't going to care much about things like whether the T's more efficient or that it's essentially 'added' an extra trainset by eliminating slow zones. "Getting there faster" is one of the most important points, along with it being reliable. People who could but don't take the T are probably doing so because it's either a.) too slow or b.) too unreliable. Focusing the general-audience marketing on "getting there faster" and (at least implicitly) more reliably speaks to both of those things without the cruft of jargon that most people aren't going to care very much about. (Though they can and should absolutely be talking up those more-specific things in appropriate contexts, including to media outlets better positioned to put that kind of info in context than a short update video.)
 
Brattle Loop said:
Apparently it was one of the Budd RDCs abandoned for years over by the Orange Line.
https://twitter.com/x/status/1568779356553478144
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Quite the circular buck passing going on for this one, concisely summarized by the Globe.
Screenshot_20220910_231451.jpg

Other than that though: the MBTA still has RDCs on property‽ When was the last time the things ran in revenue service, the 1980s? I thought there was a typo until I checked the roster site. I get that they were sold and never removed, but surely some sort of removal covenant/clause or abandonment could have been assessed for the T to re-auction the things. Is that storage track so rarely used that these were just... Not in the way? Not even worth dragging to Rochester?
 
Stlin said:
Other than that though: the MBTA still has RDCs on property‽ When was the last time the things ran in revenue service, the 1980s? I thought there was a typo until I checked the roster site. I get that they were sold and never removed, but surely some sort of removal covenant/clause or abandonment could have been assessed for the T to re-auction the things. Is that storage track so rarely used that these were just... Not in the way? Not even worth dragging to Rochester?
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Those things have been there for the better part of two decades. At some point maybe ten years ago or thereabouts a bunch more dead equipment (including, I think, an ex-Amtrak MHC) got shoved over there with the Buddliners (Quite possibly including the several cars abandoned, and possibly partially derailed, on a spur on the Fitchburg I recall seeing every day for three years when that was my commute...). That track seems like it connects to one of the Boston Sand & Gravel lead tracks that frequently has cars parked on it (and over the switch), and I'm pretty sure it's not connected to anything at the outbound end, making it effectively useless for anything but cold storage. I recall hearing somewhere that the RDCs are on shop trucks, I dunno if that'd preclude moving them to Rochester even if they wanted to.
 
Stlin said:
Quite the circular buck passing going on for this one, concisely summarized by the Globe.
View attachment 28338
Other than that though: the MBTA still has RDCs on property‽ When was the last time the things ran in revenue service, the 1980s? I thought there was a typo until I checked the roster site. I get that they were sold and never removed, but surely some sort of removal covenant/clause or abandonment could have been assessed for the T to re-auction the things. Is that storage track so rarely used that these were just... Not in the way? Not even worth dragging to Rochester?
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They last ran as push-pull coaches in 1989. Were sold for scrap almost 2 decades ago but the buyer never picked them up. The T had some plans around the 2004 Democratic Convention to spiff them up into office trailers...plan never went anywhere. They've simply been shoved around BET all this time. This isn't the first time they've been arsoned, either.

Brattle Loop said:
Those things have been there for the better part of two decades. At some point maybe ten years ago or thereabouts a bunch more dead equipment (including, I think, an ex-Amtrak MHC) got shoved over there with the Buddliners (Quite possibly including the several cars abandoned, and possibly partially derailed, on a spur on the Fitchburg I recall seeing every day for three years when that was my commute...). That track seems like it connects to one of the Boston Sand & Gravel lead tracks that frequently has cars parked on it (and over the switch), and I'm pretty sure it's not connected to anything at the outbound end, making it effectively useless for anything but cold storage. I recall hearing somewhere that the RDCs are on shop trucks, I dunno if that'd preclude moving them to Rochester even if they wanted to.
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Correct. Most of the refuse was cleaned up the last few years to make more room in anticipation of GLX construction coming onsite, with what's left being taken out to Billerica, Rochester, and other nooks-and-crannies (there's some scrap gondolas still rotting at Wakefield Junction on the abandoned branch, for instance). The RDC's stayed put. No idea why...maybe their shop trucks weren't roadworthy enough to move.
 
They moved on Easter Sunday 4/19/03 to Somerville, Ma. on shop trucks. As far as I know, they were already up in Billerica on those trucks. The RDC's also moved under a FRA waiver,
using loaded ballast hoppers and runaround air hoses for the move to BET. Plans were to convert both cars to crew quarters at North Station for the duration of the Democratic National Convention July 2004.
This did not happen and they remained stored at FX as of 2005. Cars were restenciled to MBTX for the move. Looks like the 6213 was the major victim in the fire, while the other Budd was largely unscathed.
 
And their last claim to fame was a brief cameo in the Bed Affleck film "The Town"!
 
www.nbcboston.com

Sparks, Smoke at MBTA Station After Wiring Falls on Tracks, Snarling Green Line

Smoke and intense sparks were seen at the MBTA’s Park Street Station in Boston Sunday after overhead wiring fell onto Green Line tracks near one of the platforms. No one was hurt, the MBTA said, but Green Line service was suspended between Government Center and Kenmore Square for hours Sunday...
www.nbcboston.com www.nbcboston.com
Smoke and intense sparks were seen at the MBTA's Park Street Station in Boston Sunday after overhead wiring fell onto Green Line tracks near one of the platforms.

No one was hurt, the MBTA said, but Green Line service was suspended between Government Center and Kenmore Square, with shuttle buses replacing trolley service.

Video from riders waiting to board showed loud sparks spitting from the tracks, with customers running from a train.
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https://twitter.com/x/status/1569041939118395399
 
Ok yeah I think it is time to throw the whole MBTA away.

And by that, I mean shut down each line in sequence for a complete overhaul
 
HelloBostonHi said:
Generally a percentage complete generally refers to the percent of budgeted money that has been spent (which in turns relates the amount of budgeted time used). It doesn't move linearly with time though, some work tasks are more expensive and will move the percent more than others.
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Just a minor nitpick based on my experience w/ cost tracking during project management for gov contracts:
The percentage complete usually refers to budgeted money tied to task closure at a given point in time, as a proportion of the total budgeted money. If I establish up front that Task A is a $1M task and the total project budget is $10M, and I complete Task A, then I can say the project is 10% complete. If I spend $1M and no tasks have been closed yet, I am still at 0% complete.

EDIT: hence is also why your %complete and your budget status can differ, for instance, if you are overspending. For example, I can be at 50% complete per plan, and, in parallel, be at an over-budget status if the $ it took to get you to 50% complete exceeded plan.
 
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Right, that's how it's *supposed* to work, but I find it rather telling that the completion % they keep announcing are EXACTLY in line with calendar time. Like, the 69% complete announcement came only a few hours before 69% of the time had elapsed. Hour-by-hour accuracy makes me pretty skeptical they are being honest.
 
https://twitter.com/x/status/1570812380988178435

I don't know about the legitimacy of the percentages but they are claiming 96%. Personally, I find it ideal when it was presented like this graphic. Percentages are nice, but X number of track replaces and X number of Cologne Eggs are raw numbers that fully undeniable. Unfortunately the updates are only done weekly and the last one stopped using that graphic in favor of others.

FWIW, the Twitter video noted 400 Cologne Eggs, 12,320 ft of rail, 3,500 ft of full depth track, and 100% of special track work. I don't know if it fits 1:1 with the graphic. If it does, then I would map the "12,320 ft of rail" to the graphic's "14,000 ft of Rail Replacement" and "3,500 ft of full depth track" to be "3,500 ft of Track Replacement". Which concerningly means they fell short on that but reach target on everything else. Though they still have the weekend, but still.

Ultimately the real test is the experience after this is over - slow zones, track fires, dead trains, "signal problems", giant-spectacle-train-fire, any-walk-on-track-scenario, and any scenarios we haven't experience. While the work can't help with other passengers, electrical blackouts, or other issues I can't think up right now. There should be a payoff in this.
 
There will likely be a noticeable improvement, but I'm afraid the T isn't being clear this isn't over for the Orange Line. There's a LOT more full depth track renewal that was outlined years ago as part of the initial announcement of the "Orange Line Transformation" program. I can't find the presentation anymore, but it outlined ~58,000 feet of renewal required by 2025, IIRC.
 
stefal said:
There will likely be a noticeable improvement, but I'm afraid the T isn't being clear this isn't over for the Orange Line. There's a LOT more full depth track renewal that was outlined years ago as part of the initial announcement of the "Orange Line Transformation" program. I can't find the presentation anymore, but it outlined ~58,000 feet of renewal required by 2025, IIRC.
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Yeah, I noticed that too. First, this is the presentation that you're looking for - https://cdn.mbta.com/sites/default/...ay-attainment-maintenance-plan-accessible.pdf

That said, since I noticed that took. I posted and did got one analysis in the MBTA "Transformation" (Green Line, Red Line, & Orange Line Transformation Projects) thread (hmm Jahvon does kinda have a point it can be a little confusing with all the different threads).

There's a bit of a semi-rebuttal that the numbers is total cumulative work and there has been work done before the shutdown. Namely the claim of like 3.5 miles of OL track replacement already done claimed back in 2020. With a strong caveat that things could have decayed faster or other factors that is just we can't know because there's no public information.

So given the lack of public information, this does raises a concern that this shutdown - a shutdown that should be viewed as a emergency action to truly rip-the-bandaid type of moment - is only the first several that eventually normalizes the practice despite other systems (to my knowledge) does not have to do just to provide the remaining level of service (or worse, a spiral of reduced service)
 
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