General MBTA Topics (Multi Modal, Budget, MassDOT)

Yes. I always thought that it's caused from overheating of the train causing some kind of pressure that builds up which trips up the emergency brakes (too much pressure on the braks) and that's why the train has to release the pressure (the hissing sound) before it can proceed (or something something with the pressure valve I don't know what I'm talking about). Either that or there's a bad connection with the third rail that trips up the power of the train. Any train experts here know if that's how the the train's emergency brakes work?

It is propably a dropped track circuit in the signal system resulting in no speed code or fluctuating speed codes. That will result in an automatic brake application.
 
The MBTA will be spending $32M on making Track 61 a test track for the red line. Seems like a good use of money!
 
Shouldn't the new RL cars come fully tested?
It is acceptance testing. Manufacturer's testing only confirms that the manufacturer made it according to the specs that the manufacturer believed would meet the customer's contractual requirements. So that's not quite the same thing as saying it actually meets customer real-life requirements . Think "shakedown cruise" and "systems integration"

Even the best manufacturers aren't going to be able to simulate the whole T signal/control system or real T practices (or real likely emergencies/failures) as effectively as actual T staff on actual T property.

It's still controversial who is to blame for the Green Line Breda's derailments (Breda blamed the T, saying its badly-maintained track), or who's to blame for all the CR HSP's cold weather problems (systems integration here, a bad component there...) but either way it is the transit authority's job to test, not just the manufacturer.
 
RailwayAge, May 16, 2017
MTA unveils bold plan to modernize New York City subway

http://m.railwayage.com/index.php/p...t-plan-to-modernize-new-york-city-subway.html

An impressive read.

I'm not as knowledgeable as other posters about these two transit systems, but, the following two thoughts come to mind.

Has the MBTA emphasized the same focus and determination on its own system?

Sure, it's a larger system, but, the MTA manages to secure a heck of a lot more funding than the MBTA.

Here's the entire article.

New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority unveiled a comprehensive plan to rapidly modernize the world’s busiest subway system.

The plan, to be implemented immediately, will also separate the top leadership positions of chairman and chief executive while addressing the root causes of delays and disruptions that undermine service reliability.

The agency will accelerate delivery of hundreds of new cars, install continuous welded rail, and implement extensive operational changes and preventative maintenance throughout the system while focusing on notorious system trouble spots.

After “decades of underinvestment” that has left the century-old system “excessively vulnerable to failures,” the MTA said the new initiative is targeting short-term service improvements, and complements its record $29.5-billion Capital Plan which includes more than $14 billion for New York City Transit.

The separation of chairman and chief executive will strengthen leadership following the recent appointments of Chief Development Officer Janno Lieber and Chief Operating Officer Phil Eng. The MTA Search Committee will direct the recruitment for the Chairman and CEO roles. MTA Interim Executive Director Veronique "Ronnie" Hakim has served in the dual roles since Thomas Predergast retired at the end of 2016.

“Increasing delays are simply unacceptable which is why we have to commit to addressing the immediate problems with all the tools at our disposal,” said Hakim. “We are implementing long-term capital improvements. But we also need a comprehensive approach that focuses on reducing the system's failures while our capital investment is underway. Attacking the five key causes of subway delays enables New York City Transit to take a targeted approach that can produce results." Those causes are track and signal issues; sick passengers and police activity; subway car equipment failures; loading and unloading in stations, and bottlenecks that occur at critical points in the system where lines merge.

The first phase of the initiative will begin immediately on the Eighth Avenue corridor from 125th Street to Fulton Street, a total of 19 stations on the A,C,E lines; and at two key hubs in the South Bronx, 149th Street-Grand Concourse and Third Avenue-138th Street. MTA said there are an average of seven major incidents per month, delaying 50 or more trains, on the Eighth Avenue corridor.

The agency will roll out the plan in phases across the line over the next six months, introducing some aspects of the plan to other lines later.

The agency is expediting the delivery of 300 new R179 subway cars with the first arriving this fall and all being delivered by September 2018. It will also speed up the delivery of 450 new R211 cars, including an expansion of the pending portion of the order for the “standard configuration” R211 cars.

The MTA plans a top-to-bottom revamping of its car maintenance procedures and will seek the direct involvement of the original manufacturers in new maintenance. The agency will add inspectors and resources to ensure every car receives pre-service inspection before leaving a yard, to reduce the likelihood of a mid-trip failure. Key components will be proactively replaced on a regular schedule before they fail. This new component replacement initiative will initially focus on doors, heating and air conditioning, and master controllers, which historically have been the source of the most frequent failures.

The MTA is doubling its ultrasonic testing from once a month to twice monthly to detect track defects, make repairs and prevent recurrence.

Rapid response teams will be deployed near the busiest stations to address track and signal issues, with additional emergency- dispatched repair vehicles and trained staff to get repair crews where they are needed, faster. “These will be expanded to include additional specialists with access to more parts and resources to enable more rapid repairs of all aspects of the subway’s tracks and signal systems,” the agency said. The MTA is focused on reducing average response time of its emergency crews to 15 minutes or less, to restore service faster.

At track level, the MTA plans to install a total of 3,000 feet of continuous welded rail to cover the entire Eighth Avenue corridor by September 2017.

Two of what the MTA calls first-of-its-kind portable transit vacuums will be deployed on the corridor, to remove trash and prevent fires. The MTA has ordered more units to enable a system-wide expansion.

The initiative will deploy EMTs at five corridor stations to aid sick passengers, and the agency is working with NYPD to increase the presence of law enforcement at the same stations. The MTA is also testing strategies to improve passenger loading and unloading.

With more trains and increased ridership, more managers and technology will be added to move trains quickly through hub merge points, to avoid delays.
 
From the Imagine Boston 2030 plan:

"The current building boom is really just beginning. Much of this is predicated on the belief that Boston will keep growing. The plan projects a population of more than 800,000 people by 2050 — up from 656,000 in 2014 — and more than 900,000 jobs.
To keep pace with all that growth, the city will need to hit its current goal of 53,000 new housing units by 2030, and add 42,000 more in the two decades after that. Office developers had better keep building, too".

"Help will come by building more housing downtown. There are calls for a new generation of high-rise housing on the dense, walkable streets of job hubs from Longwood Medical Area to the Financial District".

As a result of this, I think a new subway line is needed to connect Logan with Back Bay and to alleviate some of the crush on the Green Line AND the Silver Line. Providing that a subway could be built under the Red Line tunnel and the Big Dig tunnel at Fort Point Channel and under the infrastructure at the south end of the bus terminal at South Station, I think a new subway should run from a terminus at the Green Line's Hynes Convention Center Station over to Stuart Street, down Kneeland Street to the Seaport District (use Track 61) and under the harbor to the airport. Stops would include the forthcoming South End Gateway development and connection to Back Bay Station, Theater District (perhaps an underground passage to Boylston Station), South Station (maybe moving sidewalks to get to the other end of the Station), Boston Convention and Exhibition Center (perhaps a Seaport Tram cable to take conventioneers and Gold Line passengers to the harbor side of Seaport) and Black Falcon Cruise Terminal/Boston Design Center. Label the new subway the Gold Line for all the important connections it makes. Like London did with its expensive Crossrail subway line, spend the money if it is necessary. I think a new subway line paralleling the Green Line downtown, providing more transit for Seaport and a new faster connection to the airport is necessary.

From a Crossrail in Numbers article here are some cogent bullet points that can apply to Boston, albeit, on a smaller scale.

The journey time from London Heathrow to the City of London (Liverpool Street) will fall from 55 to 34 minutes.

Congestion at many London Underground stations will be reduced, even for those that are not on the Crossrail route – such as Oxford Circus.

Crossrail will bring an extra 1.5 million people to within 45 minutes of central London and will link London’s key employment, leisure and business districts – Heathrow, West End, the City, Docklands – enabling further economic development.

Construction of the new railway will support regeneration across the capital and add an estimated £42bn to the economy of the UK.

http://www.crossrail.co.uk/news/crossrail-in-numbers
 
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Well, depending on where you are in the BB, you do have the option of going on the CR for one stop to South Station; and then taking the Silver Line. Don't laugh; at least it's only one transfer instead of two.
 
Well, depending on where you are in the BB, you do have the option of going on the CR for one stop to South Station; and then taking the Silver Line. Don't laugh; at least it's only one transfer instead of two.

You could also hop the Orange or Green in Backbay and have a one hop transfer to the Blue to Logan, too.
 
Random question that I don't know where is the best place to ask: what are all the different types of fare systems used around the world? For example, you have a flat rate all along the MBTA, some are based on zones (like our commuter rail), some are entirely free. Is there a nice concise discussion on the topic? I found some tangental discussion on it in the wikipedia page for farebox recovery ratios, but thats it so far.
 
Add milage based (DC Metro) and peak/off-peak (also DC)
 
You could also hop the Orange or Green in Backbay and have a one hop transfer to the Blue to Logan, too.

That doesn't count the shuttle bus at Logan. The nice thing about the silver line (there's a sentence clause I thought I'd never type) is that it goes directly to each terminal. Once you get on the silver line, the only time you're changing to a different seat is when you're getting on your plane.
 
That doesn't count the shuttle bus at Logan. The nice thing about the silver line (there's a sentence clause I thought I'd never type) is that it goes directly to each terminal. Once you get on the silver line, the only time you're changing to a different seat is when you're getting on your plane.

But I can tell you from experience, that BB Orange to Blue to Airport Bus is significantly faster than using the Silver Line. That facacca route to the Ted Williams is a big time killer (and you don't get stuck in tunnel traffic).
 
But I can tell you from experience, that BB Orange to Blue to Airport Bus is significantly faster than using the Silver Line. That facacca route to the Ted Williams is a big time killer (and you don't get stuck in tunnel traffic).

Yeah, I mean I don't really count the shuttle bus - pretty much every other airport I have been to has its own tram/bus service for terminals with a connector into the main public transit systems.
 
Typical limousine liberal party line bullshit from Newton:

The mayor also said he would make a major push for better public transportation across the state, a veiled shot at the Baker administration, which has made reforming the MBTA a major priority. He called for a Blue Line extension to Lynn, a Springfield-to-Boston bullet train, and repairs to bridges.

Why does the state Democratic party continue to advocate for idiotic infrastructure investments (train to Springfield)? Gimme a break.

From the Globe
 
Because the rest of the state has a massive chip on its soldier in regards to Boston. There is a perception that Boston sucks up state resources and amenities at the expense of the other parts of the state, which causes a spiteful political response that favors disinvestment in urban needs like transit.

There is a very real consolidation of wealth and new employment opportunities in certain cities like Boston, but that has a lot more to do with inherent problems with capitalism than any state policies. A lazy response to this consolidation is to build connections to Boston (Springfield-Boston and South Coast rail), when really the better options have to do with making better investments and choices in the Gateway Cities.

It also makes sense to promise infrastructure upgrades in other parts of the state when you are running a state-wide campaign. Of course, the Knowledge Corridor commuter rail is a much better large infrastructure investment for that region. The best investments for the other regions in the state involve increased RTA funding, bus and bike lanes, eliminating parking minimums and changing zoning, but those aren't sexy and don't come with high enough dollar values to balance out the pissed of car users.
 

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