MBTA "Transformation" (Green Line, Red Line, & Orange Line Transformation Projects)

Since the T has closed the Orange Line for a redo, I wonder if they will cover the 3rd rail. Like the subways in New York & Washington, DC. To help protect anyone who would accidentally fall onto the tracks. It wouldn't hurt, since they are replacing the 3rd rail anyway. :unsure:
 
Jahvon09 said:
Since the T has closed the Orange Line for a redo, I wonder if they will cover the 3rd rail. Like the subways in New York & Washington, DC. To help protect anyone who would accidentally fall onto the tracks. It wouldn't hurt, since they are replacing the 3rd rail anyway. :unsure:
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Where'd you see that they're replacing the 3rd rail over the whole line, I hadn't seen that?

I doubt they'll cover it. I imagine they'd have announced that if they were planning to, and I don't think that they can just go down to the Home Depot and buy several miles' worth of third rail cover if they just decided they wanted to. Moreover, New York and Washington have had their third rails covered for a long time, during which the T has never adopted the same policy, so I think it's unlikely that they'd change tack now without any particular reason (i.e. there are longstanding reasons - safety - why they're a good idea and why - maintenance - they might not be, but nothing has occurred here to change that equation lately).
 
They're only replacing third rail in and around the Wellington yard. There may be other locations as necessary, but minimal in length compared to the work at Wellington.
 
Is there a list somewhere of all the projects/ locations that are included as a part of the Orange line shutdown? Everything I can find on the T’s website seems pretty vague as opposed to something like the Green Line branch closure pages, which have maps with all the work areas and activities to be done in each area.
 
bakgwailo said:
Probably a stupid question, but does anyone know the difference between track replacement and rail replacement? Guessing "special track renewal" might be regrinding or something short of replacement? Will say I learned a new definition for cologne eggs today.
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Looks like "track replacement" includes rails, ballasts and ties. "Rail replacement" is just rails.
 
It looks like they're not planning on addressing the slow zone between Back Bay and Tufts. Isn't that a pretty notorious slow zone?

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ulrichomega said:
It looks like they're not planning on addressing the slow zone between Back Bay and Tufts. Isn't that a pretty notorious slow zone?View attachment 27724
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I think that one was addressed in an earlier tweet from MBTA (and is up to 25mph temporarily, but should eventually run at 40mph). Hoping this means 0 slow zones by the time the line re-opens, whenever that is.

I am encouraged that the MBTA is now publicly addressing slow zones as an issue that needs to be addressed, not just a neutral state that the line will be forever stuck with (like they are on Red, cough cough).
 
sneijder said:
I think that one was addressed in an earlier tweet from MBTA (and is up to 25mph temporarily, but should eventually run at 40mph). Hoping this means 0 slow zones by the time the line re-opens, whenever that is.

I am encouraged that the MBTA is now publicly addressing slow zones as an issue that needs to be addressed, not just a neutral state that the line will be forever stuck with (like they are on Red, cough cough).
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Yeah, I believe it was at the top of the list of the Fed's issues list and the MBTA was able to magically "fix it" pretty quickly. I can't believe, though, that we can do an entire month shutdown and not have it lifted from 25mph to 40mph now.
 
bakgwailo said:
Guessing "special track renewal" might be regrinding or something short of replacement? .
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Special track is turnouts and crossovers. Renewal is kind of a vague term to use, it could mean repair of existing or complete replacement.
 
sneijder said:
I think that one was addressed in an earlier tweet from MBTA (and is up to 25mph temporarily, but should eventually run at 40mph). Hoping this means 0 slow zones by the time the line re-opens, whenever that is.

I am encouraged that the MBTA is now publicly addressing slow zones as an issue that needs to be addressed, not just a neutral state that the line will be forever stuck with (like they are on Red, cough cough).
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You're thinking of this, which was between Back Bay and Mass Ave.

Though that one does look like it worked to help outbound riders save a good bit of time:
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One of the things that we as members seems to
forget is that not everyone is born to be a city and urban planner. We all come from families who have city and public policy in their bloodline. And most of us have at least SOME background in this (speaking for myself covering this as a writer in another life as well as the work that I do now working in the trades).

Alas, most people aren’t on these boards. They take the train from point A to point B. For the average rider who doesn’t pay any particular attention to issues regarding transition and infrastructure within I-495, these next thirty days (and possibly longer) will be their Rorschach Test. I’m okay with that.

After I was unceremoniously jettisoned from my first media job thanks to a coup de grâce, I was forced to work for a “non-profit” in DTX. (Basically I begged you to give money to Obama over the phone. Yup, I was that guy). In our training, we had to read about the history of the Highway Revolts of the late sixties and how then Governor Frank Sargent put a moratorium on new highways in the Bay State. In the pamphlet that we were given, it was all about how “great the T was” and that “one day, with some blessings from local leaders, the Blue Line would extend to Lynn and the Orange Line would extend to Roslindale.” The GLX was in this “one day” screed as well.

Mind you that this was 2009. Menino was “god” according to rich NIMBYS and people without chromosomes. These days, we’d call them sh!tlibs. But that’s another issue for another day. The point in all of this was that whilst things seem bleak (because they are), we’re SOOOOOOO much better off than 2009, when the T was great, Mumbles was king, Obama was “too far left” by those who praise him now, Deval was called “Cadillac” by racists, and Dr. Henry Louis Gates acted out-of-line with that nice officer. “hmmmm that’s a nice house that ‘professor’ lives in. With what my tax dollars?” Said someone in my family who shall
go nameless.


Have we taken a step back with Mayor Wu? I can’t tell. Personally, I would love to hang out with her. As a leader? I feel that she still represents the last of the NIMBY breeds out there. But let’s see what she’s made of in all of this.

The same goes for the public who never gave two sh!ts about the T until the trains literally caught fire. But the shutdown isn’t all bleak. Sometimes you have to burn the village in order to save the village.
 
So a Reddit thread is talking about rumors of the red line, but I saw this notable exchange around thoroughness of the shut down.

https://www.reddit.com/r/boston/comments/wxfaep/_/ilrf2mg

From the discussion in that thread, allegedly it argues even it won’t provide short term relief.Citing the work only plans to do 3500 ft of track but full SGR needs 58k feet.

I can see some flaws as 58k feet is ~11 miles and the OL is ~11 miles. They are arguably citing a report notes all track will eventually will need replacement but not all track needs replacements right now. Not to mention in the same report also has a graph amount of amount track and 2022 isn’t 58k (but is more than 3.5k, but the twitter post also have 14k rail replacement and other track work before shutdown and etc)
But

But I’m not an expert in the end. Anyone here have have any thoughts of that exchange? Are they reading the report right and thus the shutdown is doing just enough to stay treading enough water and implies a future of monthly shutdowns just to stay at 2022 service levels? Or they are misreading it (though this does not mean they are fixing everything at once - but we will feel relief)
 
ant8904 said:
I can see some flaws as 58k feet is ~11 miles and the OL is ~11 miles.
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The report is talking about linear feet of track - there are 2+ tracks. So in terms of the line it's probably more like half the line was fucked at the time, not the entire thing......which is still awful, obviously.

Not to mention in the same report also has a graph amount of amount track and 2022 isn’t 58k (but is more than 3.5k, but the twitter post also have 14k rail replacement and other track work before shutdown and etc)
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The graphs on slides 14 + 15 are for track due for renewal or extended maintenance combined.

The numbers on slides 17 + 18 look to be figures for work needed by 2025 (based on the context of what slide 21 is talking about), and the numbers do match the cumulative line on the graph for 2025 from slides 14/15.

You could probably go watch the recording for this FMCB meeting if you want more detail/explanation.

-------

We are now in 2022, this report is from the end of 2019 and there have been some substantial track work projects between then and now, the number may be significantly less than before.

For example, in: https://www.mbta.com/projects/building-better-t-2020, I can see that the T claims in 2020 that it repaired 6 miles of RL track and replaced 3.5 miles of OL track. That would have been a decent dent in their backlogs. Of course, track could have also decayed faster than expected and condition might not have tracked those projections exactly.

However, I don't know if there's anywhere public to find that sort of thing out.
 
Here maybe comment on the OL stations and track after reopening?
 
According to transitmatters, the Orange Line is about 18 minutes slower (round-trip Forest Hills - Oak Grove) and headways are about 2 minutes longer, on average, than immediately before the shutdown.

Does anyone here have an explanation?
 
Speed restrictions remain in place for 5-7 days after track work typically. Some of them may stay in place longer due to the scope and sensitivity of the work. They are in the process of lifting some of them currently, and will eventually clear all slow zones in the coming days.
 
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