New Red and Orange Line Cars

[Jahvon09]

The orange line being “done” was never the intention of the shutdown. The intention was to work on emergency repairs and complete “5 years of work in a month”. Was that accomplished? Probably not, but the backlog of deferred maintenance on the OL and the MBTA as a whole is substantial. Completing all of that maintenance in 1 month was never realistic, nor was it even the stated goal of the shutdown. There will always be maintenance needed on every functioning railroad, the T just needs to play catch-up after years of not doing enough.

Yeah, & the same things seem to be happening on the Red & Green Lines also, especially the D Line! Now we also are hearing that the new system that supposedly was put in, Auto Train protection (ATP) is being frigging delayed for a year, which probably means that crashes can still happen!! Oh. what a mess! Seems that as soon as they get ahead, they're dragged back for another damn year!! The 2-step Boogie!!!!

 

[Stlin]

Apparently, an OL train car, or it's trailer fell off it's truck this evening. Based on the tiniest peek of Orange up top where there isn't any on the hawkers, I'm going with this being a new CRRC car, and therefore it looks like deliveries have resumed.

Stranded Orange Line train removed from I-495 in Chelmsford

A stranded MBTA Orange Line car that had been stuck in Chelmsford since Tuesday night has finally been removed.

www.cbsnews.com

Edit: nbc10 confirms that it's a CRRC shipment and that the other car of the pair was delivered

 

[Jahvon09]

Seems that there is no luck for the new OL cars. Either they are pull from service or they are pulled off a flatbed during delivery. In any case, the rest of the old Hawkers are definitely on their way to the scrapyard.

 

[Riverside]

Apparently, an OL train car, or it's trailer fell off it's truck this evening. Based on the tiniest peek of Orange up top where there isn't any on the hawkers, I'm going with this being a new CRRC car, and therefore it looks like deliveries have resumed.
View attachment 34623

Stranded Orange Line train removed from I-495 in Chelmsford

A stranded MBTA Orange Line car that had been stuck in Chelmsford since Tuesday night has finally been removed.

www.cbsnews.com

Edit: nbc10 confirms that it's a CRRC shipment and that the other car of the pair was delivered

Looks like it’ll remain there through the morning commute, so if anyone wants to get a unique look at a new Orange Line car, head out to Chelmsford!

[EDIT: to be clear, I am joking — traffic will already be bad, no need to contribute to further congestion.]

Orange Line Car Removed From I-495 in Chelmsford

A disabled truck carrying a new Orange Line train car was removed Wednesday evening from Interstate 495 in Chelmsford, Massachusetts. There were traffic diversions starting during the evening commute as crews worked to remove the truck. The Massachusetts Department of Transportation initially...

www.nbcboston.com

 

[Jahvon09]

Fixing the Orange Line. Again!!

I thought that the Orange Line was already fixed during the shutdown last summer. What gives?!! So they are saying that since a part of it is closed for the demolition of the GC Garage, that they might as well repair the track in that area!! Is this to help eliminate some of the slow zones that have been plaguing those spots?!!

 

[reno]

The bridge decks on 495 in that area are in very poor shape it's a rough ride even in a car, lots of debris on the shoulders after being ejected from trucks, etc.

 

[Zash]

Fixing the Orange Line. Again!!

I thought that the Orange Line was already fixed during the shutdown last summer. What gives?!! So they are saying that since a part of it is closed for the demolition of the GC Garage, that they might as well repair the track in that area!! Is this to help eliminate some of the slow zones that have been plaguing those spots?!! View attachment 34624

And this has relation to the OL train cars how...?

 

[mass88]

How wonderful. A stranded MBTA car, the result of using a substandard carrier most likely, is causing traffic delays and they're going to start lane and ramp closures starting at 5 pm today. Another example of the incompetence of the MBTA and yet another reason why people will simply no use it.

 

[Brattle Loop]

How wonderful. A stranded MBTA car, the result of using a substandard carrier most likely, is causing traffic delays and they're going to start lane and ramp closures starting at 5 pm today. Another example of the incompetence of the MBTA and yet another reason why people will simply no use it.

Wow. That's some jumping to conclusions...

According to the previously-posted link, the carrier was hired by CRRC (which makes sense, given the T takes delivery at Wellington), and, by my read, contains zero evidence to support the assertion that the carrier was substandard (to be clear, they could be, or they could be fine and unlucky). Literally the only part of this the MBTA had was in awarding CRRC the contract to build the cars, and while that decision was questionable, it's not relevant to this happening. No one's going to say "well, I was going to use the T, but then they got a train car on a truck stuck on a highway, so now I'm not going to use them"...there's plenty of actual MBTA fails that are their fault screw over their riders that are absolutely worth complaining about, this isn't one.

 

[mass88]

Wow. That's some jumping to conclusions...

According to the previously-posted link, the carrier was hired by CRRC (which makes sense, given the T takes delivery at Wellington), and, by my read, contains zero evidence to support the assertion that the carrier was substandard (to be clear, they could be, or they could be fine and unlucky). Literally the only part of this the MBTA had was in awarding CRRC the contract to build the cars, and while that decision was questionable, it's not relevant to this happening. No one's going to say "well, I was going to use the T, but then they got a train car on a truck stuck on a highway, so now I'm not going to use them"...there's plenty of actual MBTA fails that are their fault screw over their riders that are absolutely worth complaining about, this isn't one.

So no one should complain that we have a carrier losing a load and in the process blocking a major highway? Doesn't matter who hired them, the fact is the carrier lost a load and that is a horrible look for any carrier.

 

[Brattle Loop]

So no one should complain that we have a carrier losing a load and in the process blocking a major highway? Doesn't matter who hired them, the fact is the carrier lost a load and that is a horrible look for any carrier.

I didn't say they shouldn't complain, or that it wasn't a horrible look. You implied the carrier was substandard without evidence (unless "substandard" is defined as "never lost a load for any reason ever"). You ascribed the situation to the MBTA (which is untrue unless you ascribe actions of contractors over which the agency has no control, given CRRC hired the carrier), and specifically to their incompetence (which is blatantly unsupported). It's an absolute mess, that's true, but I think that the complaints about it should be directed at those properly responsible, not an agency who had no control over it whatsoever. (It'd be like blaming you if a FedEx truck carrying a package you ordered overturned and blocked a road while on its way to deliver your parcel.)

 

[bigeman312]

I didn't say they shouldn't complain, or that it wasn't a horrible look. You implied the carrier was substandard without evidence (unless "substandard" is defined as "never lost a load for any reason ever"). You ascribed the situation to the MBTA (which is untrue unless you ascribe actions of contractors over which the agency has no control, given CRRC hired the carrier), and specifically to their incompetence (which is blatantly unsupported). It's an absolute mess, that's true, but I think that the complaints about it should be directed at those properly responsible, not an agency who had no control over it whatsoever. (It'd be like blaming you if a FedEx truck carrying a package you ordered overturned and blocked a road while on its way to deliver your parcel.)

And on top of that, @mass88 used that as justification for "yet another reason why people will simply no (sic) use" the MBTA, which might be the most absurd claim I've heard regarding mass transit usage. This mishap quite literally made driving worse and didn't directly affect MBTA users. It is even more egregiously bad logic than "blaming you if a FedEx truck carrying a package you ordered overturned and blocked a road while on its way to deliver your parcel." It's akin to saying "Amazon sucks because a FedEx truck carrying a package overturned, this is why nobody goes to brick-and-mortar stores anymore." With all-due-respect, it's astonishingly illogical.

 

[Highwayguy]

I understand that this incident wasn’t the MBTA’s fault for once, but l can’t help but laugh at the optics of the Orange line ‘derailing’ on 495 and wrecking the PM commute. I’m picturing one of the TV news stations doing a man on the street interview with a townie exclaiming “When l said l wanted an Orange line extension, I didn’t mean like this!”

 

[Jahvon09]

I understand that this incident wasn’t the MBTA’s fault for once, but l can’t help but laugh at the optics of the Orange line ‘derailing’ on 495 and wrecking the PM commute. I’m picturing one of the TV news stations doing a man on the street interview with a townie exclaiming “When l said l wanted an Orange line extension, I didn’t mean like this!”

This looks to be entirely CRRC's fault. Either they didn't have the railcar secured tight enough to the flatbed, or something else seemed to go entirely wrong!! Seems they can't even deliver a railcar without screwing things up!!

 

[F-Line to Dudley]

This looks to be entirely CRRC's fault. Either they didn't have the railcar secured tight enough to the flatbed, or something else seemed to go entirely wrong!! Seems they can't even deliver a railcar without screwing things up!!

CRRC doesn't personally truck the cars over, because the plant doesn't produce total enough cars to train/retain staff and equipment in-house for transporting oversize loads. It's contracted out to a truck company qualified in transporting oversize loads. It's the truck company's problem to make sure their load is secured properly, and it'll say exactly that in their contract with CRRC.

I know it's so tempting to empty the blame cannon at MBTA or CRRC for the sheer repetition of it, but this isn't one of those cases.

 

[Jahvon09]

CRRC doesn't personally truck the cars over, because the plant doesn't produce total enough cars to train/retain staff and equipment in-house for transporting oversize loads. It's contracted out to a truck company qualified in transporting oversize loads. It's the truck company's problem to make sure their load is secured properly, and it'll say exactly that in their contract with CRRC.

I know it's so tempting to empty the blame cannon at MBTA or CRRC for the sheer repetition of it, but this isn't one of those cases.

Oh well, someone made a mistake in getting the railcar to its destination. Anyway, Comm Mag also picked up the story as well. It is said that the MBTA became the butt of jokes for this having happened. And it seems as though some more of the new vehicles have started back to being delivered again.

New Orange Line train breaks down – on I-495 - CommonWealth Magazine

AFTER A NEARLY seven-month hiatus, new Orange Line trains are once again being shipped from the assembly plant in Springfield to Wellington Station in Medford. But one new train took longer than expected to arrive at its destination after the flatbed on which it was riding disconnected from the...

commonwealthmagazine.org

Actually, the new OL car DID NOT break down. The flatbed carrying it got dislodged from the truck that was carrying it.

 

[reno]

I still say the condition of the bridge deck that truck had just gone over is horrible, like speed bumps on an Interstate Highway. https://goo.gl/maps/srnbvGi8Y7P1yif37

 

[bakgwailo]

Always look on the bright side of things: this means the T is finally getting new car deliveries after what 7 months? Well, I guess kind of getting them.

 

[nbcoram]

Always look on the bright side of things: this means the T is finally getting new car deliveries after what 7 months? Well, I guess kind of getting them.

Per Gonneville's board meeting update, the car was successfully delivered yesterday with no damage and 3 other cars were also delivered.

This means 1478 through 1481 are now delivered. Additionally, pair 1474/1475 has now entered revenue service.

 

[Jahvon09]

Per Gonneville's board meeting update, the car was successfully delivered yesterday with no damage and 3 other cars were also delivered.

This means 1478 through 1481 are now delivered. Additionally, pair 1474/1475 has now entered revenue service.

Two others must've already been there (Wellington yard). Each train is supposed to operate in sets of 6 cars. According to CRRC, all of the OL car shells have been made.