The slow zones for the Orange Line go back to sometime when the shutdown had just or not too long ended that I know of. The line was supposed to be fixed & updated. Then this damn thing had spread to the other lines like a disease without any cure!!
Could it just be that with the current speed restrictions in place that headways are maxed out?
I'm not up to doing a full analysis on this right now, but logically, if there is 10% more vehicle and dispatching capacity, then you can decrease the headways, regardless of how slowly the trains are moving between stations. Or is there something I don't understand about speed restrictions (ie some required gap between trains that has already been hit)?
This is where my thought process is, too. Yet there’s been no improvement on headways:
Yeah not sure there - other than speed + signaling block length would limit overall TPH/headways. I had thought, for instance, the Harvard curve on the Red limits the entire line to a max of about 3 minute headways (6 on the branches). That said perhaps it's more along the lines of the T trying to build a reserve of rolling stock to at least maintain current headways should any of the new cars (continue) to be break/malfunction requiring them to be out of service. Can think of a few instances recently of dead new trains on the OL.
commonwealthmagazine.org
That's great news!! At least we're getting some more new Oranges!!!
I saw a test train this morning. Dunno if that counts in the 11 or not.
It likely does as the Orange Line has still been experiencing 11 minute non-Sunday (14-minute Sunday) headways. Compare this to the first half of March when there were 10-minute headways even though fewer Orange Line cars had been accepted into service.
Now since more new cars have been introduced on the line, I would think that some more of the old Hawkers would be put out to pasture. The Red Line should see more new cars soon, hopefully.