New Red and Orange Line Cars

RandomWalk said:
Alas, G1 door on car #1913 is not working. First time I have seen a new CRRC car with non-operable door.
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I assume that’s something that happens on any subway fleet from time to time and can usually be fixed in a day. Am I wrong in that assumption?
 
Weren't there door problems on the very first few cars with them opening (or not closing)?
 
What is involved in the testing of new cars before service entry? The T roster on transithistory.org was recently updated, but they still haven’t accepted any cars delivered since August. I would expect midway through serial production, they should be able to accept cars quicker.
 
RandomWalk said:
What is involved in the testing of new cars before service entry? The T roster on transithistory.org was recently updated, but they still haven’t accepted any cars delivered since August. I would expect midway through serial production, they should be able to accept cars quicker.
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They've been delivering 2 cars each type monthly. transithistory must've been behind.
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Edit: nvm I misunderstood what you were saying my fault.

As far as I'm aware they need to test all train control and signaling processes as well as a certain amount of time/mileage on the actual rails through each switch, signal, interlocking etc. It looks like the cars through Sept. are accepted on the Orange and through July on the Red. I assume they're being extra meticulous with it due to being under FTA scrutiny but also testing on the full trackage would be impacted by the big shutdowns this fall/winter. Set #4 of the Red Line is supposed to go active this month so hopefully they can get back of track with the track work done.
 
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RandomWalk said:
So they need to test on the main line, not just the test track?
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Yes. If there's a wonky cab signal unit on the train they need to find which mainline signal is causing a glitch/dropout, so test track won't do for final certification. Plus the burn-in miles are significant, so they need to let 'em rack up more mileage than just pinging back and forth on the test track will allow. They'll be out on the off-peak and overnight. TransitMatters' new train tracker picks up the pings from the test trains, too, though to tell it would depend on whether an unaccepted car is leading the train vs. a borrowed revenue car trainlining with some unaccepteds.
 
F-Line to Dudley said:
Yes. If there's a wonky cab signal unit on the train they need to find which mainline signal is causing a glitch/dropout, so test track won't do for final certification. Plus the burn-in miles are significant, so they need to let 'em rack up more mileage than just pinging back and forth on the test track will allow. They'll be out on the off-peak and overnight. TransitMatters' new train tracker picks up the pings from the test trains, too, though to tell it would depend on whether an unaccepted car is leading the train vs. a borrowed revenue car trainlining with some unaccepteds.
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Thanks for the explanation. I never understood why it seems like an entire train has to be held out of service though? Like we have 3 full trainsets but only two in service at any given time. Is it just the third trainset is still in its burn-in period?
 
sneijder said:
Thanks for the explanation. I never understood why it seems like an entire train has to be held out of service though? Like we have 3 full trainsets but only two in service at any given time. Is it just the third trainset is still in its burn-in period?
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If the cars are accepted, they're rostered and usable for full revenue service (whether or not there's a divisible-by-6 number of them on-hand to make up a going-concern revenue consist). It's only the delivered-but-not-accepted cars not yet on the roster that are subject to burn-in testing. Cars that are having teething problems or are scheduled for warranty mods in the shop would obviously be held out of the day's revenue pool even if they are "active" and rostered for service, so the number of consists does tend to lag the "active" numbers by a bit.

Red's had 24 active CRRC cars on NETransit for over a month now, but the 4th active 6-car revenue consist divisible from those numbers has been elusive so far so some of the earlier-delivered cars might be temporarily idle for warranty mods.
 
NETransit roster updates for January. . .

No new accepted cars on either line since early December; it's still 128 active Orange cars and 24 active Red cars (though we still haven't gotten confirmation that a 4th active RL set is actually running, so there may be some previously active cars temporarily down for warranty mods). 6 unaccepted Orange cars in-testing, 10 unaccepted Red cars in-testing. Orange deliveries have only averaged 1 pair per month since July, Red 1 pair per month since September. This order is still creaking along agonizingly slow overall.
 
I happend to walk by Cabot Yard this morning around 9 AM and spotted 17 or 18 new Red Line cars parked. They were spread across several tracks and not origanized into trainsets as far as I could tell. I had someplace to be so didn't have time for photos or to look for car numbers.

Later, I also walked by what I think might be the test track, and I could just glimpse a new car parked in the distance. I couldn't tell if it was a Red Line or Orange Line car though.
 
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mjbellantoni said:
I happend to walk by Cabot Yard this morning around 9 AM and spotted 17 or 18 new Red Line cars parked. They were spread across several tracks and not origanized into trainsets as far as I could tell. I had someplace to be so didn't have time for photos or to look for car numbers.

Later, I also walked by what I think might be the test track, and I could just glimpse a new car parked in the distance. I couldn't tell if it was a Red Line or Orange Line car though.
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It certainly seems like all the new cars are just parked. We've had three full train sets since at least April, and yet there's rarely if ever more than one set running at a time. Just yesterday they changed out which set which maybe is progress? I know I heard one was in testing the other day.

Only thing I can think of is that they're coming in with a defect or work need of some sort, and aren't simply needing testing. We're actually 6 months on from the delivery of a 4th set, and close to three months on from 5th set delivery. This just seems like too long before they are going in to service. Any insight or info is appreciated.
 
Not sure if it's related to the new cars, or related to not having enough working old cars, but there's an alert right now that the red line will be running a 4-car train today:

Extra Service
The Red Line will be operating a four car train on Thursday, January 30, during midday. Please remain behind the yellow safety line, and walk to the front of the train when it enters the station to board
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Based on the video posted in the MBTA Transformation thread, the four car train appears to have two operators. I don't know if that's a specific precaution due to the gap behind the train, or if that's business as usual.

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

Oh shit wait they were proposing the extension to Brighton be at grade. (I think.) I think they would have immediately been proven wrong and the New Deal funds would have gone towards the construction of such a subway.
archboston.com

If it is a special precaution for four car trains, what might we be looking at going forward if lack of serviceable cars requires shortening a higher number of trains in regular operation? To move the same number of people using 4 car, 2 operator trains as 6 car, 1 operator trains, would require 3 times as many operators.
 
HenryAlan said:
Based on the video posted in the MBTA Transformation thread, the four car train appears to have two operators. I don't know if that's a specific precaution due to the gap behind the train, or if that's business as usual.

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

Oh shit wait they were proposing the extension to Brighton be at grade. (I think.) I think they would have immediately been proven wrong and the New Deal funds would have gone towards the construction of such a subway.
archboston.com

If it is a special precaution for four car trains, what might we be looking at going forward if lack of serviceable cars requires shortening a higher number of trains in regular operation? To move the same number of people using 4 car, 2 operator trains as 6 car, 1 operator trains, would require 3 times as many operators.
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The video showed the train absolutely packed full of MBTA staff, so I'm not sure that means much.
 
I saw on the news that a man was hit by an Orange Line train. That he purposly jumped from the platform & onto the track as if to be comiting suiside, Did anyone else hear about this incident? :eek:
 
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