2014 Discussion for Commuter Rail Delays

On the Worcester line the 7AM express was short 1-2 cars and was running a couple of single levels instead of the normal compliment of double deckers. It was standing room only *packed* from Ashland.

Not many happy people this morning and most of the chatter was how MBCR is running things into the ground. I don't have an opinion on this but I do want the commuter rail operator to work as hard as possible to ensure that the rush hour trains that are packed have the right equipment.

Anybody out think this might have to do with the fact the equipment issues the MBTA
saddles its operators with might be the issue? Locomotives (old screamers, unreliable GP40MC's,
new loco order behind schedule), Coaches (The Rotem issues, Kawasaki's out for overhaul,
old MBB's, etc., etc, etc.)...

There's only so much chewing gum and bailing wire out there...

D

harshaw wrote:On the Worcester line the 7AM express was short 1-2 cars and was running a couple of single levels instead of the normal compliment of double deckers. It was standing room only *packed* from Ashland.

And as a result, P510 (the local from Framingham that follows this express) was packed to the gills by the time it reached Wellesley Square. Normally the first car is still mostly empty at that point.

harshaw wrote:On the Worcester line the 7AM express was short 1-2 cars and was running a couple of single levels instead of the normal compliment of double deckers. It was standing room only *packed* from Ashland.

Not many happy people this morning and most of the chatter was how MBCR is running things into the ground. I don't have an opinion on this but I do want the commuter rail operator to work as hard as possible to ensure that the rush hour trains that are packed have the right equipment.

Something happened in the yard with P508's usual set, as the train left Worcester I saw it sitting in the yard looking unmoved. This evening the set is back in service with 1036 instead of 1031. Sounds like it was a power issue but I'll defer to the more knowledgeable posters for confirmation.

Perhaps related to that, there was also a 5 car double set sitting on the far northernly siding, the one that abuts the DPW yard. No idea why that was there but it was manned and had power.

On an unrelated note, 508/523 has been short a conductor for almost 3 weeks now. Are people in training or is a new class coming in?

New hire a/c class currently out shadowing current conductors as the final part of training.

8th Notch wrote:New hire a/c class currently out shadowing current conductors as the final part of training.

Good to know, I'll be on the lookout for new faces

Total meltdown on the Providence line this morning due to switch problems and a disabled train. I was on train 808, which was about 40 minutes late into South Station. It normally runs express from Mansfield to Back Bay but stopped at Canton Junction and Route 128 to pick up passengers. I must have had over 20 T-Alerts reporting delays on various trains.

Frode wrote:Total meltdown on the Providence line this morning due to switch problems and a disabled train. I was on train 808, which was about 40 minutes late into South Station. It normally runs express from Mansfield to Back Bay but stopped at Canton Junction and Route 128 to pick up passengers. I must have had over 20 T-Alerts reporting delays on various trains.

I saw one train as "85-90 minutes late." Yikes.

Frode wrote:Total meltdown on the Providence line this morning due to switch problems and a disabled train. I was on train 808, which was about 40 minutes late into South Station. It normally runs express from Mansfield to Back Bay but stopped at Canton Junction and Route 128 to pick up passengers. I must have had over 20 T-Alerts reporting delays on various trains.

Yes, I as on #842 from Canton Junction, we ran approximately 25 mins late, which wasn't too bad all things considered. From what I hear, the switch at Junction (Canton Junction) was disabled for a while. This was exacerbated by what appeared to be a broken down westbound Amtrak Regional sitting on Track One at 128 Station. When my train moved through the Readville area around 8AM, there were five or six westbounds sitting stacked up on Track One (including an Acela). Anyone, please feel free to chime in if I am incorrect on any of this. Still beats driving to work!

good thing today is my day off!

Train 406 is running about 15-20 late. 1129 had mechanical issues at the Fitchburg Yard. When it rolled through Shirley, it showed apparent HEP problems. All the cars only had the emergency lights on, 2 on each end and 2 in the middle. I would guess heat is also missing or serverly diminished judging by the coats, hats, etc on everyone on board.

I opted to wait for the 408 and a chance at heat instead.

This morning's fun on the Lowell Line: 304 (with two engines) died at Winchester Center with air problems. It took about 20 minutes to diagnose and fix the problem. Meanwhile 352 (which I was on) was held at Winchester interlocking. For a while it looked like we would run around it, but there was another problem: The crossings on Track 1 at Canal St. and High St. in West Medford were having issues, so there were Form Ds for stop and protect being issued. 305 was late in clearing T1 at Winchester, so by that time 304 was expected to be on the move shortly. Thus 352 followed 304 picking up passengers waiting for 306 by then! 352 arrived at North Station 22 minutes late.

ohalloranchris wrote:

Frode wrote:Total meltdown on the Providence line this morning due to switch problems and a disabled train. I was on train 808, which was about 40 minutes late into South Station. It normally runs express from Mansfield to Back Bay but stopped at Canton Junction and Route 128 to pick up passengers. I must have had over 20 T-Alerts reporting delays on various trains.

Yes, I as on #842 from Canton Junction, we ran approximately 25 mins late, which wasn't too bad all things considered. From what I hear, the switch at Junction (Canton Junction) was disabled for a while. This was exacerbated by what appeared to be a broken down westbound Amtrak Regional sitting on Track One at 128 Station. When my train moved through the Readville area around 8AM, there were five or six westbounds sitting stacked up on Track One (including an Acela). Anyone, please feel free to chime in if I am incorrect on any of this. Still beats driving to work!

TRANSFER was the culprit, not JUNCTION. The Corridor Dispatcher lost all control of the interlocking...and AMTK 95 being dead @ RTE 128 on trk 1 didn't help at all, sat there from the time of death till just after 11am....one track between Readville and Canton

This T-Alert says it all. Great wording!

Framingham/Worcester Line and 7 other routes delayed 10-15 minutes due to the inclement of the today's weather.

What is there to say about that? Hahahahaha