#4 Red Line Cars 1900-2151

What is the status of the rest of the Deliveries? Is CRRC still having problems at the assembly plant?

My thoughts on these after riding the Orange Line cars (the Red Line cars are simliar I belelive) is that the cars are quiet and smooth, and I like the displays inside the cars. Things i dont like are the seats, as they are very slippery and are hard to stay still on, and I also don't like the annoying beep that is constantly sounding while the cars are in the station at the platform.

What does that annoying beeping signify ? That the doors are open?

Supposedly it's to guide blind people to the doors. I'm not sure how that's supposed to work at an island platform when trains are on both tracks simultaneously and you have beeps coming from every direction.

Sometime in the last couple of weeks another pair of cars arrived for testing (1912-1913), the first new arrivals in a very long time.

apodino wrote: ↑Tue Oct 31, 2023 10:29 am What is the status of the rest of the Deliveries? Is CRRC still having problems at the assembly plant?

My thoughts on these after riding the Orange Line cars (the Red Line cars are simliar I belelive) is that the cars are quiet and smooth, and I like the displays inside the cars. Things i dont like are the seats, as they are very slippery and are hard to stay still on,

Interesting comment. How would you say the slipperiness compares with the Blue Line seating? I find those very challenging to sit on without sliding, and usually try to get a seat up against the door partition, so that there is no place to slide. The new OL cars don't seem nearly as problematic comparatively.

and I also don't like the annoying beep that is constantly sounding while the cars are in the station at the platform.

That's an ADA implementation to assist visually impaired passengers. Personally, I hardly notice it anymore, but regardless, I'm glad it is there, because the need exists.

I wonder if it would be more time and cost effective for the commonwealth to admit defeat on the CCRC order, cancel it and begin ordering #5's from a more reliable manufacturer. At this rate it would take what, 10 years to get all the cars from CCRC?

I'm also of the opinion that the Red Line order should be cancelled and put back out to bid - this time without the idiotic requirement that the builder establish a brand-new factory in-state to build them.

The current fleet won't survive the time between now and final delivery if they re-bid the contract. It might add an extra five years to this debacle.

TurningOfTheWheel wrote: ↑Thu Nov 09, 2023 5:23 pm The current fleet won't survive the time between now and final delivery if they re-bid the contract.

Based on current delivery schedules, can the No. 1 series make it to 58 years in 2027, as well as the No.
2 series which would be pushing 40? The 130 No. 1 & 2 cars are among the few operating in the world with
original Westinghouse electro-pnuematic cam controllers.

HenryAlan wrote: ↑Wed Nov 08, 2023 9:55 am

apodino wrote: ↑Tue Oct 31, 2023 10:29 am What is the status of the rest of the Deliveries? Is CRRC still having problems at the assembly plant?

My thoughts on these after riding the Orange Line cars (the Red Line cars are simliar I belelive) is that the cars are quiet and smooth, and I like the displays inside the cars. Things i dont like are the seats, as they are very slippery and are hard to stay still on,

Interesting comment. How would you say the slipperiness compares with the Blue Line seating? I find those very challenging to sit on without sliding, and usually try to get a seat up against the door partition, so that there is no place to slide. The new OL cars don't seem nearly as problematic comparatively.

That's the funny part. On paper (for lack of a better term) the Blue Line seats seem more slippery than the orange line seats. But yet when I ride the blue line and sit down i have less of an issue with sliding on the Blue Line cars than I do the orange line cars. I can't put my finger on why this is.

and I also don't like the annoying beep that is constantly sounding while the cars are in the station at the platform.

That's an ADA implementation to assist visually impaired passengers. Personally, I hardly notice it anymore, but regardless, I'm glad it is there, because the need exists.

That makes sense in a lot of ways. It's still annoying though.

typesix wrote: ↑Thu Jun 25, 2020 9:51 am Yes, some 01800s have their blue propulsion disable lights on. One of the reasons to replace the 01800s is difficulty in obtaining propulsion control system parts.

Here is another example of a rail agency not inserting proper contract provisions to have a supply line for future spare parts. It will not surprise this poster that within 10 years the CRRC cars will end up with spare parts problems. Anyone know the content of the purchase contract as to availability of spare parts?

The spare parts were mentioned in the bid - https://archive.org/details/cnr-ma-prop ... spare+part

west point wrote: ↑Sun Nov 12, 2023 6:15 pm

typesix wrote: ↑Thu Jun 25, 2020 9:51 am Yes, some 01800s have their blue propulsion disable lights on. One of the reasons to replace the 01800s is difficulty in obtaining propulsion control system parts.

Here is another example of a rail agency not inserting proper contract provisions to have a supply line for future spare parts.

The 01800s are 30 years old. The spares included in the original contract have long since been used up. The planners didn't anticipate the cars being in service this long without at least a full overhaul.