Hartford Line CtDOT New Haven-Springfield - NHHS (Before Launch of Service)

Backshophoss wrote:ConnDOT is now paying the REAL price of leasing the MBTA MBB cars,They should have walked away from what was stored at Seaview,
they were put away wet and in POOR Shape to begin with!

Knee jerk bate is strewn about in that article with no comparative figures. What does it cost to maintain 16 Mafersas? Probably not much less than the figures published minus the cost of the lease. Plus, them being "not worth the capital investment" to extend their lives for another 30 years isn't the same as not being worth maintaining them to serviceable standards, especially since the MBTA's continued efforts to phase out single level coaches is what makes them less valuable, not their condition. There have also been developments since whatever the records referred are to came to be since the MBTA has brought many of them back into service. If they were in half as bad of shape as the rhetoric tossed around here suggests MassDOT wouldn't have saved them in the first place, let alone return a handful of them to MBTA service post retirement.

I'm not clear how much the lease is vs. how much the repair costs are. I would think this is a good deal for the "T" since they are leasing OOS equipment & at the end of the lease they are getting operable coaches with mini-refurbishments that they can probably run for a few years.

Looks like Amtrak and CtDOT are back to pointing fingers. Not helpful to do this in public I'd say.

http://www.courant.com/politics/hc-news ... story.html

ConnDOT [...] Won’t take responsibility for its faults, blames others for their problems, and just won’t shut up

Blaming it on Amtrak for having to lease the MBB cars (at the last minute) for not OKing the M-8s really takes the cake. [...]

Mod Note: Keep it on track, CDOT and Amtk can have their pissing matches, behind closed doors or in public. There's no grandstanding politics needed, not even #Schumenthaul.

ConnDot should blame Malloy more than anybody else. Thanks to Malloy, the STF is drying up. Amtrak didn't do that.

Believe the M-8 issue is over the onboard ACSES gear,by now MN should have ACSES up and running on the New Haven Line.
Have Amtrak pick a few pairs and see how their on board systems are performing over a period of time.
That should settle the ACSES issue.
the other "hangup" is the stations issue,has SLE finally completed station construction/upgrading including Hi level platforms?

No wire yet over Track 4 at Guilford, which accesses the eastbound platform. It's only a "passing siding" of sorts, so it shouldn't take much to string up.

Only stations in Madison and Clinton are "one-sided", but that shouldn't affect whether equipment is electric or diesel.

Springfield line shut down today for track work. I wonder if this will be the last shut down before service launch?

Looks like today’s work is located at Windsor Station. Big crew working there today with excavators.

What sort of mandatory safety upgrades are required of the 30 year old MBBs? Geez I remember when they were brand new...

There are plenty of transportation-related issues that I understand, but why CDOT is steamrolling on with the NHHS Rail Program isn't one of them. While they try to cut off-peak and weekend service everywhere else in the state except for the New Haven Line, the NHHS corridor is just getting more trains. They already have 6 weekday trains in each direction (and more weekend trains than two of Metro-Norths branches) and those trains are decently priced (20.00$ New Haven to Springfield)

Not to mention they are trying to start with rotting equipment that should be in the scrapyard and then blaming it on Amtrak...CDOT should just put off the Hartford Line until they have the money to complete it

Traingeek3629 wrote:There are plenty of transportation-related issues that I understand, but why CDOT is steamrolling on with the NHHS Rail Program isn't one of them. While they try to cut off-peak and weekend service everywhere else in the state except for the New Haven Line, the NHHS corridor is just getting more trains. They already have 6 weekday trains in each direction (and more weekend trains than two of Metro-Norths branches) and those trains are decently priced (20.00$ New Haven to Springfield)

Not to mention they are trying to start with rotting equipment that should be in the scrapyard and then blaming it on Amtrak...CDOT should just put off the Hartford Line until they have the money to complete it

Seems to me a good path forward would be to move forward with the Amtrak changes but put the CTrail operated trains on hold until they can get their hands on reliable decent rolling stock and get all these issues sorted out so they can launch it strong and not half-assed. Could even still launch the commuter service fare rates in May utilizing the Amtrak Shuttles since it sounds like they came to an agreement on that. If people can get the ticket for the reduced fare rate for commuting I don’t think they’re going to care if the train has an Amtrak or CTrail on the side...

The new proposed Amtrak schedule is an improvement over what’s currently operated even without the CTrail service launching. Provides more options for intercity travel to New York and beyond including a Shuttle-Acela connection which I am looking forward to.

Since Amtrak trackwork on the Shore Line will force a reduction of SLE trains by 15 trains per day, for the next 4-6 months,
There should be plenty of equipment for the Hartford Line. How convenient!

Lee

ebtmikado wrote:Since Amtrak trackwork on the Shore Line will force a reduction of SLE trains by 15 trains per day, for the next 4-6 months,
There should be plenty of equipment for the Hartford Line. How convenient!

Lee

I wonder if that's the plan - start it off with the SLE equipment while they finish fixing up all the clunkers (or a mix of whatever they have ready to go supplemented by SLE equipment.) Of course will seem like everything's going downhill for the passengers when they make their first rides on the SLE cars and suddenly they switch over to the "new" cars. :X Those old MBTA cars sound like they'll make the Amfleet style seating on the Shuttles seem like first class especially for commuters that may end up with one leg of their commute on an Amtrak and the other leg on a CTrail.