Silverliner Vs Out of Service - Schedule/Service Discussion

Silverliner II wrote:

danquagl wrote:Yes there is, actually. I hear them usually talk to dispatch on the scanner radio. But it is not listed in the timetables. It has a 5:53 pm departure time from Temple, but I think it starts as train 6586 which turns at Glenside for the aforementioned 4589. 6586 is also listed nowhere on the Glenside Combined timetables. Why again does SEPTA not add this to the timetable, I don't know, but if you ask me, it's a bit lazy on their part....

http://trainview.septa.org/4589" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Evidently it was a literal last-second addition if that train is not even in the August 8th schedules (with Paoli-Thorndale still being effective July 18th). It's not even mentioned in the alerts like other last-second or later additions were. Yay SEPTA. I'm one of those who doesn't use Trainview on my phone, so... *shrugs* lol! By the way, it can't leave Temple at 5:53pm, since train 3555 departs Temple at 5:53pm, and is a local train... it must be either ahead of or behind that train by a few......

MACTRAXX wrote:S2: Thanks for this information...

The term for trains changing directions is "Turn" and should be versed "turns for" and not "spin"...

Spins, turns, flips... seen all three terms used interchangeably across the continent. But I know what you mean.

Well 8/15's schedule changes fixes that problem about 3555

Select Schedule Enhancements Effective
Monday, August 15, 2016

West Trenton Line
ADJUSTMENT: Train #3515 will depart West Trenton Station at 6:48 a.m., 14 minutes EARLIER and will resume its regular schedule at Temple University Station
CHANGE IN SERVICE: Train #3555 (departing West Trenton Station at 5:02 p.m.) will no longer operate and will be replaced by a new Train, #3557, departing West Trenton Station at 5:22 p.m.

danquagl wrote:Well 8/15's schedule changes fixes that problem about 3555

Select Schedule Enhancements Effective
Monday, August 15, 2016

West Trenton Line
CHANGE IN SERVICE: Train #3555 (departing West Trenton Station at 5:02 p.m.) will no longer operate and will be replaced by a new Train, #3557, departing West Trenton Station at 5:22 p.m.

But still no mention of 4589 anywhere, just 6586 on the outbound leg...

Sounds like LOTS of padding to me.

Is this one correct? - ADJUSTMENT: Train #5305 will depart Doylestown Station at 6:01 a.m., 12 minutes EARLIER and will resume its regular schedule at Glenside Station with EXPRESS service between North Hills and North Broad Stations

zebrasepta wrote:Well 8/15's schedule changes fixes that problem about 3555

Select Schedule Enhancements Effective
Monday, August 15, 2016

West Trenton Line
ADJUSTMENT: Train #3515 will depart West Trenton Station at 6:48 a.m., 14 minutes EARLIER and will resume its regular schedule at Temple University Station
CHANGE IN SERVICE: Train #3555 (departing West Trenton Station at 5:02 p.m.) will no longer operate and will be replaced by a new Train, #3557, departing West Trenton Station at 5:22 p.m.

3555 had been doing much better lately and DID NOT NEED THIS ADJUSTMENT! No trains leaving between 4:02 pm and 5:22 pm from a key reverse commute station! Working an early schedule to get out in time for the 4:02 is not an option for full-time workers because the earlist train doesn't arrive until 7:34 am.

Adding time to the schedules. SEPTA's fix for everything. Weekend scheduled trains make too many stops from most the outlying points. Making them express from Jenkintown or Glenside or Bryn Mawr and scheduling an extra local to pick up the inner stop passengers would help. The expressing would get them back on time by center city and the inner stations passengers might actually get a seat.
Do it outbound too. I saw an afternoon Glenside local and an express to Glenside/local to Lansdale train leave half full after the Doylestown and West Trenton trains left Jefferson standing end to end ahead of them.

Except for late night trains, the paoli/thorndale line shouldn't have trains going beyond Bryn Mawr running local between CC and Bryn Mawr. Just have a Bryn Mawr local follow behind an express. Have timed transfers at Bryn Mawr for passengers going from stations between CC and Bryn Mawr to stations past Bryn Mawr. Do something similar for Lansdale/Doylestown/Warminster/West Trenton trains, run express between temple and Jenkintown, but with a stop at Fern Rock for the subway connection. Have locals to either Jenkintown or Glenside. There's already something sort of like this on weekdays (at least before the car shortage), but it should be at all times. Even the weekend trains are too crowded already, skipping the inner stops would help. I can't really think of any other lines where something like this would work. Metro-North has a similar service pattern, example: New Haven trains run express Harlem-Stanford and there are Stanford locals right behind them. Obviously a longer line, but would still help SEPTA a lot. Of course, the main issue with this is funding.

I agree expresses and limiting the number of stops on trains are a good idea, but also, they could split up some of the normal line thru-routings. That would also create some issues of its own unfortunately. I also agree funding is an issue when it comes to service improvements.

Until they can get some more engineers qualified they're going to be very limited in what they can do.

Until they get more equipment or the SLVs come back service expansion is limited, remember when the SLVs come back this subject will be moot, the schedules will change again and you will all be able to complain about something different

I assume they'll just go back to the schedules they were using before this whole thing started? Or that they'll switch over to a slightly reduced version of those schedules when they get a decent number of cars back?

That's a good question. It is my hope (I did not say expectation) that this forced excercise in thinking outside the box for scheduling and dispatching gives Septa some ideas and experience to improve both a bit in the future. Awful as it was at first (I was fortunate to have a bus/subway alternate in the first few weeks), I have seen glimpses of creative thinking and common sense in more recent weeks. Dispatchers have actually been routing faster trains (either because of schedules or equipment) around slower ones on the 4-track main line, something they've stubbornly refused to do in the past.

The train crew shortage is well-known, but septa lost a lot of experienced dispatchers the last few years. Maybe this baptism by fire will have a small silver lining in the long term?

x-press wrote: Maybe this baptism by fire will have a small silver lining in the long term?

You mean half-hour service on the Norristown/Manayunk Line?

zebrasepta wrote:Well 8/15's schedule changes fixes that problem about 3555

Select Schedule Enhancements Effective
Monday, August 15, 2016

West Trenton Line
CHANGE IN SERVICE: Train #3555 (departing West Trenton Station at 5:02 p.m.) will no longer operate and will be replaced by a new Train, #3557, departing West Trenton Station at 5:22 p.m.

3557 continues to Malvern. They seem to have forgotten to update the schedule in the SEPTA iPhone app to reflect it ... it shows a 629pm departure from 30th, whereas it's actually now 10 minutes later, scheduled at 639.

The inconsistencies and sometimes time lag between the schedules on the web and the mobile app are really, really maddening.

khecht wrote:The inconsistencies and sometimes time lag between the schedules on the web and the mobile app are really, really maddening.

I hear you on those issues. It boggles my mind on why the schedules have errors.

danquagl wrote:

khecht wrote:The inconsistencies and sometimes time lag between the schedules on the web and the mobile app are really, really maddening.

I hear you on those issues. It boggles my mind on why the schedules have errors.

SEPTA might have rushed to get the schedules out after they pulled 120 silverliner V's off for the cracked trucks or whoever designed the schedules wasn't thinking