Fitchburg Line Upgrade Discussion

[TheOperator]

Sorry, I should've said the T was doing it.

Also, I had no clue that they were turning the switch at W. Cambridge yard to hand-throw!? When did this come about?

[sery2831]

Look at the list of interlockings they are changing. There is no interlocking at the MOW base in the new set up.

[number1tfan]

I personally h8 the Fitchburg Line in Belmont. The stations are old and ugly and the service is often delayed and infrequent. I rarely use it anyway. I usually take 74/75 bus from Belmont to Harvard and grab the red line, which is much quicker. I have the schedules of the 73, & 74/75 in my room so I know when to leave and plan accordingly. The red line is always frequent pretty much. Overall, I almost never use the commuter rail since it's infrequent.

I really hope they upgrade the line to make it more reliable and make the stations ADA-compliant and nicer looking. Too bad I doubt they will bother upgrading the stations in Belmont since they are "unimportant".

[diburning]

They'll probably tell the city of Belmont that if they want the service, they fix up the station.

[TNT314159]

True. Isn't the fitchburg line being upgraded to support cab signaling?

[diburning]

That would make Guilford angry. They'd either say no or demand that MBTA pay for cab signal equipment for the whole fleet.

[AEM7AC920]

That would make Guilford angry. They'd either say no or demand that MBTA pay for cab signal equipment for the whole fleet.

Actually he is correct word is that Fitchburg is going to cab signals sometime in the future haven't herd any timeframe or anything.

[theseaandalifesaver]

What exactly is a cab signal? It sounds like a signal the driver in the cab gets? If so, shouldn't all train have them?

[ST214]

It's a box in the cab that shows the signal indication the train would get from the wayside signals....

What exactly is a cab signal? It sounds like a signal the driver in the cab gets? If so, shouldn't all train have them?

[ST214]

Or, they would upgrade a small percentage of the fleet to cab signals and use those as leaders......or operate at 30MPH.

Pan-Am has 4 units with cab signals for use on Amtrak's Springfield line....

That would make Guilford angry. They'd either say no or demand that MBTA pay for cab signal equipment for the whole fleet.

[RedLantern]

That would make Guilford angry. They'd either say no or demand that MBTA pay for cab signal equipment for the whole fleet.

There's no reason that Pan Am (Guilford) couldn't continue using the existing wayside signals for freight operations while the CR uses cab signals to Fitchburg. Pan Am would not need cab signals in their equipment unless they plan to go 80+ between Willows and Fitchburg station, which seems unlikely.

[sery2831]

I relocated some posts from the Lowell Track Work thread to here since it went off topic.

If you review this thread you will see that cab signals on the Fitchburg Line has been put on the back burner. Also if they do upgrade to cab signals they will have to outfit Guilfords fleet with cab signals. Currently 3 units on Guilford have cab signals for there service in CT.

[AEM7AC920]

It's a box in the cab that shows the signal indication the train would get from the wayside signals....

What exactly is a cab signal? It sounds like a signal the driver in the cab gets? If so, shouldn't all train have them?

and also you have 562 territory which is ran with only cab signals and no wayside signals at all!

[mbta1051dan]

Just today, the Fitchburg line seems to be running differently today

At about 10:25AM, the gates went off. An outbound passed through with the 1001 and five cars. I assumed that was the 419, running about 10 minutes late.

Later at about 11:53, I stopped by again, and I was expecting an outbound, the 421. However, a slow-moving inbound passed through without stopping, with a six car set and the 1119. The 1119 didn't sound to good. I wondered if this could be the 418 running 40 minutes late!

About five minutes later, what must have been 421 passed through with the 1002 and a few wi-fi cars. 212 and 1602 are not wrapped, but they have orange wi-fi logos towards the top of the car.

I expected to see the 420 inbound with 1001 running late. However, what must have been 420 passed through on time with the 1118 and five cars! I was really confused. The engineer was whistling freely before and after Lincoln.

And now the punch line...

The board was alternating between "All trains running on or near schedule" to "Trains 417, 419, 421 and 423 AND trains 418, 420, 422 AND 424 will be bussed between S. Acton and Fitchburg."

Anyone know specifically what was going on today?

[sery2831]

The next five weeks you will see this...
From mbta.com:

Beginning Monday June 1, 2009 and continuing for approximately 5 weeks:

~ Monday through Friday - 9:30 AM – 4:00 PM ~

Beginning Monday June 1, 2009, 12,000, ties will be replaced on the single track between South Acton and Ayer.

This project will last approximately 5 weeks and will necessitate busing passengers of mid-day trains between South Acton and Fitchburg (Outbound) and between Fitchburg and South Acton (Inbound).

Trains operating between Boston and South Acton (Outbound) and between South Acton and Boston (Inbound) will operate on schedule.

Inbound passengers being bused from Fitchburg, North Leominster, Shirley, Ayer and Littleton/Rte 495 Stations will be accommodated by an extra train located at South Acton. It is anticipated 20 minute delays may be experienced. These Inbound trains are #418, #420, #422 and #424.

Because of equipment maintenance issues, an extra train will not be located at Ayer to operate to and from the stations located west of Ayer. Passengers will be bused to those stations. It is anticipated 20 minute delays may be experienced. Outbound trains that will be bused are #417, #419, #421 and #423.

A PDF copy of the Fitchburg Line schedule may be obtained by clicking on this link: http://www.mbta.com/uploadedFiles/Docum ... rg_web.pdf

We apologize for any inconvenience that may be experienced because of this essential track work.