VRE pleased with Keolis performance

Keolis began operating VRE service in full on July 12, 2010. While recent on-time performance has suffered due primarily to railroad related issues, delays attributable to crew issues, i.e. use of wheelchair lifts, have been minimal and are improving. We have received limited negative feedback on the service, with most comments related to onboard announcements and consistent train stopping locations on the platform. Feedback from CSX, Norfolk Southern, and FRA has been positive.

(I have notice they don't always stop the 8 car train at L'Enfant in the right place)

VRE and Keolis have been meeting weekly to review and improve crew performance. I am pleased with Keolis' performance and look forward to continued service improvements over the course of the contract

http://www.vre.org/about/Ops_board_item ... report.pdf

With all due respect Dave - Dale Z should have been on that Rat Skrew on the manassas line last night - they had 4 trains over 1/2 hour late due to mech issues with the lead puddle jumper trying to haul the 1st train... It was getting ugly back on 335 where I was.... there were a lot of annecdotal comments that the "old crews" didn't take this long to hook up and shove a dead one out of the way - add to that one of our cars had 1/2 of it's A/C gone and all announcements were by a conductor with a voice as soft as that chick in Police Academy flix

That said - everyone realizes that most of the delays are due to conditions outside of Keolis' control - however we are all ready for them to stop!
The constant delays, no matter whose fault, are starting to turn the rider's attitude sour

Yes, for the month of June OTP dropped to around 72% and July hasn't faired much better. Delays can be attributed to the heat and CSX track/bridge work. However, VRE has several engine problems/failures since last week. Also, two brush fires along the track on the Fredericksburg Line have held up trains this week, Like you said, if delays continue some people may end up leaving VRE. I heard a woman has already collected 4 FRCs this summer. It is surprising to note that ridership has gone up this summer.

http://www2.insidenova.com/isn/news/loc ... ins/61309/

That was an ugly night. I wasnt working, but what I do know is that the crew trying to shove 331 had issues with the MU jumpers, meaning the lead engine could not control the train. There are a whole different set of rules involved when the engineer cannot be on the leading end, complicating matters. Could the situation have been handled a little differently, I think so. But with #2 tracks small platforms, it may not have been the wisest idea to bring 335 and 337 around the whole mess. Hang on y'all....the MP36's are coming

Yo Cobra - I was talking to the conductor later and he said that the MU jumper they were trying to use (27 pin) had a whole bunch of bent pins in it making it damn near impossible to connect it in a reasonable amount of time ???????????

chucksc wrote:Yo Cobra - I was talking to the conductor later and he said that the MU jumper they were trying to use (27 pin) had a whole bunch of bent pins in it making it damn near impossible to connect it in a reasonable amount of time ???????????

And I wonder who bent the pins?

Well since the Keolis guys said it was the 1st they'd actually gotten their hands on this jumper ????????

I'm betting that Keolis has spent the last several days "inspecting" all their MU jumpers.....

electricron wrote:

chucksc wrote:Yo Cobra - I was talking to the conductor later and he said that the MU jumper they were trying to use (27 pin) had a whole bunch of bent pins in it making it damn near impossible to connect it in a reasonable amount of time ???????????

And I wonder who bent the pins?

Doubt it was done maliciously. Those jumpers get beat up....but I think it would be worth keeping a scratch awl and a pair of needle nose on the train just in case....

Excellent idea..... Did I see you running over to Lowe's on Tuesday night with the corporate card ????????

Is this the part where I say "I told you so"?

On time performance has dropped closer to 38%. Ridership has dropped 10%. This "smooth transition" has been anything but. And yes, it may get better. But how much longer are the passengers going to take before it does. I still get many calls and messages from my former passengers. One has received 10 FRCs out of 10 days riding!

Trains rolling while passengers are boarding... Missing platforms and walking back several cars to get off... Delays with wheelchair lifts and stuck brakes... 5 engine failures in 2 weeks? And I have seen for the first time ever, 3 engines for a 6 car train!

Averagejoe wrote:Is this the part where I say "I told you so"?

On time performance has dropped closer to 38%. Ridership has dropped 10%. This "smooth transition" has been anything but. And yes, it may get better. But how much longer are the passengers going to take before it does. I still get many calls and messages from my former passengers. One has received 10 FRCs out of 10 days riding!

Trains rolling while passengers are boarding... Missing platforms and walking back several cars to get off... Delays with wheelchair lifts and stuck brakes... 5 engine failures in 2 weeks? And I have seen for the first time ever, 3 engines for a 6 car train!

Corky - not to pee on your parade! (But I will.. ) - You guys had very similar problems when you 1st started too - in fact the 1st two or three years were abysmal IMO....
I can't begin to number the dark trains w/o A/C i rode on and I know I sat for hours on CSX more than once...
Ask Floyd and Dinah about me kidding them about some runners not hitting their marks with graduated release/Blended brakes when the old timers did it all the time with direct release...
Or got abused if they didn't

Maintenance items are interesting to me since the very same people are maintaining the trains as were when Amtrak had the primary contract.
All that changed was the prime contractor not the actual workers....
The wheel chair left was a gotcha - I saw Tom work that once and he predicted it would be a problem for "the new guys" since he orginally had to figure it out himself and it wasn't documented anywhere. Turns out he was right. What I would be interested in is if that was a one time incident or continues to happen. The engine failures are not unique - you and I both know those puddle jumpers are older than you and neither of us would be surprised if it turns out that VRE management is deferring heavy maintenance not required by the FRA on them since the new MP36s will be arriving in the next year. In fact the 1st one is here already and is being tested currently.

I will point out that during the last 2 weeks of your contract the only day in which the RR ran 100% was the last day....
Also there have been reports of the marks painted on the ties by the Keolis crews "magically disappearing" over night also....

However lots of riders, including me, are less than thrilled with what is going on also and I'm sure pressure, rightly or wrongly, will continue to increase on Dr. Dale and his troops not to mention Keolis if this isn't seen to be successfully addressed soon... I know I am watching with interest!

I know that I would not change what is working to something that is questionable at best.

You as a passenger were promised smooth transition. That has not happened. You were promised better customer service. That has not happened. Better mainentance? Nope. And all this was to be had in a cheaper contract? Still no.

VRE is no longer getting the package deal of storage, parts, access, etc... There is no more servicing in DC during the day.The other night of delays you spoke of cost at least $20,000 in Free Ride Certificates not including the bad publicity. This was all to save a million dollars a year?

Why mess with what was all ready working?

And don't think the MP36's that are coming will save the day. Anyone know why they haven't seen the new one being used yet?

Nope - why dont you tell us sir?

Probably because they're not done testing it,...

Davis

It's not real, it doesn't even have a prime mover inside of it. It's just an empty shell and a sham to trick riders into thinking that VRE is doing something.

That, or they're still testing it.