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Orange Line slows down. Wonder if it's due to a sighted clown.
By roadman on Fri, 10/07/2016 - 12:06pm
Just got this alert:
Northbound Orange Line trains will use reduced speeds from Back Bay to Tufts Medical Center
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Comments
Will use?
They've been doing it for months.
So you're saying
It's a slow day at the T alerts center.
I waited 7 minutes for the
I waited 7 minutes for the orange line to go between these two stations yesterday. On a "good" day the train still completely stops at certain points even though there is no train in front of it. It pathetically crawls between these two stations. I filed a complaint a month ago and got a useless response with no information.
I think it's because
of the track 1 closure at Forest Hills.
And just how would the Track 1 closure at Forest Hills,
which is at the southern end of the line, require a speed restriction be imposed for northbound trains between two stations that are several stops away from FH?
What is the reason?
The speed restriction has been in place for a few months, but I continue to wonder why there is a speed restriction.
It seems to be either 3 mph or 6 mph, but either way, the trains slow just before the tunnel and then herk and jerk until entering Tufts Medical. I've seen some standees fall to the floor with the stop and go braking.
At one point I thought I read it was because of the wheel noise on the curve, but I haven't found that to be an issue except for a couple of trainsets that always make the same squeal.
I've started taking the commuter rail to get between Back Bay and South Station. It's far less stressful, although you have to walk a quarter mile on off-peak trains when you disembark the train at the South Station platform.
Can one of our railfans provide some insight?
The track at that location is
The track at that location is "direct fixation", meaning rail is held in place by clips attached to large concrete pads vs the older wooden or concrete ties with rock ballast. The concrete pads sit on large rubber mounts, and some of those mounts have started to fail, causing the track to dip in places. This is the same type of issue that has required the Red Line track repair program between Harvard and Alewife. At some point there will probably be a weekend shut down where they will move the rail aside, lift the concrete pads, and replace the rubber mounts.
Blame the clowns
Brilliant move blame the clowns. If a passenger wears a clown mask on a train and bus and passengers complain can the police arrest him?
Short answer?
Yes.
https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartIV/TitleI/Chapter268/Sect...
Short Answer?
Yes. They can.
https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartIV/TitleI/Chapter268/Sect...
Guess here on the speed
There were reports of substantial complaints about the wheel screeching as the train descended into the tunnel on the curve under the mass Pike.
However, that constant screeching suggests something is amiss. You expect some fo that anyway but the complaints suggested it had become louder in recent months.
Now, the noise is caused by friction between the rails and wheel flanges.
At some point this constant rubbing will wear the flanges as well as the rails. At too high a speed the forward push of the weight of the train on the outer edge of the curve could cause the tracks to spread apart.
This is called "nosing" where the nose of the train and its weight causes tracks to spread. This is usually only related to heavy locomotives and it was the known cause of some major rail accidents well in the past. This resulted in rules regarding speeds at certain curves for railroads nationwide.
It may be that the reduced speed is just to deal with the noise complaints since the decibel level may reach illegal noise levels that might be harmful. Another theory may be that they want to decrease the potential for rail spreading until a more-permanent fix can be made. This might require installing new sections of track over a long term repair.
One thing is for certain... that speed restriction cannot continue. It's noteworthy that the speed restriction does not apply to the outbound trains that are on a more-acute curve which would normally be more prone to wheel noise and nosing but that is not teh case here.
So in summary, I'd best guess that the outer inbound track needs work, and they need to order rail custom-made for that section. It's not something that you can buy off the shelf. So for now we crawl.