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Red Line slow due to work on the Longfellow; riders just want to shout and bellow
By adamg on Mon, 01/25/2016 - 7:39am
UPDATE: The MBTA warns Longfellow-related slowdowns could last two to three days.
Red Line trains in both directions are moving kind of slow this morning, due to the weekend track work on the Longfellow Bridge.
At 7:40 a.m., Justlippe reported:
I left Central at 7:10am. We're just now hanging half out of the tunnel headed to MGH.
Scoop K reports:
Thoughtfully the MBTA Red Line is stopping in stations so we can use the wifi. This is the only positive thing I can say about it.
Down on the South Shore, meanwhile, Tom has resorted to heading the wrong way to see if he can find a train into town he can actually get on:
Now riding a redline train south to see if I can board one, since I can't get on at Wollaston. You know, the FOURTH stop on the line.
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Comments
I just got an update stating
I just got an update stating "severe delays in service." Looks like I take the #1 bus and then walk to Back Bay.
Slow would be an improvement.
Not moving at all here at Alewife.
Hey, Charlie and Marty
GE called and said they now also demand a functional transit system
One minor correction...
GE called and said they now also demand a functional
transit systemexecutive helipad networkThis slowdown is caused by
This slowdown is caused by important repairs to the transit system.
lying liars who lie
Had they actually announced the delays right off, I might have been able to take another, functional, route to work. Instead they lied about "minor" delays until I was trapped on the effing train.
True. Inexcusable.
They must have known the condition of things Sunday.
My guess is that the weekend
My guess is that the weekend track work on the bridge has caused unexpected issues resulting in the speed restrictions. Maybe bus replacement service between harvard and charles would be a better idea. At least service from downtown south could function somewhat "normally."
That appears what happened...I guess...
The T is saying that due to weekend track work the rails needed to "settle*"; now, I do not know why those who are more of an expert in these things would not know the nature of what happens to the rails when this type of work is done on them. Of course, unexpected things do indeed happen. I guess a more accurate text would be something along the line of "expect delays, possible severe".
*Really not sure what that means.
They had to know there would
They had to know there would be an issue--there were long delays last Monday as well, but not as many people were affected because of the MLK holiday. And all summer and fall they were doing track replacement work between JFK and Braintree. Same issues with the rail settling (but not usually this bad).
Fixing the Bridge and Rails
The construction being done to repair the bridge is being done in stages, moving from one side of the bridge to the next. This is why the auto traffic is restricted or eliminated in one direction.
At some point they reached the middle of the bridge and that means the tracks have to be moved - literally. The new track that was laid down is known as a Sho-fly track (shoe-fly). It is built on top of the existing roadway with a layer of ballast stone and regular rails and wooden ties. A small jog or curve in the track is necessary in order to connect to the new set of rails. It is not that smooth of a transition so they have to go slow when going over it.
Then the rails and the support stone were dropped in place. Any such new track has to "settle" and any train on such a temporary track has to move slow. It's sort of like settling into bed and your pillow deflates a little from the weight of your head. In time they may bring in equipment at night to bolster the track in places where it may sag... yes, sag from the weight of the train.
Add to this cold temps that could see a rail break under stress - yes, they do break, then slow speeds are required until everything is "settled in." That said, these temporary tracks will not be in place that long so crossing the Longfellow at speed like in the days before construction will not be happening.
This is not the MBTA's fault.
This was planned for the bridge work so the bridge itself was not closed completely as it was deemed a necessary connection between Boston and Cambridge not only for autos and buses but for emergency vehicles. So one should not expect to whiz across the Longfellow anytime soon, at least not until the bridge is almost completed.
This is actually standard operating procedure for any transit system under similar circumstances.
Oh yes... BTW - Winter? The storm that hit the mid-Atlantic this past weekend saw the Washington DC Metro, SEPTA, Metro-North (MTA) and LIRR all shut down completely across multiple states. As of Monday morning parts of SEPTA (south Philly), and the LIRR are still not operational due to the snow accumulation, and equipment failures. Amtrak is still not passing through-trains in that region. Sound familiar? Mother Nature is in charge, not the transit system or complainers.
Then why did the T send out
Then why did the T send out alerts this weekend warning of "minor southbound delays"? Based on this post, they should have known the delays would not be minor, and would be in both directions.
The construction is not the T's fault, but the lack of communication is.
In MBTA-ese, "minor" means
In MBTA-ese, "minor" means what you're seeing. "Severe delays" mean you might as well start walking.
Yes, I know, Winter Happens...
I think we need truth in advertising. I know they probably don't want to say "severe" because they will get strung up, but if there is a chance, albeit even a small chance, then please say so!
What About The Part Of The Bridge Under The Red Line Platforms?
The "Shoe Fly" track doesn't begin until well into the second span of the Longfellow Bridge. How will the first two spans (above Storrow Drive) be reconstructed without moving the tracks there too?
Two Steps
1st span is staying, steel below being replaced where damaged and the concrete deck repaired - this track area of the structure was new when they renovated Charles/ MGH in the 1980's.
2nd span will be replaced with precast sections, dozens of workers, in one long weekend toward the end of the track construction. I'm planning to watch with some popcorn.
Winter is not an excuse.
This wasn't a terribly bad storm for us. It just wasn't.
I don't why you are brining up DC and states that rarely have to deal with things like this.
Oh yes... BTW - Winter? The
You mean those areas that had a major storm - something like 4 to 5 times as much snow as we did?
Amtrak had reduced, modified service on northeast corridor this morning - so I don't know where you got "still not passing through trains in that region".
NJT had some service on all but one of its commuter rail branches as of this morning - although all with some cancellations or delays (and crowds). Looks like scattered cancellations this afternoon rush hour. Sounds like at least 80%, maybe even 90% running (with delays).
NJT light rail - two systems on or close to schedule, third is on or close with service on half its run (and other half closed for snow removal).
LIRR had service on most of their main lines this morning - far reaches and branch lines were out. I'm guessing 60-70% service.
PATH trains: one-half of one branch (two stations, including a major transfer point) still out of service. The remaining three and a half branches running normally. I'd call that at least 80% (Newark Penn being out is a pain, but they're cross-honoring with NJT at Hoboken, so it sounds workable).
NYCTA: snow-related delays on 4 out of 25 lines.
Meanwhile, if that storm had hit here, many people have reason to believe it would be Wednesday at the earliest before service was half as good as all that.
Spooked rails
It's a little-known fact that rails get very upset after being worked on and need some time to settle down before the trains can pass over them.
So can I have a job being the official excuse-writer for the MBTA now?
What we have here is a failure to communicate...well
My thoughts exactly. If known track work is scheduled (which appears the T knew about) is more than likely going to cause severe delays, please let the ridership (hey, give us a head's up) know so we can plan according! I got stuck at Park street and was a bit late to work. If I had known, I would of just walked.
I got this alert on Saturday:
I got this alert on Saturday:
Red Line may experience minor southbound delays between South Station and Alewife Station on Monday, January 25, due to earlier Longfellow Bridge track work. Due to earlier track work performed during the Longfellow Bridge Project diversion on January 23 and 24, customers may experience minor southbound delays between South Station and Alewife.
Affected stops:
Kendall/MIT - Inbound
Charles/MGH - Inbound Last updated: Jan 22 2016 10:37 AM
Not minor, unfortunately.
Again, it even a small chance of more than minor, say so.
I get a delay email of some
I get a delay email of some kind every single morning. If I took heed of them all I'd end up driving every day. Instead I ignored it and tried to ride the train (ended up giving up and driving after all)
Sigh...
Took me 50 minutes from Porter to DTX. We were on "standby" at each station for about 10 minutes... Fun way to start a Monday.
This is just absolutely disgusting!
Had the people in charge of the MBTA and the Bay State, generally, gone in and fixed the problems on the T earlier, before it had the chance to become like this, the T wouldn't be experiencing so many disabled trains, delays, signal problems, etc.
The MBTA is like the prostitute: It's paid to screw the public.
And they're doing this again
And they're doing this again next weekend.
Remember in the spring and summer, the T pledged to do all the upgrades in warm weather so that winter service would not be affected? What happened to that?
It's also impossible to tell how long this will go on, because the T only posts notices about upcoming work a couple weeks ahead of time. If track work happens every weekend, will there be delays like this every Monday and Tuesday?
This is not an upgrade for
This is not an upgrade for winter, this is the shifting of tracks required for the Longfellow Bridge reconstruction work. I suppose the project is already 2 years late, so maybe they should have just waited for another long weekend before doing this work, just make it two years and two weeks late.
I guess what I meant was, did
I guess what I meant was, did this bridge work need to be done in January? Could it be done in November or March instead when it's at least slightly milder out?
Not without delaying the
Not without delaying the Longfellow Bridge rehab even longer.
Typically road construction
Typically road construction and other outdoor public works projects shut down around November, and to be honest I'm pleasantly surprised to see them continue working on this project throughout the winter. Get it f'ing done and over with as quick as possible.
This is not standard MBTA
This is not standard MBTA repairs. This is the Longfellow Bridge rebuild. In order to fix the bridge in segments they need to move the tracks out of the way. The closures are to move and stabilize temporary tracks but in many instances the trains are stopped because heavy bridge work would be too dangerous for trains to also be on the bridge. Think of it as a building construction zone and the sidewalk is closed to pedestrians.
This is the same reason the Orange line had been closing at night on and off for work at Assembly Square. The station is working but the north head house and the building it is attaching to remains under construction and during that time the station had to be closed for safety reasons of the passengers on the trains and for the workers on the construction site.
Often this is driven by the construction company - not the MBTA or MassDOT. The construction company will order the closure for safety, OSHA, and liability reasons.
Did tracks move to repair under or from the lane loss?
If the tracks had to move due to the loss of a travel lane to put in bike lanes, T riders now have a group to thank.
wrong
Mark, can you please just leave? Either that, or shut up?
The track shift is to allow for continued work on the upstream side of the bridge, so that trains and your precious cars don't fall into the icy river below.
The Longfellow bridge rehab
The Longfellow bridge rehab project is a MassDOT project and you can also sign up for alerts from their website to find out about bridge work and closures. The T, for all their miserable failures, isn't responsible for this one; what the T is doing here is reactive to whatever MassDOT is doing on the bridge each weekend.
Replacing an entire bridge...
Without closing said bridge. People really need to let that one settle in. If you shut the bridge, the entire project would have under 12 months.
And how do you get all those Red Line riders
from Kendall to Charles (and visa versa) without a direct connection across the Charles during that time? MassDOT did the right thing by insisting the Red Line remain operational (MBTA wanted to do bustitution), even if it's taking longer to rehab the bridge.
One more weekend of Red Line closure is scheduled
This coming weekend, January 30-31. After that, all trains should be using the new temporary tracks and connections. Also, they will reopen the south sidewalk and move all bicycles there, leaving the north sidewalk exclusively for pedestrians.
Uh huh. Winter resiliency my
Uh huh. Winter resiliency my ass.