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Those new commuter-rail diesels can't get here soon enough
By adamg on Tue, 10/15/2013 - 8:13am
Tristan was among the refugees from Train 806 out of Providence this morning, forced to deboard at 128 after their train was given last rites. He reports passengers were told they could get on an inbound Amtrak train - which promptly left the station before anybody could get on it. Most then got on a train from Canton.
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He reports passengers were
WORLD-CLASS, BABY!
Time for the Onion again
http://www.theonion.com/articles/alqaeda-claims-us...
I was on it
Yep, they told us to get on the Amtrak 66, which left before most of us could even get out of the train. Then the Canton train was already full when it got there. They were trying to cram two full trains together. They don't have a spare that they keep nearby for when this kind of thing happens?
A spare?
I wouldn't count on any spares being available until the new locomotives are in service.
Not worth it for the MBTA to stash full train sets all over the system, anyway. Spare locomotives could be sent out for rescuing, but as I said, I wouldn't count on that yet.
And all of you are busy on
And all of you are busy on the phone with your state reps and senators making sure they know how a poorly funded MBTA is affecting your workday, right?
Could this be automated?
Like, would it be possible to set up a service that would allow you to send a single text or tweet that would then launch a bunch of calls in your voice that would be routed to all your state reps and committee chairs?
Cut and paste the text of one
Cut and paste the text of one email into another? It wouldn't be completely automated, but it would be easier than composing an individual email for, *gasp* two people.
Only two people?
Aw, c'mon - gotta get the Governor's office, and the chairs of relevant committees, too!
Wait till they try to syphon
Wait till they try to syphon off funds for the SouthCoast Rail deal. You will have to use one of these . They will be available like the Hubway bike contraption .
http://bp1.blogger.com/_IPZX1n_gnIM/R1HnwnXIrBI/AA...
This year is supposed to mark
This year is supposed to mark the arrival of new locomotives ($114 million) and new coaches ($190 million). The Boston Engine Terminal, where routine and major maintenance is done, isn't exactly a ghost town either.
So how exactly do you think more money would help the situation?
Also, this was the Providence line. It's already wired for electric trains. Electric locomotives would be far more reliable than diesels.
Not to mention cheaper to operate, with vastly better acceleration (which means you get home faster, and the T spends less on hourly wages per run), quieter, and they don't contribute to the headache-inducing diesel stink of Back Bay Station. Just about every other industrialized country uses electric trains for passenger lines whenever they can manage to pay for the wires.
But did the T even consider this option when deciding to buy the new trains that will be with us for 40+ years?
The T only uses diesels
The T only uses diesels because only one line is electrified. Diesel equipment can be shared around the system, rather than being limited to one line, and its also a lot cheaper and easier to maintain one fleet of similar locomotives than to maintain two different fleets of locomotives with vastly different components.
That's not to say some agencies (e.g. NJT, MTA, MARC) don't run both though.