MassDOT reports the board that runs the T agreed to spend $345 million to buy 80 new bi-level coaches from Hyundai-Rotem - which will increase capacity on the entire commuter-rail system by about 14,000 seats a day once they all roll out and replace more of the single-level coaches still in use.
The T expects to begin taking delivery of the new cars in September, 2022, with the last to roll onto local tracks in June, 2024.
MassDOT adds that in November, it expect to solicit bids for 100 additional bi-level coaches for delivery starting in July, 2024.
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Good news as they are
By Steve557
Mon, 09/23/2019 - 5:24pm
Good news as they are desperately needed for capacity and putting the well worn singles out to pasture.
Actually, the well worn singles are being given to Connecticut
By anon
Tue, 09/24/2019 - 12:15pm
Like hand me downs from an older to younger sibling
Doubtful, those leased were
By Steve557
Tue, 09/24/2019 - 5:06pm
Doubtful, those leased were the MBB’s that were retired 5 years ago when the last order of Rotem’s arrived.
Up with dwell times!
By anon
Mon, 09/23/2019 - 5:29pm
Up with dwell times!
We don't need more seats per train. We need more frequent trains. And EMUs. Buying more of these behemoths locks us into the current wasteful service model for another 50 years.
Most lines have service constraints
By Waquiot
Mon, 09/23/2019 - 7:49pm
Not to mention the termini.
But any line that has single tracks (i.e. all but Lowell and Providence) are limited as to the number of trains that can operate at one time. Replacing single level with bi-level is the easiest way to increase capacity.
Yup, during rush hour the
By Steve557
Mon, 09/23/2019 - 8:06pm
Yup, during rush hour the northeast corridor is at capacity so the only way it’s gonna work is with more capacity on each train.
You should read the
By anon
Mon, 09/23/2019 - 11:57pm
You should read the TransitMatters Regional Rail Proof of Concept.
Relevant quotes:
"The busiest urban rail systems in the world run single-level trains, and so should the T."
"Even the best-made bilevels (i.e. more and wider doors) have longer egress times, which lead to longer dwell times in city center at rush hour."
"Some trains take 5 minutes to fully unload at South Station at rush hour. It can feel like waiting to deplane from the rear of an aircraft."
The Transit Matters report is filled with errors
By anon
Tue, 09/24/2019 - 12:16pm
It's not worth reading.
Thanks for the deep insight.
By Coyote137
Tue, 09/24/2019 - 1:06pm
You've been very helpful.
NJ Transit, LIRR, Metrolink, Caltrans, Chicago
By Waquiot
Tue, 09/24/2019 - 9:31pm
Busiest systems in the US (save SEPTA and Metro North) and they all use double decked trains. You can also find them in Paris and Tokyo.
The LIRR only uses double
By anon
Wed, 09/25/2019 - 5:10pm
The LIRR only uses double-deckers on the diesel lines, which serve about 10% of passengers. The vast majority of traffic is on the busy electric lines, which are single-level.
NJT has some, and they're widely regarded as a mistake.
Metro North doesn't use double-deckers.
Metra's gallery cars are an inefficient mess, and is no model to emulate.
SEPTA doesn't use double-deckers.
Next comes us.
The rest of the systems are basically inconsequential.
Meanwhile, the RER A in Paris serves 300 million people per year, about triple the LIRR. Their recent double-decker purchase has proven to be a HUGE mistake. They had to cut service from 30 trains per hour to 24 due to increased dwell times from these cars, despite having 3 extra-wide doors on each side of a car.
If we want to avoid wasting billions on a useless South Station expansion, we need to speed up turnaround times. More double deckers pushes us in the wrong direction.
Two Systems - Slow High Capacity and Fast Low Capacity
By anon
Tue, 09/24/2019 - 12:19pm
Meaning the Indigo Lines to Lynn and Mattapan have a better shot. If Mass can sole-source bi-levels from Asia, they can also sole-source DMUs from Asia
Lynn ditching the Blue Line fantasy for an Indigo Line yesterday
By anon
Tue, 09/24/2019 - 2:21pm
In a word: YES! Lynn should be commended. Other cities should follow. Chelsea should ditch its SL3 fiasco and join Lynn in its Indigo pursuit. Everett should ditch its Orange Line extension fantasy and join Lynn and Chelsea. Somerville and Medford should ditch its Green Line extension fantasy for its own Indigo Line. Quincy should ditch its deep-in-the-red RLX for an Indigo that serves Quincy, Braintree and Union Point
1 step forward, two steps back?
By anon
Mon, 09/23/2019 - 5:56pm
This increases total capacity (yay!)
But ultimately, we shouldn't have *any* two deckers. They're much slower for boarding and alighting. Instead, we should have each line run with 15 minute interarrival times, like clockwork. Then we'd have fast boarding and an easier time scheduling our lives around the trains.
To do that, we need to spend money on track infrastructure. Untangle the switch yards outside North Station and South Station, electrify the routes, etc.
We could start now and have notable improvements on several lines within 5 years. With real effort, the 2032 Baker infrastructure deadline could have fully electrified commuter rail with 15 minute headways, no double deckers, far more capacity, faster trip times, and more frequently running trains.
Transit Matters did a really nice report on this IIRC.
BTW, this is *exactly* the kind of management cleverness Governor Baker ran on, twice. And it's exactly the kind of thing he's absolutely failed on as governor, content instead to spend a bit of money on 20th century solutions.
The problem with
By anon
Mon, 09/23/2019 - 7:00pm
Increasing frequency is the available terminals at both south station and north station.
Unfortunately, the USPS will never move out of their summer st location.
TransitMatters has that covered too
By anon²
Tue, 09/24/2019 - 10:33am
A 21st century solution doesn't require expanding south station, and conversly allows the billions in public funds targeted for that to go to other modernization projects.
Politically that ones going to be hard, because a lot of private interests really want the taxpayer subsidized property above the proposed expansion and along Dot Street.
The same report that states
By Steve557
Tue, 09/24/2019 - 5:45pm
The same report that states the Needham Line would have to be changed to Orange Line extension to make proposal work?
I don’t actually think that report modeled rail traffic and if the lines can actually handle every 15 minutes without significant infrastructure upgrades (I doubt the Providence line can).
The T needed these coaches 5 years ago and any change in service model is at least 10 years away which just is not possible with the current coach capacity issues.
The Northeast Corridor
By GoSoxGo
Wed, 09/25/2019 - 3:24pm
would not be able to handle the Needham Line with regional rail improvements -- there are not enough slots on the Corridor, nor terminal space at South Station (assuming no NSRL).
Needham Line converted to Orange Line is a much better idea to begin with.
But unless we start seriously tackling these issues, there will need to be a dozen bi-level cars per train in order to accommodate demand, with only six able to alight at many platforms. Dwell times will be astronomical at each station.
Boarding
By Bugs Bunny
Mon, 09/23/2019 - 7:39pm
Well maybe if those bozos who sit on the end just slide over instead of taking their time to get up and let another passenger sit on the inside, that causes backups all the time. I don’t know why people are so inconsiderate.
That isn't the cause of all
By anon
Tue, 09/24/2019 - 12:35pm
That isn't the cause of all the delays. I just ask people "where are you getting off?" If I am first we then switch seats.
MARC went back to diesel for a reason
By anon
Tue, 09/24/2019 - 2:22pm
Electrification is not a panacea
Yup MARC is going back to
By Steve557
Tue, 09/24/2019 - 5:46pm
Yup MARC is going back to Diesel. Everyone does realize that 40 of the T’s locomotives are only five years old?
We could start now and have
By Rob
Wed, 09/25/2019 - 10:49am
Some sort of notable improvements in five years, sure.
Fully electrified in 13 years? Not. A. Chance.
Commuter rail parking
By downtown-anon
Mon, 09/23/2019 - 6:02pm
Next they need to do more to make commuter parking available. People aren't going to use this capacity if they can't easily get to the trains.
Infill across the region is more important.
By Parkwayne
Mon, 09/23/2019 - 6:32pm
Or we can focus on building more housing in proximity to the CR stations. Places like Hyde Park, Needham, should build as much new housing near the train station as has recently happened here in Roslindale, etc..
I’b be pushing for triple
By anon
Mon, 09/23/2019 - 6:28pm
I’b be pushing for triple-decker, but they would probably get Storrowed.
They're testing that
By Rob
Tue, 09/24/2019 - 9:01am
They're testing that technology on select bus routes, first.
http://geeksyndicate.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012...
How Visionary
By Anon
Mon, 09/23/2019 - 7:09pm
For MassDOT to commit $350 million to 50-year+ lived assets tied to legacy diesel-propulsion infrastructure before completing its Rail Vision study
Good luck
By Ari O
Mon, 09/23/2019 - 8:56pm
They are claiming this is an emergency to get around Buy America guidelines. This is probably not going to go well.
State money and from Korea,
By anon
Mon, 09/23/2019 - 9:31pm
State money and from Korea, not from China, Feds won't care
They are using state funds
By Steve557
Mon, 09/23/2019 - 10:01pm
They are using state funds which do not have those stipulations, only federal has the buy America.
Wow. They should have thought
By anon
Mon, 09/23/2019 - 11:58pm
Wow. They should have thought of that before building a subway factory in Sprigfield.
But, but, but
By Waquiot
Tue, 09/24/2019 - 9:06am
They are assembled in Philadelphia, where we get to witness poor management-labor relations (at least when the last coaches were being built.)
That's Wrong Waquiot. The Philly plant is closed
By anon
Tue, 09/24/2019 - 12:22pm
The trains are coming directly from South Korea
I stand mistaken
By Waquiot
Tue, 09/24/2019 - 9:27pm
But after the labor relations/racial shitshow down there, I’m only surprised the T is buying foreign made cars.
It would be helpful
By GoSoxGo
Wed, 09/25/2019 - 3:28pm
if there were American companies that built the coaches in the first place.
People
By Karma
Mon, 09/23/2019 - 9:55pm
People who dare to place a bag on an empty seat while other commuters stand deserve to be banished to the Red Line for all eternity.
Be bold
By Cranky
Tue, 09/24/2019 - 10:28am
I have zero problem asking someone to move a bag from a seat. It only got ugly once (so far).
Confronting
By Bugs Bunny
Tue, 09/24/2019 - 1:20pm
In concept asking someone to modify their behavior would be okay, but I've witnessed passengers screaming "asshole" at each other due to asking a passenger to be quiet in the Quiet Car. Better off just nor dealing with the attitude.
On a rush hour commuter train
By anon
Tue, 09/24/2019 - 6:46pm
On a rush hour commuter train in NYC, a seat with a bag on it wouldn't last 30 seconds without someone pointing to it and saying "excuse me".
A Louis Vuitton bag, however,
By Rob
Wed, 09/25/2019 - 10:45am
A Louis Vuitton bag, however, will last long enough to go viral.
https://www.nj.com/news/g66l-2019/02/9f37c9cc0d457...
Quiet car issues are a whole mother level of crazy.
By Section 77
Tue, 09/24/2019 - 6:47pm
As people screaming because someone else wasn’t quiet enough will attest. They should dispense Paxil on that car.
Bright lights
By Ol' Crusty
Wed, 09/25/2019 - 5:15pm
They should lower the light a bit too on the Quiet Cars
Maybe floor guide lights, lights at stairs and ends, and little reading lamps on seat backs.
That would be nice.
I noted the wear of upholstery on one of the 1987 Bombardier cars today. They need overhauls, so at least some trainsets of flats would be available.
I am glad hot doors-open exhaust-filled AC-free Budd cars won't come back in service. Things are better now for riders and I welcome further improvements even if that's just treading water overall.
Rotem Plant Closed?
By In The Know
Wed, 09/25/2019 - 11:20am
The T's bilevels came from the Rotem plant in NJ if I remember correctly. When the orders wound down, I believe that plant closed or was slated to close as orders from other rail companies were fulfilled.