2016 Commuter Rail Delay Discussion Thread

[csor2010]

Fitchburg seems to be off to a rough start today: 404 is late and 447/450 are cancelled. Looks like they might have stolen 447/450's equipment for 404, as there is an outbound set signed as 404 approaching FItchburg on Stefan's tracker.

On a related note, yesterday the 1125 was making a pretty unhealthy howl on 417 coming out of Porter - I'm not a diesel mechanic but it sounded a lot like a failing turbo. Given that 417 typically lays over in Fitchburg, that may be the culprit for this morning's delays.

[ST214]

Outbound signed as 404 is 404 coming from the yard to the station.

However, a train did just go outbound thru Concord, so I presume that was the set intended for 447/450.

400 was almost 20 minutes late thru Concord.

One of the geeps has been howling for two weeks now, but I forget the #.

[csor2010]

Yeah, realized that might have been the case- forgot how far the layover is from the station. That said, 404's delay was due to "late arrival of equipment" which is odd since 404's set spends the night in Fitchburg.

[BostonUrbEx]

447/450 was cancelled and deadheaded up for 408. I suspect 404 had an unruly set which could not be used and was late because they had to get a different set (which would have been 408's). 400's delay was a separate mechanical issue.

[Diverging Route]

Not a good sign.

Newburyport Train 167 (5:15 pm outbound) is cancelled. As soon as equipment becomes available, an extra train will depart North Station bound for Newburyport.

[octr202]

Switch problems up on Eastern this morning. 102 seems to have taken a decent hit so far...

[sery2831]

447/450 was cancelled and deadheaded up for 408. I suspect 404 had an unruly set which could not be used and was late because they had to get a different set (which would have been 408's). 400's delay was a separate mechanical issue.

408 was the loco 1125. Had an oil system failure before it could leave the yard.

[octr202]

Let's all be thankful this is a Sunday morning. So far, Sunday's first inbounds from Haverhill and Newburyport suffering from 45-60 minute (possibly more) delays inbound, first Lowell inbound with a minor inbound delay, and the first Rockport outbound also approaching an hour late. First Newburyport outbound and its inbound turn cancelled.

[Diverging Route]

North...

Newburyport, Rockport, Haverhill, Lowell and Fitchburg Lines are experiencing
various delays due to a switch problem near N. Station.

and South...

Strong winds are affecting Amtrak's electrical systems between Boston & Providence.
Expect delays on Providence & Stoughton Line trains.

including...

Providence Train 820 (3:40 pm inbound) is still assisting a disabled Amtrak train in
S. Attleboro & is expected to be 80-100 min behind schedule en route to S. Station.

[Rockingham Racer]

This thread could be overwhelming. I set my email to receive alerts from all lines, both north and south. My inbox was flooded with problems, every day and both north and south side. My conclusion is that service in Boston is not very reliable. How do you folks put up with that crap? Oops, did I say that?

[deathtopumpkins]

16 Providence line alerts right now. Yikes.

Most trains delayed 40+ minutes, some delayed up to 90 minutes.

[Diverging Route]

16 Providence line alerts right now. Yikes.

Most trains delayed 40+ minutes, some delayed up to 90 minutes.

I counted 58 T-Alerts for the PVD/STO lines between 4pm and 9pm. It seems a tree limb fell on the wire near South Attleboro, and it got tangled in the pantograph of an Amtrak train.

[octr202]

This thread could be overwhelming. I set my email to receive alerts from all lines, both north and south. My inbox was flooded with problems, every day and both north and south side. My conclusion is that service in Boston is not very reliable. How do you folks put up with that crap? Oops, did I say that?

I get alerts all of the Northside, and it varies between depressing and overwhelming. I think in most cases we put up with it because there's no real alternative (i.e., I could drive, but I'd need to work 6 am to 3 pm to avoid traffic, and my job won't allow that). My sense is most commuters have given up hope that it will get any better anytime soon. I was caught on trains with delays both ways yesterday (204 with ~20-25 min mechanical delays getting out of Bradford, and 217 which go caught for almost a half hour delay from the switch failures outside North Station) - when your commute starts taking 2 hours a day (with connections and walk to/from station at home) you do start to wonder if it's worth it though. It's only a 22 mile trip...

[Rbts Stn]

16 Providence line alerts right now. Yikes.

Most trains delayed 40+ minutes, some delayed up to 90 minutes.

I counted 58 T-Alerts for the PVD/STO lines between 4pm and 9pm. It seems a tree limb fell on the wire near South Attleboro, and it got tangled in the pantograph of an Amtrak train.

I had 30 for Needham yesterday. Crazy.

[nomis]

Tower 1 is currently dark this morning, no traffic to South Station. Lines are being terminated at Back Bay, JFK or Newmarket (with a bus-de-toot connection).