Baltimore: Light rail services to be suspended starting Friday

News conference scheduled in about an hour to announce specifics. This is all that's been reported thus far.

BALTIMORE —
Maryland Transit Administration officials revealed that Light Rail services will be suspended effective Friday.

Officials will hold a news conference at 5:30 p.m. Thursday to officially announce the suspension.

It's not yet clear why the Light Rail will be shut down or for how long.

This report will be updated.

https://www.wbaltv.com/article/light-ra ... -autopilot&

Update:

BALTIMORE -- All light rail services will be suspended effective Friday because of mechanical issues, Maryland Transit Authority officials said.

MTA Administrator Holly Arnold said the decision to suspend service is based on two issues. High-voltage conduits were discovered to have been punctured after a fire event in October, in which one rider was injured.

Also, machinery that connects light rail cars, called the inter-car connector cable, has caused six smoke events between November 2021 and November 2023.

https://www.cbsnews.com/baltimore/news/ ... ve-friday/

Freight trains used to run on the ex-Northern Central tracks used by the Light Rail north of Penn Station in the past. Is there an opportunity for a very very limited diesel-only shuttle operated with MP36s and MARC II single-level cars on a portion of these tracks? Or are there way too many problems with this completely nutty idea?

TheOneKEA wrote: ↑Thu Dec 07, 2023 7:05 pm Freight trains used to run on the ex-Northern Central tracks used by the Light Rail north of Penn Station in the past. Is there an opportunity for a very very limited diesel-only shuttle operated with MP36s and MARC II single-level cars on a portion of these tracks? Or are there way too many problems with this completely nutty idea?

It wouldn't be cost effective to have the train crew to operate traps for low level platforms, and I'm not sure the interchange is still in place near Penn Station to move gear there.
Now, this is pointing at a reason for DMU/BMU for the region.
Or replacing the LRVs, since the rebuild messed this up.

The interchange is still in place, a single track. However, I have concerns over some of the curves north of Timonium Fairgrounds. I also think it would be at most a two car train doing push-pull service. Definitely worth a DMU, though.

But then I think replacing all the LRV's with what San Jose VTA uses is even better.

Anyone have a few spare LRV they could loan Baltimore?

Outside of compatibility concerns, it's more likely that new equipment will be needed soon.

Find another agency who is ordering low level platforms, and go in with them to reduce cost.
Just not Alstom.
https://www.wmar2news.com/local/company ... ems-before

MBTA Type 9 or 10 off the shelf?

Alstom products also having a different set of difficulties in Ottawa.

https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-ne ... lrt-system

R36 Combine Coach wrote: ↑Sat Dec 09, 2023 5:37 pm MBTA Type 9 or 10 off the shelf?

Maybe Type 9, from CAF USA. Asked my fellow transit fan in Boston and she said she likes them -- only wish that there were more than 24 of them there. CAF is working on the Type 10, which is supposed to be 100% low floor. Both would require some station retrofits for wheelchair access... but then the proposed Maryland Red Line would use similar equipment and would require an elevated platform.

You'd want to design a whole new body though. The MBTA Green Line has the tightest, most constrained loading gauge of any US light rail system due to it's streetcar legacy. Running cars that small on Baltimore's light rail (which it's HUGE loading gauge) would be a capacity loss.

octr202 wrote: ↑Mon Dec 11, 2023 9:51 am You'd want to design a whole new body though. The MBTA Green Line has the tightest, most constrained loading gauge of any US light rail system due to it's streetcar legacy. Running cars that small on Baltimore's light rail (which it's HUGE loading gauge) would be a capacity loss.

You may be right. MTA Light RailLink uses standard gauge track. (You want HUGE? Try Pennsylvania gauge!)

For the second-generation light rail systems in the US, including Baltimore, the Siemens S700 (formerly S70) has a pretty overwhelming share of new orders. They're more or less in continuous production given the number of orders. If Baltimore needs to replace its cars urgently, dollars to donuts that's what they get.

STrRedWolf wrote: ↑Mon Dec 11, 2023 2:42 pm

octr202 wrote: ↑Mon Dec 11, 2023 9:51 am You'd want to design a whole new body though. The MBTA Green Line has the tightest, most constrained loading gauge of any US light rail system due to it's streetcar legacy. Running cars that small on Baltimore's light rail (which it's HUGE loading gauge) would be a capacity loss.

You may be right. MTA Light RailLink uses standard gauge track. (You want HUGE? Try Pennsylvania gauge!)

MBTA light rail uses the same standard track gauge, but the loading gauge (height/width/etc) of the carbodies is constrained by the fact that sections of the original tunnels were built for 25-30' streetcars, many/most of which didn't even have air brakes at the time.

See the tiny car here: http://photos.cityrails.net/showpic/?ph ... 814416.jpg Typical Boston streetcar from the turn of the 20th Century.

The Boeing LRVs and Kinki-Shayro Type 7's are less than 75' long, and narrow enough they max out at 2-1 seating inside (without constricting the aisle). IIRC the Baltimore LRV's are something like 95' long, and substantially wider, easily allowing 2x2 seating.

That said, Siemens could no doubt tweak a design to take maximum advantage of the loading gauge - just a question of how expensive that would be.