Metro-North wrangles with failing cars and cold weather

DutchRailnut wrote: As for ALP44's according to NJT they need a million dollar overhaul, as for the Comet cars NJT has storred they need at minimum a 3 year inspection and brake overhaul.
Keys are different, door panels are different and MNCR has no engines to pull them.

Oddly enough, MNCR has two Comet IIIs (5009 & 5010) at Croton, which were delivered to MNCR 1991 and transfered to NJT 1998 before being returned in 2008. These two have never spent there lives on ANY MNCR service (even WoH), as they were always on the Newark division.

correct and they won't see service for a few years more, they need overhaul and will eventually be cars for new Inspection train, once finances improve.

Clean Cab wrote:I can't wait to read Dutch Rail Nut's reply to this!!

RearOfSignal wrote:All this speculation seems to be a moot point. MNR and CDOT let the EMU get into this sorry state of disrepair, so now we expect them to make a quick fix by acquiring, modifying and operating foreign equipment on the spot?

New Rochelle is crowded enough as it is with this new limited schedule and equipment shortages without having shuttle trains picking up and dropping off passengers from all the points east. Could you imagine what it would be like logistically if this did happen? It'd be a mess.

I think I'm suffering a failure to communicate, and that's my fault. I do agree it's a moot point, as it's not going to happen. Besides, doesn't it mean more work/OT for you guys? I'd think you'd be all for it!

Let me clarify, and I'll drop it (really - I will). I'm not endorsing a massive shuttle operation from New Rochelle (or Stamford, wherever feasible), i.e. I'm not saying only run the M-2's as far as New Rochelle; just a few. I am saying it might work, on a limited basis, to add a few trains and reduce the stress on the remaining M-2 fleet, using only CDOT SLE equipment, by reducing the number of miles the M2's have to travel. Some of this SLE equipment has run as far west as Mamaroneck in the past, hasn't it, for the US Open? If you take a peak express, say, from up the line in CT and run it to New Rochelle, and transfer the pax at New Rochelle using tracks 4 and 6 (and yes, it might delay some Amtraks) to an M-2, you've freed up the route miles the M-2 is travelling up the line.

As for the Amtrak/Penn option discussed here, I wouldn't be suprised if some of the higher paid MNRR monthly pax are already just buying the more expensive Amtrak tickets to Penn, and paying the NHV price.

Sarge, I get your point. But it's like a band-aid on a bullet wound. But I don't see what Clean Cab thought was so shocking about what I said. Sure us rail-buffs would love to see odd equipment running down the line where we usually don't see it, but it just doesn't seem practical in the short time that we're looking at.

Dutch, just because the ALP44s need an overhaul doesn't mean they don't work reliably. The plan was to keep some in service, but the 46As have performed better than expected, and all the '44s have been pretty much deemed surplus. But its not like all of them were pulled from service when they had a failure. Many were working day to day reliably, then pulled OOS.

Also while some of the Comet 3s have had their 3 year brakes COTS expire, many have not. they have been pulled from service for about 15 months ago (I think the last run was late October/early November 2009), and some had their COTS in later 2008 early/mid 2009. Also, the 5009/5010 cab cars ran fine as well when they were pulled from service and reclaimed by MN in 2008. So long as they haven't had any work done on them and are still complete, they would require and inspection to go back in service. I ran the 5010 on one of its last trips on NJT, and it worked just fine.

Both ALP44s and ALP46s were used for the MN Football trains to New Haven. they both can run on all different voltages and frequencies and change automatically.

Differnet keys and different door panels - big deal. The door panels and keys are identical to those in the comet 4s, 5s, and MLs, and some MN crews are familar with them and used them because of the football trains. anyway, they aren't real complicated - its open high level, forward local or back, close forward local and back, adn open low level forward local and back.

Awsesome analagy, ROS, I see your point. Kind of like throwing a pail of water on the Great Chicago Fire to use another.

It might help, even if it's just the Waterbury and Danbury (Malloy seems to be making a point out of the Waterbury line; signs of good things to come?). Plus, it would be fun for grins and giggles to see commuters from New Canaan have to open their own doors (evil laugh). I guess my point is if it makes the M-2's last even one day longer before failure....

Okay, now I'll let it go. Thanks for indulging me.

Story from WCBS880 today. According the the article apparently 30 more cars went into service today and that only 130 are still out of service which is still lot. I also found it interesting at the end of the article how they think that the testing on the M-8's will be complete within the next two weeks.

GREENWICH, CT (WCBS 880) - It seems that things have gotten better on Metro-North‘s New Haven Line this week.

“I think so. I think so,” says 10-year Metro-North rider Cynthia Perez.

At the Cos Cob station in Greenwich, she told WCBS 880 reporter Paul Murnane that the commute seems easier this week with the lack of new snow and the New Haven Line’s lighter rush hour schedule.

link to the story. http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2011/02/11/ ... -problems/

Another story that was posted on the NBC Connecticut station around 2:45 yesterday afternooon. According to the story Gov. Malloy met with the MNRR President Howard Permut about the New Haven Line equipment situation.

Traveling by Metro-North has been a challenge for riders as Metro-North has pulled multiple cars off the tracks of the New Haven line because of weather-related problems and aging equipment.

Gov. Dannel Malloy met on Thursday with Metro-North President Howard Permut to talk more about disruption in service and what can be done going forward.

New Haven line trains are 32 to 40 years old, while the average age for trains on other lines are six years, Malloy said.

Malloy and Permut spoke about a capital investment program to get new cars online as soon as possible, Malloy said.

He said the final stage of testing for the current M8 cars will begin soon and Malloy’s bond commission agenda includes funding for the final 38 cars.

http://www.nbcconnecticut.com/traffic/t ... 39139.html

All of these far fetched ideas about recruiting foreign equipment to supplement the hurting fleet on the NHV line is pretty amusing. Cmon', we all know that isn't going to happen.

What has happened is this. Schedule was cut back to allow things to be addressed with fixing the fleet. The company came to conclusion that operating on a regular schedule with the current in service cars and the excessive shopped cars wasn't feasible. They have around the clock switchers (yard crews) to accelerate the pace of fixing the fleet, with mechanical putting in extra hours plus them receiving replacement parts. And the most obvious is the weather has warmed up a bit and we haven't been slammed with a massive snow storm.

The media has already exposed prior administration (read Rowland) for the blame of replacing the aging fleet. These people, including the commuter council can MF the RR all they want but it was their own vote that got them into this to begin with and they now have to live with the consequence of their decision.

Look for the RR to recruit the equipment Wassaic gave up to supplement trains on the NHV line followed by restoring Waterbury service. As the M8 spotting thread has documented well, testing has been around the clock and even on weekends now. So progress is being made.

Not wanting to bite the hand that feeds me, I'll only say that the failure of so many New Haven Lines cars during this horrible winter isn't all that unexpected. It has happened several times during heavy snowfalls over the last 38 years. How can we forget the blizzard of 1996, or even 1978? Even a small amount of dry powdery snow can send the shop count skyrocketing.

It's not fair to beat up on MN in general. They tried to keep service going, (which they are obligated to) but I think they should have scaled back the service much sooner when the amount of shopped cars reached and stayed above one hundred. Even if they have all the spare parts, people, money and resources available to them, it can still take weeks get every last car back in service.

MTA video clip on the New Haven fleet.

R36 Combine Coach wrote:MTA video clip on the New Haven fleet.

was posted 12 post before your discovery.

Today at the Mamaroneck station a guy asked me when is the next train for NY and I told him 12:26 PM then I said it is running on a Sunday Schedule...the guy asked me "why?"...I told the guy because the the cars are getting repairs because of the Winter Snow and ice. Then I hard a father telling his two sons inside the inbound shelter that it is running on a Sunday schedule...he said why?!. That is what I want to share to all.

Yeah, that's nice.

But anyway, too bad there isn't any thing laying around that could go into GCT. That would actually help.

Train2009 wrote:Today at the Mamaroneck station a guy asked me when is the next train for NY and I told him 12:26 PM then I said it is running on a Sunday Schedule...the guy asked me "why?"...I told the guy because the the cars are getting repairs because of the Winter Snow and ice. Then I hard a father telling his two sons inside the inbound shelter that it is running on a Sunday schedule...he said why?!. That is what I want to share to all.

Actually, my response to that would be, "What does that mean?" as I thought [erroneously most likely] that the schedule was broken down into three categories, weekdays/weekends/holidays - "normal Sunday schedule?"

The MTA is sending out emails that a revised Waterbury bus schedule is in effect, but the link is dead (looks to be intranet). Anyone have a valid link?

http://stage.mnr.org/mnr/html/planning/ ... hanges.pdf