Providence line 100 MPH or more service might be needed to be compatible with Amtrak. Marc needs 125 on the Penn line. If Amtrak increases service???
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mbrproductions wrote: ↑Sat Jan 22, 2022 10:59 am MARC already runs 125 on the Penn Line, and are (allegedly) going to be doing it with chargers pretty soon because Amtrak was milking the money out of them with the price to use their catenary.With the number of cars needed on the MAEC Penn line trains it would take 2 Chargers to make speeds needed. Would that even be prudent?
mbrproductions wrote: ↑Sat Jan 22, 2022 10:59 am MARC already runs 125 on the Penn Line, and are (allegedly) going to be doing it with chargers pretty soon because Amtrak was milking the money out of them with the price to use their catenary. I have heard that some MBTA trains reach 90 mph on the Providence Line, but only if they are an all bilevel set pulled by an HSP46, I have never seen MBTA reach what appeared to me to be 90 mph, so I have no idea whether this is true or not.All MBTA equipment is limited to 80mph - it is not maintained/certified for normal operation over that. It is all capable of going faster - typically design criteria was either 103 or 110. I can say with pretty good certainty that the overspeed settings on all MBTA equipment is currently right around 82mph. So if you go to fast, you take a penalty brake application.
west point wrote: ↑Sat Jan 22, 2022 12:22 am Providence line 100 MPH or more service might be needed to be compatible with Amtrak. Marc needs 125 on the Penn line. If Amtrak increases service???Reminder MBTA owns the property, which means they have leverage. The current overtake abilities at Providence, Attleboro and inside of 128 are sufficient for increased service. 100mph won't gain more than a couple minutes on an express train, MBTA's stops are otherwise too close to take advantage.
CRail wrote: ↑Sun Jan 23, 2022 4:02 am All 40 series engines are good for 100, HSPs are good for 90. All coaches are limited to 80. The equipment to be utilized on Phase 2 of SCR does not exist so discussing restrictions based on current equipment makes no sense. We can run brand new EMUs capable of 100mph on brand new track designed for such speeds.MBTA can simply decide to run their existing equipment faster. It's all designed for 100+ operation and is capable of achieving that. The HSPs were tested at 125 out at TTCI, yet are listed only good for 90. As I've been trying to explain, there is a significant change in maintenance requirements and equipment certification required to run that fast. Doesn't matter if it is existing equipment or new equipment. Those changes cost money, so is the time savings worth the cost? Right now the answer is no, but that could change in the future. This decision isn't unique to the MBTA either.
Trinnau wrote: ↑Sun Jan 23, 2022 11:17 am He's referring to the employee timetable, which is direction to the train crews. With that, the only way you'd be able to exceed 80 is with Amtrak equipment pulled by an MBTA loco. However, as I previously mentioned the overspeeds are set for operation at 80. Some of the equipment will show "90" in the cab on the corridor but it can't be reached.This is incorrect. When 90 is displayed for ACSES speeds on the corridor, 93 is when a penalty application is applied/enforced. We deal with wheelslip all the time on the corridor at the greasers, add rain/drizzle on the rail, not uncommon for the speedometer to shoot up to the mid to high 80's, even a 90, an immediate throttle reduction will solve this, bringing the speed back down
mbrproductions wrote: ↑Sun Jan 23, 2022 8:16 pm Interesting history on the Hockomock Swamp. I believe the line was abandoned in 1966 and I think they are planning on building an 8000+ foot trestle over the swamp because its somehow going to be better for the ecosystems there, I don't think its necessary considering that the right of way is already there anyway.It looks like all bridges are intact, why build a new one?