Baltimore: Light rail services to be suspended starting Friday

Can the CAF cars built for the MTA Purple Line be used in Baltimore as a short term measure?

MBTA operating personnel like the Type 9s the least among the 3 Types and were not happy that MBTA management gave the Type 10 order to CAF.

I'm guessing Type 7 is the employee favorite?

RandallW wrote: ↑Tue Dec 12, 2023 6:36 am Can the CAF cars built for the MTA Purple Line be used in Baltimore as a short term measure?

I was wondering that, too.
They have been delivered, could they be used, in the meantime?

MTA says light rail car at center of shutdown had been rehabbed before electrical fire

The rail car that experienced an electrical fire recently, triggering the suspension of Baltimore’s entire light rail line last week, had received a scheduled rehabilitation prior to the incident, Maryland’s top transit official said Tuesday.

Holly Arnold, the administrator of the Maryland Transit Administration, said the rail car flagged for safety reasons was among 49 that had gotten a so-called “midlife overhaul.”

https://www.thebaltimorebanner.com/poli ... MLRWSV5UQ/

Would like more info detailing these 2 problems.

west point wrote: ↑Fri Dec 15, 2023 9:45 pm Would like more info detailing these 2 problems.

So I talked to my father last weekend about the issues. He used to work on the trains themselves and retired as a foreman. He basically agreed with my theory: The conduit where these high-voltage power lines were contained in was breached and it sliced open the lines, which would cause arching and explosions.

Why these were not caught? Simple: The repair staff was not inspecting the vehicles properly, and the maintenance-of-way crew wasn't keeping the tracks clear of stuff that could get in there in the first place (outside of accidents).

This seems to have been backed up by this latest report from WBAL-TV (relevant section quoted):
https://www.wbaltv.com/article/shuttle- ... l/46190051

MTA officials said they continue to make necessary repairs. As of Saturday, they had inspected 41 vehicles for high-voltage conduit damage, 29 of which needed repairs.

At least MTA is being transparent about the repairs at https://www.mta.maryland.gov/light-rail ... suspension ...

The questions are ------ What material and thickness are the present conduits made of and what are specs for replacement conduits? If same material specs bad idea. If more robust conduits not available at present that is going to require very short intervals between periods of inspections until better replacements are available. That is only way to have all LRVs available for service in the future.

Another question. Is there a locations where all these punctures are occurring? Time to run an inspection vehicle to test that theory.