Will They Ever Return?

One more "nail in the coffin" from this Times columnist.

Fair Use:

For many, the pandemic-era shift to remote work proved that all the schlepping was unnecessary. They can’t unsee all the wasted time, and questioning their morality isn’t going to change that. They aren’t taking a moral stance; they’re just making a rational calculation: They can get a lot more done — in their work lives and in the rest of their lives — if they skip the commute.

I think that as COVID is becoming more of a "rearview mirror event" (don't mean to dismiss those, such as my Sister, who have "long COVID), the most profound and lasting change will be WFH. The impact upon any community that has supported the concept that knowledge workers, who today by grace of an array of electronic devices, can productively work from anywhere, need gather at a fixed location for a fixed period of time, is in for a real and lasting "shock".

Towards that end and to close here on a rail related note, I think that a number of rail commuter agencies, through no fault if their own, placed on the eve of COVID, orders for the wrong equipment. Most notable to me, because they are in my backyard, is METRA who placed an order for 200 bi-level cars, during that period (late '19). Had they known, that order should have been for DMU's in three car sets (the needed axle count on BNSF Chicago Sub and other lines as well) that would have a crew consist of Engineer and Conductor only. The existing bi-level trains would continue to be assigned to rush hour trains.

The question here shifts from "We need the capacity" to "how old is the equipment?" Metra may be stuck with the bi-levels but it may be the case the old consists needed to be replaced anyway.

You have a point Mr. Wolf.

On METRA, there are some cars still in revenue service older than Amfleets. I'll stand corrected by those more knowledgeable such as Mr. Lurker, but I don't think METRA has acquired any new passenger cars this century.

OK, so maybe they can assign (deploy in apparent newspeak) the 200 cars systemwide for use in the rush hour trains. But for their mid-day services on their lines over the CB&Q, C&NW, and MILW which I hope they can keep running, they should be looking at overseas sources for three car DMU sets.

Gilbert B Norman wrote: ↑Tue May 23, 2023 6:07 am On METRA, there are some cars still in revenue service older than Amfleets. [...]

OK, so maybe they can assign (deploy in apparent newspeak) the 200 cars systemwide for use in the rush hour trains. But for their mid-day services on their lines over the CB&Q, C&NW, and MILW which I hope they can keep running, they should be looking at overseas sources for three car DMU sets.

Multiple agencies should be looking at DMU/ BMU. They could all order the same model. There's some nice ones out of salt lake city.

Interesting to learn, Mr. Scratchy.

I was last in SLC during '21; the only UTA train I saw was from a grade x-ing in Clearfield, which comprised their bi-level cars.

Might you know their overseas source? I wonder how UTA was able to bypass "buy American" laws.

Oh, and my ties to SLC? Hill AFB was my final duty station ('69) "when I was in". I often went to Utah Symphony concerts (probably the only HAFB enlisted man who could make that claim), and enjoy going back.

I believe by Salt Lake, he means Stadler.

Gilbert B Norman wrote:You have a point Mr. Wolf.

On METRA, there are some cars still in revenue service older than Amfleets. I'll stand corrected by those more knowledgeable such as Mr. Lurker, but I don't think METRA has acquired any new passenger cars this century.

OK, so maybe they can assign (deploy in apparent newspeak) the 200 cars systemwide for use in the rush hour trains. But for their mid-day services on their lines over the CB&Q, C&NW, and MILW which I hope they can keep running, they should be looking at overseas sources for three car DMU sets.

Sorry professor, but that's categorically wrong regarding Metra orders this century.

Metra ordered and took delivery of 300 new cars from Nippon Sharyo between 2002 and 2008 - 194 trailers and 108 cab cars. They then odered another 160 cars in 2010 for the Metra Electric.

That replaced more than half the fleet this century. The order from 2019 will allow retiring the dinosaur Fleet, and probably allow retiring some other 1990's vintage cars built by Morriss Knudson that are barely 40 years old.

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eolesen wrote: ↑Tue May 23, 2023 8:41 am Metra ordered and took delivery of 300 new cars from Nippon Sharyo between 2002 and 2008 - 194 trailers and 108 cab cars. They then odered another 160 cars in 2010 for the Metra Electric.

That replaced more than half the fleet this century. The order from 2019 will allow retiring the dinosaur Fleet, and probably allow retiring some other 1990's vintage cars built by Morriss Knudson that are barely 40 years old.

There you go. Point proven: We got some equipment that's too long in the tooth.

By whose standard? 40 years is nothing for cars that average 100 miles a day.

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Mr. Olesen, I stand corrected. That's why we have a forum.

But that I was mistaken regarding the age of the METRA fleet only compounds the issue I'm addressing regarding post-COVID regional passenger rail transportation.

Through no fault of their own, the METRA Board simply ordered the wrong cars for the "new market".

I observe and ride on occasion essentially empty METRA trains mid-day and I have to wonder just how full are the rush hour's?

I observe a half full station parking lot and formerly full spaces along Burlington Ave empty. I further observe the Lions Club lot at West Hinsdale (it's on the Clarendon Hills side of Route 83 and also serves their swimming pool which they may or may not be able to open this year) that is as good as MTY.

This represents business METRA once had and is never coming back - Elon Musk's rants notwithstanding.

Here from today's Times is columnist Paul Krugman opining how WFH is good for society.

On your bigger point, I wholeheartedly agree.

I think the notion DMUs would have been a better choice is hogwash.

Since this is a NYC forum, I'll spare the rehashing of that tired argument, as I'm pretty sure it's been hashed out elsewhere.

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BTW, "Buy American" laws only apply when using Federal monies for transportation purchases (even in part). If a state or other entity decides to purchase something without any Federal funding, they can both ignore "Buy American" and stipulate other rules that Federal monies would not allow (like dictating that cars be built in a specific state).

Sine when do we have FRA-compliant DMUs in this country? The only foreign units that can be bought are those used on lines with no freight or those where time separation agreements can be used.

But indeed as far as NYC is concerned, that's neither here nor there. I took the 10 pm departure from NYP while going home from EWR and while it wasn't packed, it was certainly more full than I expected of a midweek late night consist.

lensovet wrote: ↑Wed May 24, 2023 1:14 pm Sine when do we have FRA-compliant DMUs in this country? The only foreign units that can be bought are those used on lines with no freight or those where time separation agreements can be used.

But indeed as far as NYC is concerned, that's neither here nor there. I took the 10 pm departure from NYP while going home from EWR and while it wasn't packed, it was certainly more full than I expected of a midweek late night consist.

I thought the KISS MUs were FRA compliant?

The KISS and Flirt MUs are FRA compliant in mixed traffic (and assembled in Salt Lake City). It seems NJT prefers to use foreign locomotives as the ALP-45As, ALP-45DPs, APL-46s and APL-46As are all imported from Germany.