tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-293100068373105830.post4361163325658020993..comments2024-03-27T09:13:58.922-07:00Comments on The Amateur Planner: Electrifying Fairmount would be cheaper than buying DMUsArihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06058285362842737187noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-293100068373105830.post-40373695108436885392023-06-02T06:15:55.957-07:002023-06-02T06:15:55.957-07:00Capitol WorldwideTransportaion Provide the Best Ca...Capitol WorldwideTransportaion Provide the Best Car Service To Denver Airport. if you are looking to explore our services so you can book now at - 720-394-6472, and also Visit <a href="https://airportlimodenver.com/" rel="nofollow">Car Service To Denver Airport!</a>Air Port Limo Denverhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04547862299081556487noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-293100068373105830.post-24757075137669871522021-01-26T19:04:35.464-08:002021-01-26T19:04:35.464-08:00Thanks for your topic, Admin, and thanks also for ...Thanks for your topic, Admin, and thanks also for the transportation available in <a href="https://americaneaglelimousine.net/denver-to-breckenridge-shuttle/" rel="nofollow">Denver to Breckenridge shuttle</a> You can always contact the company. It is wonderful and I have tried it. Thank you<br /><br />kinckohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03554873641705219589noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-293100068373105830.post-88524185304631477902020-09-09T04:14:30.311-07:002020-09-09T04:14:30.311-07:00I think this is a really good article. You Ride De...I think this is a really good article. You Ride Denver To Aspen Limo Car service<b><a href="https://mountaincars.com/Denver-to-Breckenridge-transportation-page" rel="nofollow"> Denver To Breckenridge Car Service</a></b> information interesting and engaging. You give readers a lot to think about and I appreciate that kind of writing.Mountain Star Transportationhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14992011657252912731noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-293100068373105830.post-40317322401934558002019-09-28T19:10:17.793-07:002019-09-28T19:10:17.793-07:00One comment on paralling stations. To my knowledge...One comment on paralling stations. To my knowledge they are not really a main fuctioning circuit breakers, but they really are automatic type of auto transformer that maintains a constant voltage on that catenary @ 25kv. Those new Amtrak electric locos may be too sensative to voltage drops with their power electronic drives. Anyway electrification would be a dream come true for me because i work as a b&b electrician for MBTA/ Keolis commuter services. It is an awfull dirty place over at the s&i facility where those new monstreous over weight diesel trains get serviced. Just look at the roofs of those new diesel locos and you will see a trail of soot and yes unburnt fuel coating everything. And yes ! We have had some roof ventilator fires thanks to that accumilation of unbirnt fuel! It can be very disruptive i know all too well. Anyways please regard this posting as i,m not a spokes person in anyway related to the commuter rail that employs me. I don,t want to loose my job over this post. And the findings above are only my opinionAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16748127455550591373noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-293100068373105830.post-57711973923265140202019-08-01T17:24:57.022-07:002019-08-01T17:24:57.022-07:00And how has it gone, like years without anyone not...And how has it gone, like years without anyone noticing?bobinspainhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15260158450169870763noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-293100068373105830.post-83160766113408947232019-08-01T17:24:10.519-07:002019-08-01T17:24:10.519-07:00I think there is a problem with the legend on the ...I think there is a problem with the legend on the velocity labels on the graph - swapped. Also, at least one comment also confused DMU and EMU. The point of the article is good, but the details need scrubbing. bobinspainhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15260158450169870763noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-293100068373105830.post-57327690073403560652017-05-11T01:02:36.596-07:002017-05-11T01:02:36.596-07:00Fairmount Line desperately needs electrification a...Fairmount Line desperately needs electrification as it involves less cost in a long run. Buying diesel multiple units is very cost effective. The governor’s direction to reduce the purchase of DMUs is praiseworthy. Though DMUs have achieved success in Europe, it cannot be believed that the same would happen in Boston. MBTA should take steps to complete the electrification of the nine-mile long route. As there is existing electrification adjacent to the both ends of the line, it can be integrated in to the existing system. Electrification of the existing line does not require a big sum.Torres Finlayhttp://gatmemphis.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-293100068373105830.post-14141500970786168842015-10-28T13:55:10.247-07:002015-10-28T13:55:10.247-07:00Pt. 2. . .
-- Worcester is easy. Plenty of power...Pt. 2. . .<br /><br />-- Worcester is easy. Plenty of power lines out in the Westborough-Grafton stretch for plunking a substation, and only overhead bridge inbound of Westborough that needs to be touched is Beacon St., which is too low to clear a T bi-level under wires. Worcester-Westborough where the double-stack freights roam you need to have 23'1" underclearance (20'6" car clearance + 2'7" for 25 kV wires over an unshielded metal roof). Only 6 bridges out there, some of them already clear (e.g. I-290), and all of them can be squared by an quick/cheap trackbed undercutting. You're not wiring out to Springfield, however, without lots of suffering; that's 35 more bridges.<br /><br />-- Big problems, however, on Haverhill/Downeaster between Wilmington and Portland, and Fitchburg west of Littleton to Wachusett. Those will be bigtime double-stack freight routes in only 5-8 years, and both routes were not as luxuriously overbuilt as the Boston & Albany so they're going to exhaust all available space getting to 20'6" (Western Route's only 17' today). Entirely possible you may never be able to justify cost of electrifying Haverhill past Reading and Downeaster to Portland (unless it got shifted to a Maine-reconnected Eastern Route). Fitchburg outskirts: easier path, but you're probably kicking it everything past a Waltham/128-turning Indigo route to the back of the line and dealing with it last. At least the N-S Rail Link is designed to take dual-mode hauled push-pull trains without slowing down the EMU's, so long as they stay a decided minority of the traffic.<br /><br />-- Needham is a special case because it's always, always at the bottom of the pile for NEC slots. No matter how much you modernize ops and train spacing, Providence/Stoughton and Amtrak are always going to be first in line to be fed. They priced out a widening of the SW Corridor tunnel/cut to 4 RR tracks + 2 Orange Line tracks about a decade ago (it's floating around the Interwebs in a PDF somewhere), and it was a $1B job with unacceptably destructive surface impacts. Franklin trains have options via Fairmount to keep everyone fat and happy, but Needham is forever runt of the litter. Only equitable solution is to finally trade it over to rapid transit like has been periodically proposed since 1945: Orange swallowing to West Roxbury (or 128...but it's pretty desolate out in Cutler Park), Green branch off Newton Highlands swallowing to Needham Jct. (yes, you have to tag-team both so nobody loses transit). It's a "when" not "if" Needham gets squeezed out of meaningful service expansion options by exploding NEC growth, so rapid transit ends up the only electrification that ultimately matters. Might as well get it over with.<br /><br />-- Franklin has logistical hurdles requiring more thought than it looks on a 2D density map. It has the fewest power lines--one set, halfway between Walpole and Norfolk--crossing it of any long-haul mainline. And if those aren't configured to feed 25 kV (not all are), you'll be building an interconnection to the NEC in Mansfield to balance the supply. It's also a freight clearance route Walpole-Readville protected in perpetuity by interstate commerce law. The last one into Boston-proper on the southside now that CSX signed its life away on Beacon Park. With a lot of overhead bridges maxed out on under-clearance. Plan carefully, because you only get one shot to square up unprojectable 50-year economic considerations on movement of goods. Massport wants to do ship-to-rail container freight at Marine Terminal in the next 7-10 years, and it's unprojectable over 50 years if Ports of Southie and Quincy start chucking in economically reliant freight volumes...like they did 50 years ago. Don't block the only way to move high-volume goods in/out of town; you may need it. If that means deferring Franklin further down the list till you have the money to tackle the bridges...do the smart thing, not the impatient thing.F-Line to Dudleynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-293100068373105830.post-19434099558563751232015-10-28T12:34:47.103-07:002015-10-28T12:34:47.103-07:00Sorry for the late reply. . .
1) Paralleling stat...Sorry for the late reply. . .<br /><br />1) Paralleling stations are basically large circuit breakers, so they're necessary. Sharon substation has taken lightning strikes before, and you don't want that frying everything clear to Boston and Providence because of lack of phase breaks. Rule of thumb is one every 6 miles, fudge factor on placement where there's available space. Four Corners-Talbot Ave. stretch is pretty densely-abutted, but they have leeway because midpoint on the line is well under 6 miles from the next-nearest installation.<br /><br />2) Yeah. Amtrak was being chintzy there, but there's only 3 substations on the entirety of the Shoreline (1 in each state), so it's a lot of bang-for-buck to be able to power the whole terminal district, Providence Line, and Fairmount out of one single substation. RIDOT would be on the hook for similar upgrades to Warwick substation, but they'll gladly do that since it takes care of both Providence Line and Providence-Westerly intrastate commuter rail. These sites are provisioned for exactly that expansion with half the space at Sharon left empty and those giant honking high-tension lines about 1000 paces south supplying half of southern MA with juice.<br /><br />The T would be wise to think ahead and spend for more capacity than they need, because that'll take care of all service growth in the terminal district when North-South Rail Link and South Station Under get added to the mix.<br /><br />3) Only reason I mentioned the SLV's being an asterisk is because AC bi-level EMU's are finally ready for prime time in the U.S. (piggish FRA bloat or no), and everyone who isn't wedded by physical necessity to a single-level design like LIRR/MNRR's M#'s is going to be buying bi-levels going forward. SEPTA too unless they fail to learn their lesson and attempt another custom design reboot with the Silverliner VI's. Otherwise, there's no great aura of mystery around EMU purchases. Only reason to go uniform bi-levels first and not take a very small order of subway-ish configured flats is fleet scale for the initial vehicle purchase. Taking the first plunge kind of requires a uniform fleet to hit optimal cost/benefit. But as long as you keep up the pace on subsequent electrifications you'll quickly pile up enough inside-128 Indigo Line routes to hit paydirt scale with the specialized configuration. Providence + Worcester + Fairmount is almost 60% of the southside equipment pool, and Fairmount + that Riverside Indigo route are the biggest chunks of that proposed faux-subway route network. It scales quick so you can/(will?) have both. Just, all in due time because that first step into electrification is such a doozy.<br /><br />4) Stoughton just depends on whether South Coast Rail, or even a more sensible Phase I to Taunton Depot, is still in the cards. They could certainly de-crapify that build and its beyond-awful headways by doing Taunton first + extending all Stoughton trains at equal-or-better headways. THEN some time later double-tracking and THEN and only then building the branches, instead of crippling that turd sandwich from the arse-end-backwards with a monolithic build at single track. So if Stoughton begats Taunton (and future service-increase turns at Taunton), you probably don't want to electrify Canton Jct.-Stoughton until you've settled up all the denser-traffic lines first. It would require its own independent substation built somewhere in the Raynham stretch, and that changes the cost valuation considerably. Obviously, if SCR gets a fatal ice pick to the head...by all means, take the free throws and string 'em up to Stoughton because it would chain off Sharon substation splendidly.F-Line to Dudleynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-293100068373105830.post-78635486312729212172015-10-22T15:38:25.395-07:002015-10-22T15:38:25.395-07:00One note on the electriication system: the Sharon ...One note on the electriication system: the Sharon substation only supplies the section north/east of the phase break just north of Attleboro. South of there and through most of RI, the power is supplied from a substation near the Providence Airport. Presumably, Rhode Island might be convinced to fund the necessary upgrades for that section.<br />Also, if the improvement in travel time from DMU to EMU is accurate, that is huge: it means only two EMU sets are needed for a 30 minute clockface schedule versus 3 DMU sets, because the DMUs wouldn't have quite enough recovery time at the terminals.crzwdjkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06394805356595604336noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-293100068373105830.post-42964117562924487862015-10-16T13:56:34.298-07:002015-10-16T13:56:34.298-07:00All good notes.
* Re the paralleling station for...All good notes. <br /><br />* Re the paralleling station for Fairmount, could this be run off of power from the Amtrak yard up in South Bay? Or is that a little too far?<br /><br />* I assume that the Sharon upgrade would be expensive, but not overwhelmingly. i.e. if it's $10m but it allows for the use of 50 miles of electric running, then it's a small overall expense.<br /><br />* I picked Silverliner Vs as the example because a) they're used in a setting outside NYC (Phila, Denver) and b) the Denver cars are lined up for 25/60 which is the juice already flowing above MBTA trackage. Obviously other cars could be wired for it since it's pretty standard (more standard than Pennsy electrification further south). But the long and short of it is that the experience with FRA DMUs is not illustrious: the Nippon-Sharyos out west are not proven, and the Colorado Railcars are proven, but not in a good way (cars are bad, company went under). EMUs are quite proven and there's a competitive market, so the T could buy cars based both on cost and track record.<br /><br />* For most T services, a bilevel design would make sense (i.e. for 808, <a href="http://bit.ly/1LeIQpD" rel="nofollow">board 200+ pax each</a> at Providence, Attleboros and Mansfield, then run 100 mph in to Back Bay). But for Fairmount, where rides are shorter, more of a subway-style car would work, perhaps even with a non-Commuter style seating (or at least some bench seating and standee space) and three doors for easy, quick boarding and short layovers. But I guess if MED gets away with operating single-door gallery cars, double-door cars would work (if they're wide enough for two people to pass through at a time, especially). And, yes, it would make sense to get RI on board. (There are some punch-listy and maybe harder things with full RI service, but considering that with 110 mph operation you could shave half an hour off a Wickford-to-Boston trip, it would probably be quite beneficial.)<br /><br />* And, yes, if you're doing electric, the 5 miles to Stoughton make sense, as do the 9 to Needham, right off the bat. The 20 to Franklin and 45 to Worcester are a bigger deal, but you would be well through the system (oh, and more ridership, too).Arihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06058285362842737187noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-293100068373105830.post-51267195446203255242015-10-15T09:59:15.853-07:002015-10-15T09:59:15.853-07:00Some misc. notes:
-- Amtrak's Shoreline elect...Some misc. notes:<br /><br />-- Amtrak's Shoreline electrification requires a paralleling station once every 6 miles. As there's already one at Readville (https://goo.gl/maps/ErpuAVSMaiB2) the only on-line electric infrastructure required besides the running wires is a paralleling station somewhere at the Fairmount's midpoint.<br /><br /><br />-- However, you must upgrade the capacity at Sharon substation (https://goo.gl/maps/9WWLpUwVV2v) to be able to run commuter rail electrics on NEC or Fairmount. Amtrak oh-so-helpfully left the power draw of the 2000 electrification too short to handle anything but their own trains. Hence, it's the T's $$$ to fill up that empty half of the substation with capacity expansion. Especially for EMU's, which gobble more juice than an electric push-pull. But..said substation expansion would feed both Providence and Fairmount, so it's a non-optional expense with payoff.<br /><br /><br />-- Silverliner V derivatives won't be a viable option. Those were horribly botched Rotem product and design that nobody's going to buy again. The same factory that produced the T's Rotem coach lemons did the Silverliners, and they have same problems of rickety build quality (e.g. too many little plastic things breaking off, rattles and shakes, generally poor attention to fit/finish little things, "less-than-solid" overall feeling) and...worst...incoherently-mapped spaghetti wiring done by incompetent electricians. SEPTA's probably starting from scratch with the Silverliner VI design. Denver benefits from SEPTA having to go through all the debugging pain ahead of them, and thus it was a worthwhile buy...but they're going to age very poorly and be passed over for a 25-year rebuild. One-and-done oddities.<br /><br /><br />-- The EMU make to watch is the bi-level design NJ Transit's currently contracted out for specs engineering for its Arrow replacements. RFP likely issued in '16 or early '17. That one will take the ubiquitous Bombardier MLV coach carbody and lash it up into a conventional married-pair EMU at no loss of seating from the regular coach version. Has advantage of recycling a carbody that's in constant mass production, which should keep unit costs reasonable if matched up with proven propulsion systems.<br /><br />If SEPTA were wise it would tag along with NJT's order with a parasitic option, let NJT be guinea pigs, and save itself the masochism of bumbling through managing another Silverliner design generation. Throw in AMT likely ordering the same when it expands electrification, and you've got something resembling a 'universal' domestic EMU for high-platform territory where a constantly hot factory pushes down cost. No, they don't tickle the imagination of those who'd prefer lightweight Euro imports instead of another overweight North American beast, but it would lower the barrier of entry considerably for the MBTA's of the world to finally take the EMU plunge. Resist urge to over-customize or lard some idiotic "Buy Massachusetts" on top of idiotic "Buy America" bloat, and they can get good scale for a Providence + Fairmount + RIDOT Providence-Westerly pool fleet. Probably cheaper and lighter-weight than NJT because they can omit the 12.5 kV and 25 Hz transformers and just order the solo 60 Hz/25 kV version.<br /><br />Bi-levels might not be as efficient for boarding on Fairmount as the specialized interior config the DMU's were supposed to have, and obviously wouldn't be able to have center sets of doors that match the platforms. But they have to be thinking of fleet scale for this starter electrification and what's going to serve Providence + Fairmount + RIDOT in one pool. Optimized interior flow for hyper-frequent service inside Route 128 is something they can worry about next southside EMU order when they get Worcester wired up and lather on hyper-frequent Riverside trains. That third Worcester electrification is all it takes to put the southside at well >50% electric fleet.F-Line to Dudleynoreply@blogger.com