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Letter to Passengers

For what it's worth, I got this e-mail from Keolis earlier

February 19, 2015
A letter to our MBTA Commuter Rail passengers:

Since the beginning of the year, commuter rail passengers have faced delays, cancellations and overly crowded trains related primarily to weather and mechanical issues on MBTA Commuter Rail. And while the storms we faced were historic, service has deteriorated. Some of you are still experiencing on-time trains, but many of you have not.

To fix this, Keolis will work with our partners at the MBTA, Governor Baker's office and others to create a robust recovery plan aimed at getting service back to normal.
This new action plan includes bringing in additional workers to help clear snow and ice from our key maintenance facilities north and south of Boston, layover facilities, as well as at key switch points in the system. We also plan to bring in additional snow removal equipment from outside the system to not only plow rail lines but also remove the snow entirely.

Keolis has also set up a recovery maintenance plan to repair disabled locomotives and passenger cars and bring more equipment on-line. This should result in less canceled trains and shorter delays.
Finally, we recognize that communications with our passengers during this difficult period has fallen short and for that we sincerely apologize. One of our top priorities in the next few days is to improve customer communications to ensure we are providing accurate information in a timely manner to our passengers.

We are committed to taking these and other necessary steps to ensure reliability, safety and performance are part of your commute.
To contact MBTA Commuter Rail for more information, contact us at [email protected], follow us on Twitter for T-Alerts and updates @MBTA_CR, call our Customer Service Representatives at 617-222-3200, or look for Keolis customer service representatives in the purple vests at North Station and South Station.
The recovery schedule for all Commuter Rail lines can be found at www.mbta.com/winter. We will update you frequently on any changes to that schedule. The recovery schedule can also be found at all stations on all lines.

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Comments

How about an apology for their lame definition of "moderate (severe) delays"?

Although, well, this is at least slightly reassuring.

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with the alerts - that's strictly a MBTA matter. This is exactly what a Keolis customer service person told me last week when I called to complain about an alert cancelling a train that actually ran.

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There would have been riots a week ago ... and they have been taking advantage of this.

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I spoke to several people in the Netherlands last month and they were both very distrustful of the rail services there - as soon as there is any significant rain or any snow, there are huge delays across the system apparently. Basically, if it's not sunny, you can't depend on the trains running or being on time.

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Swirly will be so disillusioned.

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I would be interested to know what their idea of an "average" delay is. I suspect it's under half an hour, not the 1-4 hour delays that were not uncommon before the snow hit...

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First, they laughed.

Then they grumbled, having been victimized by the current state of the MCBR for weeks now.

Then they said this isn't the case in the least - unless "distrustful" and "huge delays" are mistranslated. "Huge delays" on that system in the rain amount to "five to ten minutes".

And it rains there pretty frequently - the climate is similar to the Pacific Northwest.

Significant snow will mess up the system some more than that, but significant snow is quite rare.

You have to understand: you have to multiply what a European complains about with their train system by about ten to get the right scale here.

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You have anecdotal info from some Dutch people living in Boston. I spoke to these folks last month in Holland. It's all anecdotal, but one guy I spoke said he would now never take the train to somewhere where he absolutely had to be there on time unless he had the ability to take a much earlier train, because they aren't reliable.

Nowhere did I say it was worse than here of course, just an example of a non-optimal train system. I thought they would be pretty up on the system as I had good luck with it, which is why I thought it was worth posting here.

Thanks for explaining the weather. I thought everywhere was the same across the globe all the time.

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anecdotal of course, but I was in Amsterdam in late December for 4 days and had 2 trams break down on me (one did come back to life after being shut down and restarted perhaps a dozen times), and also was on a 51 metro train that had to be taken out of service at Zuid station due to the phonographs not deploying. I was not as impressed as I expected to be, it felt very similar to being on the T. Weather was fine. The trains proper (aka to the airport, to Zaandijk) are somewhat older vehicles, but no problems to report there.

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And we thought some of the equipment the T is running was ancient.

yes, I know you meant to say 'pantographs' and were probably thwarted by the auto correct on your phone

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As a long time uhub lurker, finally something I can add to. I have traveled several times on the Dutch rail system and can vouch for the system being very reliable. I have only had one trip out of probably 20 or 30 trips that was disrupted and this was because of construction.

However, the comments of Vaughn's contacts don't strike me as false. For one, the Dutch have a shall we say, slightly higher standard of service than we do.

Secondly, the train schedules are very tight there. It is not uncommon to have 2 or 3 minute connections. So if a train is only 90 seconds late, it is possible to miss your connection if you have to walk any distance or the platform is crowded.

And believe me, the trains leave when they say. If the schedule says it is leaving at 10:30, you better be standing on that train at 10:30:05 because it is rolling.

So I have heard this "unreliable" comment before from people there regarding taking the train somewhere important. You have to take into consideration the possibility of missing connections if they are tight.

For fun, you can see these connections at the national rail service website:

www.ns.nl

The first two I tried, Schipol->Enschede and Schipol->Maastricht showed 2 and 3 minute connection options.

It is a nice site by the way.

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Consider this:

In New York, everyone loves to say nasty things about the LIRR.

But the T's commuter rail trains broke down on average every 5,750 miles. (In 2014 -- not counting this winter.) For the LIRR's diesel locomotives, it was 19,608 miles in 2013. The LIRR considered this unacceptable, and went on a major campaign to identify and fix the causes of breakdowns.

In comparison, the LIRR's newest electric trains broke down every 467,673 miles. Yet another reason the MBTA should electrify and buy proven equipment -- a 90-fold increase in reliability.

If a T train takes 3 100-mile round trips per day, it will break down about once a month. One failed train makes all the trains on that line late for much of the day. Do the math and you'll see why the commuter rail is late so often.

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Commuter rail staff would have gone on strike about an hour into the first snowfall.

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that would have dramatically reduced the amount of service from where it was in the wake of each storm? I don't think so. The only difference that I see is that they still got paid while the service level plunged toward zero whereas they might not have if they were on strike.

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I would like to see what kind of snow removal operations SNCF (Keolis' parent in France) undertakes on the TGV lines and also on the regional lines (particularly those that go up into the Alps). Of course, maybe measures were taken during construction of these lines so as to make snow removal less of an issue (e.g., switch heaters).

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If this were Japan they would ask, "what is a train delay and why don't your trains go 200MPH like ours do?"

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Don't go 200 mph.

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is generally considered by most people to be neither a subway nor a commuter train.

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you really need to read the article before you comment:

"Though largely a long-distance transport system, the Shinkansen also serves commuters who travel to work in metropolitan areas from outlying cities."

Aside from that, Japan is well known for its high speed rail transport which includes the commuter system.

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However, if you mention Shinkansen to the average person, their response would likely be "200 mph bullet train", and not "70 mph commuter train."

Nevertheless, I did revise my original post.

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People use Amtrak to commute, but that doesn't make it a "commuter train."

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And even in GLORIOUS NIPPON they still have problems with snow:

The Tōkaidō Shinkansen often experiences heavy snow in the area around Maibara Station in winter. Trains have to reduce speed, which can disrupt the timetable. Sprinkler systems were later installed, but delays of 10 to 20 minutes still occur during snowy weather

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stop...please...all of this laughing is making my sides (sore from shoveling) hurt like hell.

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I would be *totally thrilled* if my commuter rail train were 10-20 minutes late.

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I was in Japan last week and rode both commuter trains and the Shinkansen. They are quite different, and it's a rare, wealthy person who commutes by Shinkansen as it would be like commuting from Providence to Boston by Acela which costs $60 each way. The Shinkansen runs on separate tracks with few stops, and made my 320 mile journey in just under 3 hours.

I used the GPS on my phone to get the actual speed of these trains, so now you will know. The commuter trains topped out at about 60 mph, while the Shinkansen peaked at 145 mph.

It was a little surprising to me that the bullet train didn't run faster. I've been on Chinese bullet trains that are a lot faster than this. And I have tracked Amtrak's Northeast Regional (not even the Acela) at 123 mph in Rhode Island. So people who say Amtrak runs fake high-speed trains should reconsider, although the distance for these high speeds is very small compared to Japan.

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You can probably dig this up on Wikipedia or some more reputable source if you really want but: When the Shinkansen originally opened on the Tokaido route 50 years ago (ugh), it went considerably slower than it does today. And even so, it is not as fast as the most modern systems that were built in more recent decades. I believe that the Japanese top speeds are around 180 mph, and that's a considerable improvement from the 1960s.

There are several service classes, the most well known being Nozomi, Hikari, and Kodama. Nozomi is one of the "super express" classes that makes few stops and is unavailable to users of the tourist Japan Rail Pass (which you may have had). Hikari is the original service level, at an intermediate level, and the highest available to Rail Pass users. And Kodama is slower and makes a lot of stops.

I don't know what service level or route you rode, but it is possible that you were on one of the slower lines.

Anyway, average speed is what really matters in terms of journey time (and therefore usefulness), and Acela only manages about 60ish mph in average speed; whereas it sounds like you enjoyed nearly 110 mph on average.

Years ago, I used the Shinkansen to ride between Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto and Hiroshima during my visit to Japan, at Hikari level. Unfortunately I did not have techno-gadgets to measure top speed but I am happy to report that it was a very smooth experience. That consistency and reliability of service is really what makes the whole system work so well.

I did experience one delay of a half-hour while aboard a train between Osaka and Kyoto. That caused me to miss a connection, which was promptly rebooked on the next train. Delays are rare over there, but unfortunately, when they do happen, there is usually a sad reason for them.

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I was on a Hikari, and loved the experience. My point about the Amtrak speed was surprise at the top speed of the Northeast Direct, not so much to compare the overall Amtrak experience to JR. I didn't measure the Nozomi, but never saw one streaking by the Hikari unless we were stopped at a station, so I doubt that they regularly travel the same tracks 35 mph faster than the Hikari. The timetable shows an average speed of 135 mph, so that could be achieved at the same speed as a Hikari, by eliminating most of the stops, which is what they do. It is just like the difference between Acela and the Northeast Direct trains. In my dream world, we'll actually construct some high speed rail and be able to travel to New York in 90 minutes. And we wouldn't need any brand new technology to do it either, we could do that with the regular trains we have now.

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The one I was on (there are different levels) topped out at around 160mph. I believe in general the cap right now for the fastest bullet trains in Japan is around 180mph, as when they tested up to 200mph, they couldn't figure out how to stop the sonic booms from forming when trains would exit tunnels, and until they engineer around it they don't want to disturb the surrounding communities. China, on the other hand, doesn't care and I think maxes out at 200 or 220 mphs. You could also not pay me enough to ride HSR in China. Whereas Japan has never had a fatality on the Shinkansen, there have been some spectacular (and horrifying) failures on new China's HSR.

As for the regional - sure, it might get up to that for a small stretch in MA and another in RI (same place the Acela stretches to its max of 150mph), its pretty much speed limited every where else to about 60-70mph average making the top speed pretty useless/dishonest.

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It's doubtful if I've used my monthly pass more than 5 times this month. How about a free pass next month eh? You buy a pass with the expectation that you will use the service, but it was better to carpool with colleagues than to wait for trains that never came. The T-Pass was a lemon this month.

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Not to mention that the conductors don't even try to collect fares on the packed trains.

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Is this an "Act of God"?

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No, it's an act of negligence. The "act of God," the storm(s), was just what revealed it all.

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Incompetence better describes the T management.

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Forget about getting a refund or free T pass. Keolis and the T won't even refund a commuter ticket that is purchased but not used. Keolis tells "you to go away little person, you're not important" and the T's response is the usual arrogance: they will exchange it for Charlie's ticket which is useless when you have Charlie's pass.

As a whole I think of the T as an arrogant organization that provides transportation because that is the only way to justify their jobs. It is a hideous hydra run, managed and ultimately supervised (legislature and governor) by people who are not just incompetent but are bankrupt in their willingness and attitude toward their jobs.

The people who rule actually believe that they rule. They are incumbents for life. They have sinecures that are effectively lifetime appointments. A healthy democracy in Massachusetts would make the abysmal disaster of the T the primary issue for the next election. Instead most of us will roll over and, to quote others, walk as sheeples to waste another vote for a useless incumbent.

Whether an engaged electorate instead of the deadening apathy would improve things is another question. But what is unquestionable is that incumbents love apathy. The fewer people demanding that incumbents earn their reelection the less they have to do.

Try calling you legislator and asking that they push the T and Keolis to provide refunds. Never will greater silence be known.

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"It is a hideous hydra run, managed and ultimately supervised (legislature and governor) by people who are not just incompetent but are bankrupt in their willingness and attitude toward their jobs."

Well, Hail Hydra!

">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xd49oNE1fwY[/youtube]

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That certainly won't help the MBTA's financial woes unless it all comes out of Koelis' profit.

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Some people really want the refunds, others think it will take away from the MBTA.
http://bostonamigos.com/the-mbta-should-be-issuing-refunds/

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I had to start buying the 10 pass for CR bc the Orange line wasn't working. CR wasn't much better so I'd like my $ back as well:) For both.

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So they're going to have a "robust recovery plan" . Translation from corporate weasel talk to English= "We will try the best we can but it will be anything but robust. But we will keep calling it robust cuz that will fool you all into thinking it's robust.
One of the biggest weasel words in the corporate world.

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Obviously the only solution is to privatize the commuter rail! (Oh, wait...)

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I rely on the commuter rail and the T to get me to work each morning. The commuter rail system had serious issues before all this mess (i.e. service was already deteriorated), so I really can't get too excited this new "robust recovery plan".

All the stuff they are going to do now, additional workers, recovery maintenance plan (really? now?), better communication, should of been already in place and part of any well run best practice plan.

And not for nothin, a couple of storms back, I approached a Keolis customer service rep in the purple vest at South Station, and he, although nice, could not help with any of my questions...i.e. he was clueless. Totally.

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...don't just tell me which you have been doing for weeks, and with inaccurate info.

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... will Keolis continue to cancel one or two rush hour trains a day on the Fairmount/Readville line, thereby guaranteeing they won't build ridership among the most underserved residents of Boston? Keolis picked up where the last group to run CR left off -- leaving the neighborhoods that the Indigo activists fought for (Mattapan, Dorchester) still metaphorically out in the cold.

CR staff explain that the Fairmount/Readville train is regularly cancelled during rush hour -- rain, shine, or snow -- because we have the lowest ridership. When I suggest that this is a circular argument -- that you can't build ridership while demonstrating that riders can't rely on the train -- the latest answer I got from someone at the info desk at South Station was "well, it's the communities' fault, because they didn't do a good job talking up the commuter rail when the new stops were opened."

That was a new one.

And by the way Keolis and @notifyboston -- service on this line has been almost nonexistent during these last weeks, but we still need safe sidewalks around our stops, since riders still show up, just in case a train comes.

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Which commuter rail line *hasn't* had rush hour cancellations most days this month?

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