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Keolis to restore full MBTA commuter rail service Monday
Keolis has been raked over the coals, but I doubt MBCR the previous operator would have done any better. Most of the locomotives are 30 or so years old, and the new ones were delivered with faulty traction motor bearings. A perfect storm. Whose fault is that?
I think the true fault for this disruption of service lies with the local politicians. They have forced the T to become overextended. They want to have a train within 5 miles of every commuter but then balk when the fares are raised so those who ride the T are asked to pay for the service. The T is far from under funded. In fact they are overfunded and the number of commuter lines should be reduced by at least half with more trains run on the remaining lines. With less mileage to maintain and fewer cars and locomotives needed, it will be easier to deal with storms and problems while also costing less.
The big problem besides the record snow fall was the years of defered maintenance on the snow equipment so that much of it was scrapped. There is multiple pictures on Railnet of MBTA locomotives pushing a Russel snow plow to clear the tracks back in eary 2000. In the back page of Railfan and Railroad magazine is a picture of the Providance and Worcester railroad clearing their tracks with a leased Russel plow from the Vermont railway. The MBTA could have also leased that but in fact they just rammed the commuter rail cars or the engines into the snow rater than using a Flanger and a Plow to clear the rails.
But can Keolis describe the railroad’s weather troubles as well as the Edward French era Boston and Maine did? http://coldspringshops.blogspot.com/2015/04/thats-h-l-of-way-to-run-railroad.html