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Re: SMART selects American-made rail cars
Author: OldPoleBurner
Date: 07-17-2009 - 10:16
Oh Puleese - Give the broken record a rest!
BART has its issues, but most are relatively meaningless, except for the fact they are quite willing (or stupid enough) to pay 10 - 20 times what private industry pays per mile of track; a quite common problem with all California transit projects, actually.
But the most serious of all of BART's weaknesses; is the fact that BART's cars are of the same structural design as WMATA's cars (basically airliner bodies). The designers of these cars paid not even the slightest heed to rail industry standards of the time. This was first understood in 1972, as BART had a collision with a heavy welding hi-railer, in which the floor also completely failed, similar to the WMATA accident. Fortunately, no one was killed at BART; but only because no passengers were aboard. The train operator bailed before impact - or he would have been dead mincemeat.
Someone back a few posts said, "so what if it isn't FRA compliant". THIS IS SO WHAT! MORE PEOPLE WILL DIE IF IT AIN'T! Just like the railroad rule books that have evolved over two centuries of hard painfully learned lessons; those federal regulations were written in the blood of hundreds of thousands of dead passengers over the years. In my opinion, any design engineer or public servant who ignores them is criminally guilty of negligent homicide, or inevitably enough, soon will be.
But it seems, we live in an age 30 minute solutions to all problems; of short cuts and corner cutting, where perceived efficiencies and mere convenience overrides public safety and sometimes even, just plain common sense.
SMART is absolutely spot on - to require such compliance. Now just try to honestly enforce it! Even Amtrak has has a hell of a time doing that, especially in regards to certain French and Canadian rail car vendors. Indeed, the American concern for passenger safety is commonly mocked by Europeans in the industry. Fact is, it seems they may have managed to slip a few past us (floor failures in several MetroLink crashes).
To avoid the inevitable failures to meet specification and other delays, as has been mentioned, and considering that no U.S. maker of compliant self propelled cars is currently in production; SMART should entirely follow Salt lake City's example (locomotive hauled); perhaps even leasing a few trainsets from them off the shelf. UTA has a world class facility to provide such services (ex UP locomotive shops), and indeed has contracts with several agencies around the U.S.
Salt Lake City is a relatively small metro-area, but has a world class operation, built at far lower cost than any other in the U.S.. But still it is complete with all grade crossings "Quiet zone compliant"; 79mph trains; efficient 2 person crews; semi-automatic train controls similar to the Bay Bridge, except it is all computer-based electronics and is configured to provide full PTS safety functionality. Currently, it Operates Ogden to Salt Lake with very good ridership on 38 round trips per day (on mostly single track!). Hows that for a City of Less than 300,000! In about a year, it will be operating a full 90 miles, all the way to Provo.
After SMART is thusly in operation, it could then explore self-propelled options with much less risk - and much less seeming desperation than now. Believe me. those vendors can smell desperation, and they will do all in their power to make any transit agency desperate enough to allow all kinds of stupid compromises.
Of course it must be noted (as I understand it), that the UTA is chartered as a government owned corporation not subjected to the idiocies of municipal codes, that govern most California transit projects.
OPB
BART has its issues, but most are relatively meaningless, except for the fact they are quite willing (or stupid enough) to pay 10 - 20 times what private industry pays per mile of track; a quite common problem with all California transit projects, actually.
But the most serious of all of BART's weaknesses; is the fact that BART's cars are of the same structural design as WMATA's cars (basically airliner bodies). The designers of these cars paid not even the slightest heed to rail industry standards of the time. This was first understood in 1972, as BART had a collision with a heavy welding hi-railer, in which the floor also completely failed, similar to the WMATA accident. Fortunately, no one was killed at BART; but only because no passengers were aboard. The train operator bailed before impact - or he would have been dead mincemeat.
Someone back a few posts said, "so what if it isn't FRA compliant". THIS IS SO WHAT! MORE PEOPLE WILL DIE IF IT AIN'T! Just like the railroad rule books that have evolved over two centuries of hard painfully learned lessons; those federal regulations were written in the blood of hundreds of thousands of dead passengers over the years. In my opinion, any design engineer or public servant who ignores them is criminally guilty of negligent homicide, or inevitably enough, soon will be.
But it seems, we live in an age 30 minute solutions to all problems; of short cuts and corner cutting, where perceived efficiencies and mere convenience overrides public safety and sometimes even, just plain common sense.
SMART is absolutely spot on - to require such compliance. Now just try to honestly enforce it! Even Amtrak has has a hell of a time doing that, especially in regards to certain French and Canadian rail car vendors. Indeed, the American concern for passenger safety is commonly mocked by Europeans in the industry. Fact is, it seems they may have managed to slip a few past us (floor failures in several MetroLink crashes).
To avoid the inevitable failures to meet specification and other delays, as has been mentioned, and considering that no U.S. maker of compliant self propelled cars is currently in production; SMART should entirely follow Salt lake City's example (locomotive hauled); perhaps even leasing a few trainsets from them off the shelf. UTA has a world class facility to provide such services (ex UP locomotive shops), and indeed has contracts with several agencies around the U.S.
Salt Lake City is a relatively small metro-area, but has a world class operation, built at far lower cost than any other in the U.S.. But still it is complete with all grade crossings "Quiet zone compliant"; 79mph trains; efficient 2 person crews; semi-automatic train controls similar to the Bay Bridge, except it is all computer-based electronics and is configured to provide full PTS safety functionality. Currently, it Operates Ogden to Salt Lake with very good ridership on 38 round trips per day (on mostly single track!). Hows that for a City of Less than 300,000! In about a year, it will be operating a full 90 miles, all the way to Provo.
After SMART is thusly in operation, it could then explore self-propelled options with much less risk - and much less seeming desperation than now. Believe me. those vendors can smell desperation, and they will do all in their power to make any transit agency desperate enough to allow all kinds of stupid compromises.
Of course it must be noted (as I understand it), that the UTA is chartered as a government owned corporation not subjected to the idiocies of municipal codes, that govern most California transit projects.
OPB
