"Urgent fixes will disrupt rail lines; T to spend $91.5m to repair crumbling Old Colony ties" by Eric Moskowitz, Globe Staff | April 28, 2010
Thousands of concrete ties that hold the rails together on Old Colony commuter rail lines are unexpectedly crumbling, forcing the MBTA to invest $91.5 million in emergency replacements. That work will cause delays and disruptions for thousands of riders between Boston and its southern suburbs.
Great system you got there. Where did all that tax loot go?
The weakening of the ties, which were supposed to last for decades more, has already forced the T to impose speed restrictions that have slowed travel time for travelers on two Old Colony branches, to Plymouth/Kingston and Middleborough/Lakeville.
The repair project, which is expected to last nearly two years, will require the T to cancel all weekend service on those branches and to replace midday rail service with buses. The T says the repairs will not affect rush-hour service.
Meanwhile, your fares are going up. I sure hope a track or two does not come loose at rush hour in the interim.
“The governor’s not happy about this, the [transportation] secretary’s not happy, and neither am I,’’ said Richard A. Davey Jr., general manager of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. “But we need to deal with this problem.’’
Commuters are also unhappy, citing delays on the Old Colony lines, where only 15 percent of the trains on the Middleborough branch ran on time in December, prompting the T to rewrite its schedules to acknowledge longer travel times....
I can't say as I blame them, what with the INCREASED FARES and FEES.
Related: What Your T Ticket Pays For
Nice to know, isn't it?
The T is blaming the concrete tie problem on the manufacturer, Rocla Concrete Tie Inc., which fashioned the ties for the reopening of the Old Colony lines in 1997.
“This was clearly a manufacturer’s defect,’’ Davey said.
Rocla’s corporate spokesman did not respond to telephone and e-mail messages seeking comment yesterday.
The concrete ties replaced wooden ties that had supported the rails. Concrete and other materials have gained popularity around the world in recent decades because, in theory, they last longer and do not compress the way wood does....
Unless a World Trade center Tower is made of one. Then they do turn to dust.
But (ah, my first nickel of the day) track inspectors noticed some of the ties crumbling along the Old Colony lines in the spring of 2007, and last year laboratory tests confirmed a systemic problem attributed to insufficient steel reinforcement within the ties.
That would certainly not be true about those towers that collapsed at free fall speed.
Starting in August, T officials say, they plan to tear up 150,000 concrete ties along 57 miles of track and to replace them with wooden ties. The T has been attempting to negotiate a resolution with Rocla, saying that the ties are covered by a warranty; but (clink) state officials decided they could not wait to replace the concrete ties, which are cracking and crumbling beneath the rails, delaying trains and posing a potential safety hazard.
The $91.5 million estimated cost of the project includes $35 million for materials and $38 million for construction. “Tragically, it’s a bill that the T didn’t need,’’ said Paul Regan, executive director of the MBTA Advisory Board, which represents the 175 cities and towns served by the T. “It’s just bad luck for an agency that has had more than its share.’’
Are you feeling sorry for them?
Concerns about the ties were first reported last year by CommonWealth, a magazine published by a Boston-based think tank, MassInc. The Rocla ties were advertised with a lifespan of 50 years and in some cases sold with a warranty for 25. The T’s contract included a 15-year warranty, said Joe Pesaturo, a T spokesman. The MBTA declined to provide the contract yesterday or discuss other details, citing the possibility of litigation.
Where EVERYTHING SEEMS to WIND UP in AmeriKa!!!
No wonder people the world over do not want it!
The T is not alone in its problems with Rocla, a Colorado-based company that manufactures ties at plants in that state and in Delaware and Texas. Amtrak and New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority have each waged legal battles in recent years over faulty concrete ties manufactured in the late 1990s....
YOU GOT RIPPED OFF, Boston taxpayers!
For several months, the T will also have to interrupt service during weekends and off-peak hours on the Greenbush line, which shares a section of track with the Old Colony lines. Davey said stopping rail service temporarily will allow the agency to replace the rails more quickly. “Do you take the Band-Aid off slowly or do you just rip it off?’’ he asked. “We need to rip it off. . . . We’ve got to own up to it, and we’ve got to fix it as soon as we possibly can.’’
Ouch, 'eh, taxpayers?
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Also see: Hate Crime on the T
Getting Took By the T
Take A Seat on the T
Getting Off the T
Maybe you should hop on the bus, huh?
The MBTA yesterday alleged that eight of its managers doctored mileage records to avoid having to perform regularly scheduled inspections on a bus fleet that ferries hundreds of thousands of people around Greater Boston each day....
Related: Earth Day: Hybrid Hypocrisy
State Transportation Secretary Jeffrey B. Mullan and MBTA General Manager Richard A. Davey Jr. told reporters yesterday that the scheme meant that more than 200 buses went as much as 35,000 miles without being checked for mechanical problems or getting routine maintenance such as oil changes.
The officials said the failure to inspect the buses did not cause any known safety problems — in part because the buses are visually inspected daily by drivers — but that it did contribute to poor performance and delays on some bus routes....
How could it not? Why must the state and authorities constantly lie?
Hey, GRAB a BIKE then!
Little chilly out there this morning, but when it comes to supporting an agenda....
"Wheel dividends; Take a cue from Europe on breaking car dependence" by Derrick Z. Jackson, Globe Columnist | April 27, 2010
THE most memorable sight was the most simple: The bicycle....
This is unlike Boston and Cambridge, where lanes are painted on streets almost as a dare, sandwiching cyclists in between traffic on the left and parked cars on the right, where doors can swing open at any moment. Only the most nimble or fearless of cyclists use them at rush hour....
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Yeah, I will RACE YOU, Grandma!!
So WHEN do the POLITICOS STOP JET-SETTING EVERYWHERE, huh?
Related:
"Now the question becomes whether enough people will put their lives on the line riding on bicycles along city streets"
Related: The End of Boston's Bike Program
Do YOU want to go for a RIDE, readers?
"Bike safety efforts pick up pace in city" by Eric Moskowitz, Globe Staff | April 25, 2010
A city consistently ranked among the most hostile to bicyclists. Still....
(another nickel in the cup
Boston has added 15 miles of bike lanes, installed more than 500 bike racks, and enacted a $100 fine for parking in bike lanes, more than twice the fine for regular double-parking. This year’s budget includes $450,000 for 20 more miles of bike lanes, and a bike share program will launch this summer....
Yes, the AGENDA ADVANCES no matter HOW MANY DIE!!
Mayor Thomas M. Menino and Nicole Freedman, a former Olympian with an urban planning degree whom the mayor chose to run Boston Bikes, had been batting around the idea of a safety summit when the death of cyclist Eric Hunt in a bus accident earlier this month accelerated their plans.
How much is she costing you on the city payroll, taxpayers?
They quickly convened a panel of officials....
Menino cyclists must do their part by wearing helmets and obeying traffic laws.
“Autos will not rule the road any longer,’’ Menino said in an interview. Promoting biking is “an environmental issue, it’s a health issue, it’s a convenient way of getting around our city. And we want to listen to the very active community.’’
Or not. And how come THEY are LISTENED TO when THEY are ACTIVE?
Dozens of attendees lined up at the microphones to ask questions and offer comments, seeking public education, more lanes and paths, and an end to the removal of “ghost bike’’ accident memorials.
Richard Fries, a self-described cycling evangelist from Lexington, praised the officials for “political bravery’’ in reaching out, but asked what they would do to influence the behavior of what he called a hostile rank-and-file: bus drivers who bear down on cyclists; train conductors who frown on bike-toting passengers; officers who make accident victims feel as though they had it coming....
Feeling like a rape victim are you?
“Talk about culture change,’’ said Steven E. Miller, the Hub on Wheels founder and Harvard School of Public Health official who served as moderator. “This is amazing.’’
Freedman said the city would convene another summit in three months to gauge progress and continue the conversation. And Davey invited one of the questioners — a cape, mask, and helmet-clad superhero named “Biker Boy’’ — to record a safety announcement for the T....
And how much is that going to coast when the tracks are falling apart?
I guess the safest thing would just be to hail a TAXI,huh?
