I took the liberty to answer Eric Carlson's post to the RM Metro Committee
members. Hope you don't mind. It's just that I can give you better
answers for nothing than what we'd get by paying $5 million for Booz...
Peter Ehrlich
F-Line Operator
Green Light Rail Division
>If we do indeed host Booz-Allen it might be useful to have some sort of
>agenda of topics we might want covered, as arises out of our 2 years plus as
>a committee..
>
>How many cars can a Metro train encompass?
How much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?
Sorry,
Eric, but that's what this made me think of right off the bat! <g> The
correct answer, of course, is 3 Bredas or 4 Boeings. 4 Bredas *can* be
coupled up--it's just that they would cause the power to fail in the MMT
or on
the MMX.
>What about our Castro to Caltrain shuttle suggestion?
Probably not until after the remaining 59 Boeings are replaced--or by
2001, at
the latest. Even then, Muni has been afraid to use this $xx million
crossover
for reasons known only to management. I expect more excuses. It is the
height of idiocy to not use a crossover designed for high-speed operation
when
the bumpy, under-6 mph crossover west of Van Ness continues to be used
frequently.
>Has ATCS been turned off as it sometimes seems during inbound rush hour?
The system was operated in "conventional" mode one recent morning. It only
seems like it's been turned off because there are still
"non-communicating" or
NCT trains that clog up the system. These are cars with on-board ATCS
problems or ones whose operator forgot to set up properly prior to entering
the subway.
>Why is MMX not flushing out delays during inbound rush hour?
Because nothing Muni does short of getting three- and four-car trains
running
again will be able to alleviate the slow unloading of trains at
Montgomery and
Embarcadero Stations during the morning "rush". Even in the halcyon,
pre-ATCS, pre-Booz era, we still experienced the "Embarcadero Crawl" most
mornings.
>Does B A H have authority over the issue of turnbacks on surface segments?
What does B A H stand for--Bah, Humbug? Oh, right, I forgot. It's
Booz-Allen
& Hamilton. Duh! No. The authority for all switchbacks on the surface
rests, as it should, with Muni street supervisors and Central Control.
However, operators should be able to override the orders to switch back,
with
permission from Central Control, if, by following the order to switch back,
great inconvenience to large numbers of passengers is a result. After all,
the operator is there to provide service.
>What can be done to use MMX to redesignate/ Reorder outbound trains?/ What
>obstacles block this?
The obstacles that prevent redesignation are many. You can't redesignate
an L
train to an N train if the operator is going to be relieved outbound, for
example. You can change a two-car inbound M train to come outbound as
M/K or
even M/L--IF there is no relief or pull-in involved on the outbound trip
(in
the case of rerouting one car as and L). To make one car a J would require
uncoupling in the MMT or, preferably, at Harrison Street.
Beyond that, there's the general indifference to redesignating trains.
>How many cars does Muni have now, how many are out of service, when will
>more Bredas come on line, how many runs are missed due to (a) missing
>drivers and (b) trains broken down ?
Muni has 59 Boeings and 75 Bredas "on the property". Four Bredas--1407,
1414,
1424 (the one that was destroyed in the infamous Church & 18th wreck) and
1467
are at Breda's Pier 80 facility getting repaired or rebuilt following
accidents, under warranty. 1403 and 1417 are also wrecked and are
undergoing
or awaiting warranty repairs. 1472-1474 are still in "burn-in". So
basically
we have only 66 Bredas available for service. There are about 12-15 other
Bredas out of service on a given day for major mechanical or electrical
problems. Of the Boeings, about 15 are out of service for the same reasons,
or for body work. There are some days, however, when the shop can't muster
more than 80 cars for service. As far as operators go, we're missing 12-15
runs a day for lack of operators. This is the General Sign-up period, when
operators can sign up at a different division, which starts January 23.
Also,
more operators than usual are taking vacations now. When the General
Sign-up
begins, there will still be 15-20 operators needing LRV training, and this
will continue into March.
I hope I've answered your questions, which you are free to pass along to
the RM Metro Committee. BTW, for the first time ever, we are experiencing
a PCC equipment shortage! That's why you see the Milan car and Car #1 on
the streets frequently these days. I had #1 on New Year's Eve and again on
Jan. 6. Alas, the New Orleans car needs some major brake work, and it's
too cold for the "Boat".
Also, when the contract extension to Booz-Allen was reported in the papers
back in November, one engineer was quoted as saying, "If we need to get a
technician at Van Ness Station, for example, to keep the trains rolling, we
can get one there within 2 weeks." ROTFLMAO!!!!! (For an explanation of
ROTFLMAO, e-mail me privately.)