August 2024 Open Thread

Open thread time! Feel free to jump into the comments below.

• Driving like a grandma: electric service started on August 11th. Initially and until September 21st, EMUs operate on the current diesel timetable, for which they are grossly overpowered. Therefore, trips are sedate, and the full benefits of electrification are yet to be realized. We can't wait!!!
   
  
• Wasted dwell time: per FRA safety regulations, doors may only unlock and be opened when the train is at a complete stop. The drop step mechanism that deploys from below each door must obviously be fully deployed for the door to be unlocked and opened. Unfortunately, the software that controls this operation also appears to require that the train be at a complete stop for the drop step mechanism to operate. The result is eight to ten seconds wasted by the cycle time of the step mechanism (see video) which becomes a series contributor to dwell time. For an all-stops local, that waste is worth a full three minutes of run time. A typical Caltrain user travels for about 20 miles, let's say seven stops each way-- that's 140 seconds per day wasted. Multiply by 250 work days, and a full-time commuter will waste about ten hours waiting for those silly steps.
  
  
  This can be fixed in software. As seen in the timeline graphic, allowing the step to deploy and retract while the train is in motion would remove this wasted dwell time. The step mechanism can be cleared to move only when the train is moving slower than 5 mph, and since the step itself does not extend over the platform (it reaches only 63.5 inches from vehicle center line when fully extended) there can be no hazard to passengers. We spent a lot of money to save 25 minutes of SF-SJ run time, so please, let's not piss away 3 minutes because of overly conservative door sequencing software.
  
  
• Spares ratio: full electric service from September 21st onward requires at least 14 trains, not including spares. As of August 10th, twelve have been documented via photographs and video as having arrived in California (see tracking spreadsheet). One of them suffered a collision and was returned to the factory for repairs last March, leaving 11 known to be in California today. Two more (most likely 313/314 and 315/316) are due in early September. Peak service periods, when all 14 EMU sets are needed in service, can be protected with diesels if allocated exclusively to express services where they can sort of keep up, until further EMUs are delivered to increase the spares ratio above zero.
   
  
• Costly fender bender: Early this year, EMU 311/312 suffered a sideswipe collision at the CEMOF yard and was sent back to Salt Lake City for repairs. Two cars were damaged (see photo) and Stadler had to fly in welders from Switzerland to assess structural integrity and the cost of repairs. Aluminum isn't like steel, you can't just take hammers and a blowtorch to fix collision damage. The manufacturer's recommendation is said to have been full replacement, a multi-million dollar proposition.
   
• Wheel flat spots continue: detracting from the high quality of the new electric trains, there seems to be a continuing fleet-wide issue where all non-powered axles are prone to developing flat spots. The affected axles are located on the bike cars, and under the end cabs; once you hear this pattern, you can't un-hear it. As utilization ramps up, and especially when the next rainy season hits, let's hope this issue doesn't devolve into an epidemic of sidelined trains.

Feel free to comment on this or anything below.