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Newer MTA train cars taking a beating, performance even lagging behind older cars


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Newer MTA train cars taking a beating, performance even lagging behind older cars

 

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NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Monday, May 22, 2017, 5:00 AM
Next stop, the repair shop.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s fleet of cars — old and new, alike — saw their performance tank from a brutal life on the rails.

The subway environment is so unforgiving, even some of the shiny, technologically souped-up trains in the MTA’s “New Millennium” fleet trail older, sturdier models in their performance.

“They don’t look like they were designed to run underground,” said Joe Campbell, a car inspector for the last 27 years. “I believe they’re really being put through the ringer and it shows.”

NYC Transit’s New Millennium trains — 56% of the agency’s 6,418-car fleet that hit tracks since 2000 — actually saw their performance drop further since 2011 than the older, sturdier models, even though they haven’t even spent two decades on the tracks.

MTA ignoring 'abysmal' on-time performance of subway trains

The R143 cars from Kawasaki that travel the demanding L line took such a pounding that their performance dropped 64% since 2011.

mta.jpg With the Manhattan skyline in the background, some of the new model subway cars on the F line as the train approaches the Smith-9th Street station.   (JEFFERSON SIEGEL/NEW YORK DAILY NEWS)

They now travel fewer miles before a breakdown than train cars from the 1970s, manufactured by the famed Pullman-Standard company, that run on the A, F and R lines.

Even the newest model to hit the subway tracks — the R188 from Kawasaki that debuted in 2013 and rides the No. 7 line — had a tough start.

 

When brand-new, the R188 trains’ distance between failures was impressive — 589,022 miles.

MTA lingo guide for NYC straphangers

But a year later, the cars’ performance plunged 46%, to about 316,000 miles. Its performance recovered to 476,000 miles a year later.

mta.jpg Old and new subway cars at the NYC Transit Coney Island Rapid Transit Car Overhaul Shop. (JEFFERSON SIEGEL/NEW YORK DAILY NEWS)

The cars from one of the MTA’s largest purchase — the R160 from French-car maker Alstom and Kawasaki, which run on nine lines — suffered huge performance declines. The average mileage before a breakdown plunged 62% between 2011 and 2016.

Cars with electric components have problems early in their life cycles and issues with the car makers’ workmanship are discovered, according to MTA spokeswoman Beth DeFalco. The manufacturer addresses the problems immediately — routine for new cars that must be tailored to the subway’s infrastructure, she said.

Frank Jezycki, a Department of Subways exec and chief mechanical officer for the car equipment division, said age is only a factor in how well a train car can run without a breakdown.

NYC subway relies on decades-old, outmoded signals and switches

“It’s the duty — it’s what environment that those cars are operating in that has a lot to do with the reliability,” he said. “Some of the components may be more robust from an older design.”

mta.jpg Interior of one of the new model subway cars on the F line.   (JEFFERSON SIEGEL/NEW YORK DAILY NEWS)

Reps for Alstom and another subway train maker, Bombardier, declined to comment or answer questions from the Daily News. Kawasaki did not respond to requests for comment.

To keep the cars in good shape, the MTA inspects them every 12,000 miles, or roughly 70 days, though trains on the busiest and heaviest lines come in more frequently. Those inspections can take anywhere from eight to 24 hours for a single train set.

Overall last year, MTA workers inspected about 140 cars a day across 13 facilities.

A common culprit for problems — the doors.

mta.jpg NYC Transit’s New Millennium trains actually saw their performance drop further since 2011 than the older, sturdier models,   (JEFFERSON SIEGEL/NEW YORK DAILY NEWS)

They open and close about 7 million times a day. The abuse they take results in three of the eight train car failures in the subway system each day, according to the MTA.

The agency has an overhaul cycle for train cars every four, seven and 14 years. This year, nearly 1,000 cars will get a top-to-bottom repair job, according to the MTA.

At the Coney Island shop one weekday morning, an old R46 car built in the 1970s was laid up for a complete rebuild.

Two sets of yellow metal clamps hugged the silver body of the 40-ton car and hoisted it high into the air to place it down on a trestle, leaving the undercarriage behind.

mta.jpg Overall, the 6,418-car fleet ran 115,154 miles on average before a breakdown over a 12-month period ending in March, a 32% drop compared to 2011.   (JEFFERSON SIEGEL/NEW YORK DAILY NEWS)

That undercarriage will be stripped of its major parts — wheels, axles, gear cases and electric 600-volt motors — which will be rebuilt and replaced. The car body will get the same treatment during a three-week process.

“An R46 that’s 30-some-odd years old or 40 years old, to obtain the parts and the quantities that we need, we need to plan that well in advance,” Jezycki said.

That planning takes place two years before the model comes into the overhaul shop. The MTA’s engineer and maintenance teams will bring a couple of sample cars to the shop to see what parts get worn down and what needs to be replaced.

Overall, the fleet’s nearly 6,500 cars ran 115,154 miles on average before a breakdown over a 12-month period ending in March, a 32% drop compared with 2011, when train cars could travel 170,410 miles before an equipment malfunction, according to a review of the MTA’s public statistics.

Riders, meanwhile, suffered through 3,295 delays attributed to car equipment problems in March, more than double the 1,236 delays from car equipment problems in March 2012. On average, 4% of the fleet is held up because of a mechanical problem, according to the MTA.

Even as its fleet ages, the MTA still keeps the old clunkers around.

Cars that debuted during the 1964 World’s Fair in Queens can’t retire because of a delay in Bombardier’s delivery of 300 cars, called R179, which should have been carrying passengers as of January. The MTA last week said the full order will be arriving by September 2018.

The agency also needs to maintain its supply of cars to boost subway service when the L train tunnel closes in 2019.

Tags:   MTA
 
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...Except it was an actual TA car inspector who brought up wringers.

This doesn't surprise me at all; what's tried and true has always worked better in New York than the new bells and whistles.

I reckon members of the tech fanboy-tardfest will be in denial about the NTTs' performance deficiencies, as usual.

 

I'd actually like to hear what TA personnel have to say about this report, though- they're the only folks who make sense around here anymore... :ph34r:

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This doesn't come as a suprise to me at all honestly. Due to the fact that the system's aging infrastructure has a part to play in the delays as well. The poor maintenance of the R160 class or over mileage also plays a part in this. If the (MTA) wants to make improvements they should start looking from the outside in.

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Looking at the MDBF data released from yesterday's committee meeting, a few notable things do stand out. First and foremost, the so-called NTTs are failing more often than they used to. I say so-called new tech trains because the youngest of the 160s are now nearly seven years old with the first of the 142s approaching 17 years in service. I'm not sure if it's a matter of aging components not being replaced in a timely fashion or if it's something more troubling that needs to be investigated.

 

Another interesting tidbit that came out of this information surrounds the 142As. While everyone is focused on the failure rate between the older fleet and newer cars, we should instead look into the discrepancies among certain cars themselves. The original 142As have seen a precipitous drop in reliability over the years, attributed to the strain as the car of choice on the Lexington Ave local line. However, since the cars were converted into the 188 order, said reliability has risen over 60 percent in a one-year period. Considering the fact the only thing changed to those cars was the addition of the, currently inactive, CBTC equipment. Anyone who rides those cars on the (7) knows they still look busted, but they perform better, despite running on an equally strenuous line. Conversely, the new primary fleet of the (6), the 62As, have seen a ten percent drop in reliability in the same period. Unfortunately, that does lead credence to the oft-held belief that the cars are not being properly maintained.

 

While we can write off the low numbers of the 143s due to CBTC-related signal failures, that does not apply to the rest of the fleet. If the 142s and conversion sets of 188s can comfortably see an MDBF of +100k miles while running on the busy (2)(4)(5) and (7) lines, there is absolutely no excuse why the original 142As only see a third of that at best. I see that the MTA is looking into the massive discrepancy between the reliability numbers among the 142s and 142As according to the minutes from yesterday's meeting. Hopefully they expand that to the 160s as well. While they are currently the third-best performers among the subway's overall fleet, a 31 percent drop in reliability in a year's span is not something to ignore, especially as these cars make up over half of the B-Division's fleet of cars.

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Looking at the MDBF data released from yesterday's committee meeting, a few notable things do stand out. First and foremost, the so-called NTTs are failing more often than they used to. I say so-called new tech trains because the youngest of the 160s are now nearly seven years old with the first of the 142s approaching 17 years in service. I'm not sure if it's a matter of aging components not being replaced in a timely fashion or if it's something more troubling that needs to be investigated.

Oh please.  You know what the reason is.  You don't have to be an expert to see how the (MTA) operates.  Any time they buy something new, they run it into the ground and then they start trying to maintain it.  These are high tech cars that need more attention than the previous cars which have been beasts.  They're going to have to start spending more money on preventative measures and taking trains out of service more frequently to keep them running, including cleaning them more often too.  

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That's because corona knows how to maintain their equipment. But all of this has to do with the lack of spares. CIY and Jamaica are so thin on spares since January. Once the first 40 R179's officially hit service i can see them moving more cars to increase the spare factor.

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That's because corona knows how to maintain their equipment. But all of this has to do with the lack of spares. CIY and Jamaica are so thin on spares since January. Once the first 40 R179's officially hit service i can see them moving more cars to increase the spare factor.

Exactly. Though, to be frank, there's been a car shortage of sorts for a while now. It's only been noticeable with the 160s undergoing their SMS program. When one car class makes up the majority, if not the entirety, of a line's fleet, there isn't much that can be done to mitigate how often the cars are in service.

 

Assume subway cars have 40-45 years of life span, shouldn't  (MTA) start considering mid-life rehabilitations for R142 and R143 now? 

The MTA doesn't do mid-life rehabs any more. The overhauls done to the various fleets in the '80s were to reverse the damage caused by years of neglect and deferred maintenance. With the regular SMS program currently in place for all cars, such extensive programs like the GOH are not required. However, I do expect them to replace various components on the trains, like the computer hardware and the electronic signs, in the coming years as the current iteration of technology in place on these train is rapidly becoming obsolete.

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Looking at the MDBF data released from yesterday's committee meeting, a few notable things do stand out. First and foremost, the so-called NTTs are failing more often than they used to. I say so-called new tech trains because the youngest of the 160s are now nearly seven years old with the first of the 142s approaching 17 years in service. I'm not sure if it's a matter of aging components not being replaced in a timely fashion or if it's something more troubling that needs to be investigated.

 

Another interesting tidbit that came out of this information surrounds the 142As. While everyone is focused on the failure rate between the older fleet and newer cars, we should instead look into the discrepancies among certain cars themselves. The original 142As have seen a precipitous drop in reliability over the years, attributed to the strain as the car of choice on the Lexington Ave local line. However, since the cars were converted into the 188 order, said reliability has risen over 60 percent in a one-year period. Considering the fact the only thing changed to those cars was the addition of the, currently inactive, CBTC equipment. Anyone who rides those cars on the (7) knows they still look busted, but they perform better, despite running on an equally strenuous line. Conversely, the new primary fleet of the (6), the 62As, have seen a ten percent drop in reliability in the same period. Unfortunately, that does lead credence to the oft-held belief that the cars are not being properly maintained.

 

While we can write off the low numbers of the 143s due to CBTC-related signal failures, that does not apply to the rest of the fleet. If the 142s and conversion sets of 188s can comfortably see an MDBF of +100k miles while running on the busy (2)(4)(5) and (7) lines, there is absolutely no excuse why the original 142As only see a third of that at best. I see that the MTA is looking into the massive discrepancy between the reliability numbers among the 142s and 142As according to the minutes from yesterday's meeting. Hopefully they expand that to the 160s as well. While they are currently the third-best performers among the subway's overall fleet, a 31 percent drop in reliability in a year's span is not something to ignore, especially as these cars make up over half of the B-Division's fleet of cars.

∆ THIS!!!

Exactly. Though, to be frank, there's been a car shortage of sorts for a while now. It's only been noticeable with the 160s undergoing their SMS program. When one car class makes up the majority, if not the entirety, of a line's fleet, there isn't much that can be done to mitigate how often the cars are in service.

 

The MTA doesn't do mid-life rehabs any more. The overhauls done to the various fleets in the '80s were to reverse the damage caused by years of neglect and deferred maintenance. With the regular SMS program currently in place for all cars, such extensive programs like the GOH are not required. However, I do expect them to replace various components on the trains, like the computer hardware and the electronic signs, in the coming years as the current iteration of technology in place on these train is rapidly becoming obsolete.

∆ and THIS!

Sent from my LGLS755 using Tapatalk

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