MBTA says the Red Line south of downtown is way zippier today - and that it plans to make the Braintree branch even zoomier

By adamg on Mon, 09/30/2024 - 12:50pm

The MBTA reports the latest extended Braintree shutdown and a briefer Ashmont closure let workers lift 37 slow zones across 18 miles of track - getting the Red Line up to such speed it's shaved 10 minutes off the duration of a one-way trip between Braintree and downtown Boston over last month.

More than 600 workers were on site during the 24-day service suspension, working 24 hours per day, seven days a week to deliver these critical infrastructure upgrades. Workers also maximized the outage by performing signal upgrades, security enhancements, station amenity upgrades, and more.

The T reports its workers and contractors replaced more than 13 miles of rail and 17,000 ties on the Braintree branch - letting it restore trains to their previous 40-mph maximum speed. Now, the T says, it's working to get those trains get up to 50 mph:

Additional critical steps, such as additional Red Line motorperson training, further service and schedule planning, will need to take place before train speeds are increased to greater than 40 miles per hour.

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Comments

What's the max speed?

By BostonDog on Mon, 09/30/2024 - 1:07pm.

Let's say someone shoved a phone handset in the throttle lever and just let it rip. How fast can a red line train go, safety aside?

Used To Be 45-50 - Can Probably Go Faster

By John Costello on Mon, 09/30/2024 - 1:30pm.

Pick up speed going south from just past Savin Hill to the Neponset Bridge. You get going fast as well between Quincy Center and Quincy Adams. They were going as fast as the commuter rail ones at times...pre-Baker.

Now if they could just make the parking garages feel like you are not going to die in a collapse, more people would take the Red Line.

The T was lucky with the Quincy Center garage that dozens weren't killed before they knocked it.

I don’t know what it is,,,,

By Ward8Mahatma on Mon, 09/30/2024 - 1:31pm.

but I doubt the oldest cars still in use could take it. They rattle like a bag of bolts as it is.

Probably like 80mph give or take

By TomW on Mon, 09/30/2024 - 2:05pm.

The newest batch of Red Line trains has a design max speed of 70mph.
https://www.crrcma.com/product/red-line-transit-vehicle-for-bostons-mbta/

You could probably briefly get it going faster than that until you derail and/or destroy the motor.

The Red Line also has three other train styles:

The batch from 1993-94 is similar to Washington Metro's original cars, which had a design max speed of 75, although I very much doubt that those ill-maintained 30-year-old motors would still go that fast.

I could not find any specs for the remaining two batches, from 1987-89 and 1969-70.

What's the max deceleration?

By epeemike81 on Mon, 09/30/2024 - 2:24pm.

You also have to consider how fast they can brake and then how much distance there is between stations.

If they get up to 50 mph, that will be, I suspect, MORE than adequate.