I've gathered some great information over the past few weeks. Here's an update on the following topics:
1) Rail Destressing & Tie Replacement Projects
2) Boston Landing & Allston single track
3) Turn Table for new schedule
4) Track assignments for new schedule

1) Rail Destressing & Tie Replacement Projects

It was a race to the heat and the weather won. The MBTA was trying their best to accelerate the rail destressing construction so that it would be completed before the hot weather arrived. Our little late May heat wave dashed those hopes.

As I've previously reported, the funding for the completion of ALL rail destressing between Boston and Worcester was only approved in late March. Until that point, there was one large section of rail that would never have been destressed. So along with the tie replacement project, the last portion of the entire rail destressing project has been ongoing throughout this spring.

The last sections of track that needed destressing are typically used for inbound trains in the afternoon. All of the 'outbound' tracks have already been destressed. So how do outbound trains become delayed in that scenario?

As you may recall, the new schedule eliminated the idea of 'interlining' trains. Meaning that there are now 8 sets of equipment dedicated to the Framingham-Worcester line. They just go back and forth from Worcester (or Framingham) to Boston. In the middle of the day, some of them are parked in yards or go for service, since 8 train sets aren't needed for the reduced service in the middle of the day.

With no interlined trains, a delayed inbound train can delay an outbound train since that inbound equipment is needed for outbound trips. The inbound/outbound non-interlining system is also a reason why evening trains are delayed even though the construction ended before rush hour.

That's why it was so important to get all of the tracks destressed. So kudos again to however they came up with the money for these construction projects - we've gotten a big influx of money and the payoff will be good.

The other good news is that both the rail destressing project and the tie replacement project are ahead of schedule and will be completed in June. So only a few more weeks of construction and heat restrictions. After the projects are complete, there will be no more heat restrictions and no more construction delays west of Boston Landing. Hang in there, we're almost there!

Actually there will be construction later this year. The tie replacement project will continue on track 2 west of Framingham in the fall. So we're not completely done with construction delays. But the summer should be much better than recent weeks.

To be specific, the current status of the rail destressing project is:

Track 1:
CP 4 (near Boston Landing) to CP 11 (Weston switch) - destressing completed this spring.
CP 11 (Weston switch) to CP 21 (Framingham) - destressing completed late 2015.
CP 21 (Framingham) to Worcester - track replaced during 2014 and 2015.

Track 2:
CP 4 to Framingham - destressed in 2015.
Framingham to Worcester - destressing will be completed in June.

CP = "Controlled Point." You can read about the definition of CP in the glossary.
CP 4 = The interlocking just west of the new Boston Landing construction. CP 4 is where the two tracks from Worcester become a single track through the Beacon Park freight yard.
CP 11 = What I call the "Weston switch," this is the interlocking between the Wellesley Farms and Auburndale stations, right next to the Leo J. Martin golf course and just west of Route 128.

You can see the precise locations of all these places on my map.

Until Track 2 is fully destressed, certain sections of track 2 between Framingham and Worcester will have a 30 mph speed restriction imposed in hot weather. The previous rule was that ambient temperatures above 85 degrees at Worcester, Framingham, or Boston triggered the heat restrictions and that appears to be what happened on Tuesday 5/25. The temperature spiked above 85 degrees at Framingham and the heat restrictions were imposed. I'm not sure if Boston is still a part of the rule since the section of affected track is far from Boston. And who knows, the entire rule could have changed.

If you're a first time reader and would like the background on heat restrictions and rail destressing, read this post for an introduction to the topic. Also don't forget to use the 'category' links on the right side of this page to read all the posts about certain topics.

Astute readers may notice that I don't spend much time talking about the tie replacement project in the above discussion regarding heat restrictions. That's because the tie replacement actually has nothing to do with removing heat restrictions - the rail destressing is performed FIRST, and then the ties are replaced after the rail is destressed. The tie replacement is important, but it won't affect heat restrictions, regardless of what politicians and the mainstream media try to tell us.

The tie replacement project is proactive maintenance that maintains the track in good condition. Rotted ties are one of the most common causes of speed restrictions. Some of you may recall a 5 mph speed restriction just west of Yawkey at the CP 3 interlocking for about a week in April or May. That speed restriction was imposed after the FRA (Federal Railway Administration) inspection car came across the line and found TWO rotted ties at that location. That was enough to impose a speed restriction for safety purposes. So proactive tie replacement is very important to avoid the imposition of those speed restrictions (and keep the system safe!), but it doesn't really have anything to do with heat restrictions.

However, tie replacement is actually more disruptive to the rail bed than rail destressing. Therefore tie replacement results in speed restrictions that last longer (on the calendar) and affect more trains over more days. Areas where the ties are replaced have new ballast (stone) spread and tamped, which takes time to settle and stabilize. This results in a requirement for temporary speed restrictions related to the amount of tonnage (number and weight of trains) that pass over the modified railbed.

Most of the tie replacement has been completed (obviously, since they only have a few weeks left of construction!). The remaining few sections for tie replacement include a section on track 1 in Wellesley and Natick, a section within and near Framingham station on track 1, and a section on track 1 in Ashland and Southboro. Track 1 through Wellesley and Natick never carries rush hour trains (AM or PM), so temporary speed restrictions there don't affect most of us. Track 1 from Framingham to Worcester is the outbound track (all day), so temporary speed restrictions have affected lots of passengers on that stretch and will continue to affect us. It should also be noted that the temporary speed restrictions related to the tie replacement project will last PAST the completion of construction - again, the speed restriction remains in place until a certain amount of tonnage passes over the disturbed railbed. So expect delays through the Ashland and Southboro areas through June on track 1 (outbound track).

2) Boston Landing & Allston Single Track

The background on Boston Landing station is in this post. More good news to report today - the construction is ahead of schedule and the station should be completed before the end of this year. The original schedule put construction completion in the spring of 2017. With both the Celtics and Bruins practice facilities being built at Boston Landing, maybe we'll see players taking the train to practice this winter?

As most of you are aware, the section of track from CP 4 (near Boston Landing) to CP 3 (just west of Yawkey) has been the only section of single track between Worcester and Boston since the Mass Pike extension was built in the 1960's. That foolish decision is now being corrected, with the MBTA and Keolis starting construction on a second mainline track through this section.

As you pass through the former Beacon Park freight yard you can see this construction. The first step in the process is the removal of the 40 foot sections of 'stick rail,' which will be replaced with continuously welded rail. All of the switches connecting into the freight yard are also currently being removed. The path of the new mainline 'second track' will follow the existing path of the freight lead closest to the existing single track mainline. This includes going up onto the little 'rise' and under the Mass Pike viaduct since there is a column supporting the Mass Pike preventing the second track from being directly adjacent to the existing single track.

The only bad news is that this second track construction will be synchronized with the completion of the Boston Landing station, so the second track won't be completed as soon as we would all like. The new second track will be 'stubbed out' to align with the new tracks alongside the new Boston Landing station and only connected once the tracks alongside the station are completed.

For fellow rail nerds, part of this overall project will be the decommissioning of CP 4 (it will no longer exist as an interlocking). It will be replaced with a new interlocking at CP 6, which will be on the straight / tangent rail section along the Mass Pike near the Staples store on Soldiers Field Road. A freight lead switch will be included somewhere near Boston Landing station and the former location of CP 4 to allow freight trains to access the parts of Beacon Park yard still in service.

3) Turn Table for New Schedule

I've updated the "Turn Table" for the new schedule. Theoretically, with 8 dedicated sets of equipment, we should be able to figure out the 'turns' at South Station as well as the 'turns' at Worcester. I gave it a try but it is impossible since all of the equipment goes to storage or service in the middle of the day. How that equipment returns to service in the afternoon is where I couldn't 'reverse engineer' the schedule. We'll see if I can't get some additional information and create a more comprehensive table of equipment usage and all equipment turns.

4) Track Assignments for New Schedule

As detailed in previous blog posts, the 'inbound' and 'outbound' tracks are really not labeled properly or helpfully. Based on the new schedule, I've updated my table of track assignments, which includes the status of the rail destressing as of now. As explained above, this table will soon be covered entirely in green!

For information on which track is which, see this blog post.

I'm NOT 100% confident this is correct, so please let me know if you notice any errors or changes. Click on the image for a PDF version.

Compare the table above to the corresponding table from September 2015 in this blog post. Notice the lack of red - everything has been funded. And we're almost to all green!

Also note that there are no leapfrog moves with the new schedule, and the Newton stretch is kept more consistent than with previous schedules (at the expense of reverse commute options for Newton passengers). Overall an operational improvement that should result in better service and less delays (remember, the current delays are primarily related to construction, and those should be gone soon). 

Finally! The long awaited inbound vs. outbound track blog post. And just in time for the 10 year anniversary of the switch in track usage!

For some good background that is helpful for this blog entry, please read my previous entry: "Framingham-Worcester: which track is which?" 

As many riders will notice, the rush hour Framingham-Worcester trains board on the same platform for both inbound and outbound rush hour trips between West Natick and Wellesley Farms. The MBTA and Keolis call this the "inbound" track but it is actually track 2. So why do they use track 2 for all the rush hour service here? 

For most train operations where there is more than one track over a long distance, the routing of trains is usually similar to roadway traffic in the US: trains stay on the right side track. This practice is followed between Ashland and Grafton: there is an "inbound" (track 2) and "outbound" (track 1) arrangement that is almost always true. The recent construction has meant shuffling of service on this stretch, but that is a temporary condition due to the construction. Worcester's platform is only on a siding accessed from track 1, so that's the problem there. 

So what is going on between West Natick and Wellesley Farms? 

Before May 15, 2006, the section between West Natick and Wellesley Farms actually used the same pattern all day long: track 1 was always outbound and track 2 was always inbound. You fellow long term riders remember this - boarding on one side in the morning and getting off on the other side in the evening. That's what the Grafton to Ashland passengers do every day even now (ignoring construction related changes). 

Prior to May 15, 2006, the MBTA (and MBCR) distributed this notice to announce the change to the track usage pattern, instituting the pattern that we have now: track 2 is used for both inbound and outbound rush hour trains between West Natick and Wellesley Farms. 

The notice that was published hints at the reason: safety. 

Those of you familiar with the West Natick and Wellesley Hills station know that they are unique among the stations on the line. At both of those stations, the only access to the track 1 platform is via a wooden walkway from the track 2 platform across both sets of tracks. There is no access to the 'outside world' from the track 1 platform at either of those stations - the West Natick track 1 platform is up against neighborhood backyards, and the Wellesley Hills track 1 platform is up against a giant cliff (where an excavator tried to tumble onto the tracks, but that's an entirely different story, with pictures, of course...).

This picture from the Wikipedia entry for the Wellesley Hills station shows the walkway and illustrates the issue quite clearly. 

So everyone who gets on or off a train on track 1 at those stations has to cross the wooden walkway across both tracks. A less than ideal situation. During the morning, it's not a problem -  track 2 is the 'natural' inbound track. But in the afternoon, prior to May 15, 2006, the large volume of commuters would get off on track 1 at those stations and have to cross both track 1 and track 2 to get to the parking lots or sidewalks or anywhere. 

Moving all the outbound rush hour trains to track 2 in the afternoon means that the largest volume of afternoon / evening passengers no longer have to cross the tracks. 

Also remember that the only 'cross over' switches in this area are near Framingham(CP 21) and between Wellesley Farms and Auburndale (CP 11, what I've nicknamed the "Weston Switch"). See the map for the locations of these switches, and see the glossary for definitions of "CP," "interlocking," and the "Weston Switch." The locations of the switches explain why the track 2 usage affects all the Natick and Wellesley stations - there is no way for trains to change tracks in the middle of this stretch of the line (or between Wellesley Hills and Wellesley Farms, for example).  

Also convenient is the fact that the only platforms at the Newton stations are on track 2. So even prior to May 15, 2006, all rush hour inbound and outbound trains were using track 2 along the Newton stations in order to provide those stations with 'normal' (AM inbound, PM outbound) rush hour services. The May 15, 2006 change just extended the existing practice along the Newton stations all the way to West Natick. 

Why did this become an issue in 2006 after years of operations without the track change along the West Natick to Wellesley Farms stations? As with most issues, a fatality may have played a role. 

Prior to July 2004, a walkway across tracks 1 and 2 also existed at the Wellesley Farms train station. This walkway existed even though there was a sidewalk on the track 1 side and a stairway on the track 2 side that led to the Glen Road bridge. 

In December 2003, Wellesley Farms was the location of a fatality. Quoting from one of the decisions regarding the wrongful death lawsuit:

"On December 6, 2003, Robert McTague, an employee of MBCR, was helping to clear snow from the railroad tracks at the Wellesley Farms commuter rail station during a storm. A CSX freight train passed through the station, striking and killing Mr. McTague."

News reports from the time indicate that a snowblower was being used along the tracks and that the freight train struck the snowblower which then struck Mr. McTague. There was never any reporting that Mr. McTague (or anyone) was on the cross-tracks walkway at the time of the incident, and it also isn't clear that Mr. McTague was actually operating the snowblower. 

Sometime prior to July 2004, news reports indicate that the Federal Railway Administration (FRA) received complaints from Wellesley residents that the cross-tracks walkway at the Wellesley Farms station was dangerous. In collaboration with the FRA and the MBTA, MBCR decided to close the walkway with a fence to prevent pedestrians from walking across the tracks. 

There is no indication that the fatality in December 2003 was a factor in closing this walkway, but all the parties involved in the collaboration would have been aware of the fatality and my guess is that it could not have been completely ignored. But there are no reports directly linking the closure of the walkway to the worker fatality. 

After the walkway at Wellesley Farms was closed, commuters using that station were upset that they were being inconvenienced by being required to walk up to Glen Road to access the parking lot on the track 2 side of the station after deboarding their evening train on track 1. Many passengers would just walk east along the tracks and go around the fence between the tracks, rather than go up and over. I can recall seeing passengers make this walk behind the back of outbound trains. 

A news report from March 2005 indicated that the issue had "reached a fever pitch." 200 passengers signed a petition asking the MBTA to re-open the closed walkway at Wellesley Farms. The MBTA held firm and I believe the fence was even extended at each end to make it less attractive as an alternative to the 'up and over.' MBTA spokesman Joe Pesaturo is quoted in the March 2005 article: "If we hear about people trying to jump the fence, then we'll grease it."

Clearly the issue of walkways and shortcuts across tracks was a hot topic during this time period (2003 to 2006). The wrongful death lawsuit regarding Mr. McTague ensnared the MBTA, MBCR, and CSX (then the owner and dispatcher of the line) starting in 2004. Again, although there is no public documentation or reporting regarding it, I have to believe that the fatality and the incredibly stupid and dangerous trespassing by commuters at Wellesley Farms kept the cross-track access issue on the front burner.

Given that context, it is natural to see how the FRA and all parties took a look at the situation not only at Wellesley Farms, but also at West Natick and Wellesley Hills - the only other stations with cross-track walkways on the line. Which leads us directly to the May 2006 notice and implementation of the idea to just get the bulk load of evening outbound commuters off of track 1. An elegant mitigation for a potentially hazardous safety issue. 

The May 2006 track switch also alleviated the complaints at Wellesley Farms - evening passengers were now being discharged on the track 2 platform, directly adjacent to the parking lot. So no need to walk around the fence or 'up and over.'

As noted in the May 2006 notice, with the outbound rush hour trains on the "inbound track" (track 2), the inbound trains have to use the outbound tracks. Passengers going into Boston in the afternoon and evening must still use the walkways at West Natick and Wellesley Hills. But that is far less passengers crossing both tracks than forcing all of the outbound commuters to use the walkways.

This leads to another operational rule put into effect around the same time: trains are not allowed to pass each other within the West Natick or Wellesley Hills stations. This is to avoid the potential for a passenger to deboard the train in the station and then immediately cross the walkway behind the departing train - and not see a train coming from the opposite (or even same) direction on the other track. So you may notice your train stop or slow when approaching West Natick or Wellesley Hills (even if you are on an express train that isn't making a station stop there) - this is probably because another train is in the station on the opposite track. 

Unfortunately, the issue of "board inbound trains on the outbound" track is quite confusing, and I have always disliked the naming of tracks by "inbound" and "outbound." For rush hour commuters between West Natick and Wellesley Farms, track 2 is always both the "inbound" and "outbound" track!

The problem is that the only clear labeling on signs at those stations is "inbound" and "outbound." There are no clear signs indicating track numbers. This is poor communication design in my opinion. But correcting it would cost money even if the powers that be agreed with my opinion. 

At some point in the recent past, the MBTA and/or Keolis customer service decided that this afternoon track 'switch' needed to be announced EVERY DAY. One of our twitter friends likens the deluge of messages to the boy who cried wolf: 

Keolis customer service folks have a different perspective and believe the notices do communicate necessary information to the masses:

It is worth noting here that the track usage at Framingham is not as easily described. Some outbound trains terminate there and become an inbound train, so within a few minutes the same track will serve as both an "outbound" and an "inbound" track. The easiest example of this is in the morning between 7 AM and 8:30 AM. P506 and P508 use track 2 since they are coming from Worcester. And outbound P505 uses track 1 since it continues on towards Worcester. But P507 terminates in Framingham on track 1 and becomes inbound P510 on track 1. There are other examples throughout the day where the pattern of track usage within any particular day (although similar from day to day) is difficult to describe at Framingham.

The easiest way to talk about the double track mainline from Worcester to Boston is by track number. The line has two tracks, conveniently named "1" and "2" (except where they're called "5" and "7"....).

From just west of Yawkey station all the way to Worcester, track #1 is on the north side of the line. In other words, looking or traveling from Boston out to Worcester, track #1 is on the right. Therefore, track #2 is the track closest to the parking lots in Wellesley Hills and West Natick. Through the stations in Newton, the platforms are only on the track #2 side. At Worcester station, the platform is on track #1 only. 

In Back Bay station, tracks #1, #2, and #3 are on the Providence / Northeast Corridor line (sometimes just called the "corridor"). So that forces us to have different track names, otherwise we would all get on trains to Providence! From just outside South Station to just past Yawkey (including in Back Bay station), track #7 is closest to the Mass Pike, is the northernmost track, and is almost exclusively outbound. From just outside South Station to just past Yawkey (including in Back Bay station), track #5 is closest to the Orange Line, is the southernmost track, and is almost exclusively inbound.  

In Allston, where there is only one track, it is just called the "main" or the "single track." This is the section of track that runs alongside the former Beacon Park freight yard between Exit 17 on the Mass Pike and Boston University. Although there are multiple parallel tracks, only the track closest to BU (the "single track") can be used for through train traffic. All of the other tracks are not signaled or controlled for traffic - they can only be used as part of the freight yard. So this "single track" doesn't have a track number, even though it could logically be considered track #2, since traveling straight from the single track in either direction puts you back on track #2 where the track becomes two parallel tracks. 

But the Back Bay naming oddities and the Allston single track situation are not that important - the important thing to remember is that  track #1 is on the north side of the line and track #2 is on the south side for the main part of the line west of Allston. 

I wanted to post this info here since it will be important for a couple of future blog post topics:
1) The current construction won't solve all of our heat restriction problems; and
2) Why do inbound and outbound rush hour trains use the same track from Framingham to Boston? [This topic is why I never refer to any track as "inbound" or "outbound" - the MBTA uses those names, but that really bugs me, since the trains travel in both directions on either track depending on the time of the day. Oh well.]