Tri-Rail to get a new Contractor

[battalion51]

Herzog TSI has announced recently that it will not be pursuing the renewal of its operations and mechanical contract with Tri-Rail. Currently Herzog operates 20 roundtrips on weekedays (and limited weekend service) for Tri-Rail between Mangonia Park and Miami International Airport. Herzog also has the Mechanical contract to maintain Tri-Rail's fleet of 16 locomotives, 11 cab cars, and 15 passenger cars.

So what does this mean? The Tri-Rail contract is up for grabs. Rumors are saying CSX is making a big push to get the maintenance (and possibly Operations) contract. Other contenders include Amtrak, who is also making a big push for the contract, and new kid on the block Connex. Bombardier is also rumored to be seeking the maintenance contract. Herzog's contract expires at the end of June 2007, so who takes over the contract with the state DOT will be determined in the near future.

It seems apparent with this strong push by Amtrak for the contract that new President Alexander Kummant is very much in favor of continuing to operate commuter trains. The decision makes sense as it can only favor Amtrak in the end by allowing great flexibility for crew assignments, and dispatching for its own trains.

CSX is supposed to also be relinquishing Dispatching Control to the DOT in the near future, I'd imagine the party that wins the Operations contract will also take dispatching control. Should Amtrak be at the helm I imagine it would be rolled in with OPS at CETC in Philadelphia.

 

[gswager]

I'm wondering why Herzog is not renewing the contract?

 

[battalion51]

I haven't heard specifics, but I'd guess that it has something to do with Red Tape and such.

 

[Brian UK]

Ah Connex, now theres a name to send shivers down the spine of South East England commuters !

 

[George Harris]

Ah Connex, now theres a name to send shivers down the spine of South East England commuters !

Also Boston area. They got the contract that Amtrak formerly had, and are being paid quite a bit more than Amtrak was. Amtrak took a walk on rebidding that one because MBTA said in essence, if you want it we want unlimited liability, so in essence Amtrak was risking everything they owned for operating one small commuter system. Someone from the Boston area should talk to us about how things are going.

 

[Brian UK]

check out www.badtransit.com a forum dedicated to slagging off MBTA and MBCR.

 

[AlanB]

Ah Connex, now theres a name to send shivers down the spine of South East England commuters !

Also Boston area. They got the contract that Amtrak formerly had, and are being paid quite a bit more than Amtrak was. Amtrak took a walk on rebidding that one because MBTA said in essence, if you want it we want unlimited liability, so in essence Amtrak was risking everything they owned for operating one small commuter system. Someone from the Boston area should talk to us about how things are going.

The simple answer is, not good. All of the following are from articles this past summer, only one of which is still available online for free. A second article is still available for a fee, while the third has disapeared.

From The Boston Globe, Boston: This article is still available for free.

The head of the MBTA plans to meet today with officials who run the T's commuter trains to complain about abysmal on-time performance and unhelpful employees and to call for quick improvements on stifling-hot coaches, failing equipment, and late or canceled trains.
It is the most serious conflict yet between the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority and the Massachusetts Bay Commuter Railroad, which took over in July 2003 under a record $1.07 billion, five-year contract. The meeting is so important that T officials said the head of the commuter rail consortium was summoned from vacation.

Details here at the Boston Herald. This article requires a fee to view the whole thing unfortunately.

Head of MBTA commuter rail consortium resignsBy Associated Press

Friday, August 25, 2006 - Updated: 09:34 AM EST

BOSTON - The head of the consortium that runs the MBTA commuter rail system has resigned after heavy criticism over poor service following the Big Dig tunnel collapse, which turned many commuters to the rail system.

Finally a quote from yet another article sadly no longer available, at least from what I can see.

An update, courtesy of MetroWest Daily News.

The commuter rail needs to have 56 locomotives to run 463 scheduled trains during weekdays, but at one point last month there were only 52 operating locomotives, according to MBCR spokesman Scott Farmelant.Asked why too few locomotives were on the tracks last month, Farmelant said: "Basically, long story short is MBCR was deficient in maintaining the trains, keeping them up, keeping the locomotives to the required number."

I seem to recall this article going on to state that Amtrak had never allowed things to get so bad as to not have enough locos available for normal daily service.

 

[battalion51]

I hope someone at FDOT is closely reviewing the portfolio of whoever the operators bidding are. It seems like hiring Connex would be like hiring Michael Brown as a disaster consultant. "I could do this for you." :lol:

 

[Dinker]

Are things getting better in Boston? I wonder if this contract has some kind of termination clause, whose exercise seems justifiable if things are as bad as they seem.

 

[Brian UK]

Veolia it is then.

 

[Brian UK]

dont know why Veolia or TriRail havent press-released it yet on their websites yet, but

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/bro...la-news-broward

(edited by AmtrakWPK to fix the link)

 

[Brian UK]

Thanks for fixing the link for me, I dont know how to do it properly.

 

[George Harris]

"Veolia will take over on July 1. The company runs commuter rail systems in Los Angeles and Boston and has a contract to run a new line in San Diego set to open later this year."

Sounds like Veolia is Connex by another name. Sorry, Miami.

Note that Boston is paying Connex a lot more than they paid Amtrak and getting much worse service.

George

 

[sechs]

What new line in San Diego?

 

[gswager]

I believe it's San Diego Sprinter, a self-propelled train that is scheduled to open in December 2007.

 

[sechs]

The Sprinter won't run to, let alone near the city of San Diego. It goes between Escondido and Oceanside.

 

[AmtrakFan]

According to the Article Looks like Amtrak won the Contract to dispash the Trains.

 

[battalion51]

Amtrak will indeed be doing the dispatching, where they dispatch from is debateable. It's too bad Amtrak got outbid for the OPS contract though.

 

[chefrhodes81]

Veolia is the new name for Connex. The name changed last year. I work in the bus side of public transit. Our system contracts with Veolia for operations. They are much larger on the bus side. They are international in scope, originally from France.

John

...Sounds like Veolia is Connex by another name. Sorry, Miami.

...

George