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Port Authority says it has fixed T switch problemDec 19, 2009 (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- A faulty relay apparently was the cause of a malfunctioning switch system at the Wood Street subway station that has delayed trains at least six times since Port Authority installed the system in late October. Officials replaced the relay device Thursday night and tested it throughout the early morning hours, said Jim Ritchie, Port Authority spokesman. It was working fine by yesterday's morning rush hour. "It's a simple device, but because it was going out intermittently it was like finding a needle in a haystack," Mr. Ritchie said about the piece that's smaller than a man's hand and costs less than $100. "There are zillion little parts like that in the system. If it had failed altogether, it would have been easy for us to find." The switch system was added at Wood Street as the authority prepared to close the Gateway Center station for construction. It allows trains to cross over so both Wood Street platforms can be used for boarding and alighting. The first serious failure came at midday Nov. 2, the first weekday of the Gateway closure, and it delayed service by seven minutes, according to authority reports. On Nov. 11, evening service was delayed 25 minutes by a failure at 6:05 p.m. The trouble resurfaced Nov. 30 during the morning rush, causing delays up to 30 minutes. That day, some operators suggested that passengers disembark at Station Square and walk or take buses into Downtown rather than wait out the delay. Recurrences the next two days caused only brief delays. The most recent delay occurred Dec. 9. The switch problem typically prevented inbound trains from crossing to the outbound platform. When the trains reached the switch, the signal there remained red rather than changing to green. Although authority officials believe they have fixed the problem, they are promising more timely and informative announcements when Light Rail Transit service is delayed for any reason in the future. "I readily admit this: At times we get immersed in solving the problem and not communicating with our passengers," said Winston Simmonds, the authority's rail operations/engineering officer. "We're going to improve there." A complaint of riders is that the public address system and message boards in stations go unused during breakdowns, leaving them to wonder when the next train will arrive. When there have been announcements, they have been vague. Mr. Simmonds said he wants specific information communicated to riders once service resumes after a breakdown -- including the projected time of the next train's arrival Downtown for each route. "Customers should expect more communication," he said. On the vehicles, operators are supposed to make announcements to passengers whenever there is a delay, Mr. Simmonds said. "Some are better than others and some, quite frankly, don't want to do it," he said. "I ride it every day. I know." A review of Port Authority incident reports shows that the overwhelming majority of delays are caused by malfunctioning vehicles. Through November, the authority had recorded 192 delays of 10 minutes or more this year (about 17 per month or one for every 9,700 miles traveled) and 176 were vehicle-related. The most regular problems are with the train control systems, brakes and doors. The switch system was added at Wood Street as the authority prepared to close the Gateway Center station for construction. It allows trains to cross over so both Wood Street platforms can be used for boarding and alighting. The first serious failure came at midday Nov. 2, the first weekday of the Gateway closure, and it delayed service by seven minutes, according to authority reports. On Nov. 11, evening service was delayed 25 minutes by a failure at 6:05 p.m. The trouble resurfaced Nov. 30 during the morning rush, causing delays up to 30 minutes. That day, some operators suggested that passengers disembark at Station Square and walk or take buses into Downtown rather than wait out the delay. Recurrences the next two days caused only brief delays. The Dec. 9 failure during evening rush caused 12-minute delays. The switch problem typically prevented inbound trains from crossing to the outbound platform. When the trains reach the switch, the signal there remains red rather than changing to green. Under normal operations, the train electronically communicates its intended route to a sensor in the track, which deploys the track switch to allow it to cross over. When the system verifies that the switch is in the proper position and locked in place, it clears the train to proceed with a green signal. When that doesn't happen, personnel at the control center at South Hills Village must activate the switch. But sometimes that hasn't worked, and signal crews had to be sent to the station to access a control panel or even manually operate the switch, Mr. Simmons said. On Nov. 30, crews were slow to respond, exacerbating the problem, Mr. Simmonds acknowledged. "It took longer than it should have to get people to the scene and do what we needed to do." When the control center resets the track switch, it temporarily clears the problem, he said. "But it's like a computer user pressing control-alt-delete or turning the machine off. It really doesn't solve the [underlying] problem." Mr. Simmonds, who commutes daily on the LRT system, pledged that when problems occur in the future, the authority will do a better job of getting information to passengers. A complaint of riders is that the public address system and message boards in stations go unused during breakdowns, leaving them to wonder when the next train will arrive. When there have been announcements, they have been vague. Mr. Simmonds said he wants specific information communicated to riders once service resumes after a breakdown -- including the projected time of the next train's arrival Downtown for each route. "Customers should expect more communication," he said. On the vehicles, operators are supposed to make announcements to passengers whenever there is a delay, Mr. Simmonds said. "Some are better than others and some, quite frankly, don't want to do it," he said. "I ride it every day. I know." A review of Port Authority incident reports shows that the overwhelming majority of delays are caused by malfunctioning vehicles. Through November, the authority had recorded 192 delays of 10 minutes or more this year (about 17 per month or one for every 9,700 miles traveled) and 176 were vehicle-related. The most regular problems are with the train control systems, brakes and doors. Jon Schmitz can be reached at [email protected] or 412-263-1868. To see more of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.post-gazette.com. Copyright (c) 2009, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email [email protected], call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA. |