Passenger Trains > Metrolink Tier 4 Locomotive Update and Delivery Status

On a monthly basis, the Metrolink Board is being updated on locomotive delivery. You can pull-up Item 27 from Metrolink's February 9th Board Meeting if you want to read the entire report.
Shown below are the highlights. I try to avoid snark when commenting on TO but this update report is very negative.

Locomotive Status
907 & 908, Conditionally Accepted, In Service October2017
905 Conditionally Accepted, Project In Service February 2018
909-913 Not Conditionally Accepted
925, Arrived with freeze damage, Scheduled to return back to Muncie

SCAX919 in La Grange for T4 2018 Certification
SCAX923 in Pueblo for 125 mph certificiation


Build quality: Each of the two Tier 4 units deployed have experienced a number of
“build quality” issues which have resulted in service failures. Issues range from
failure to properly clean production debris from tanks (identified as root cause of
urea pump failures), to improper assembly of electrical cable plugs (identified as
root cause of failure on display train), to use of improper components in production
(identified as root cause of burned main generator cable in revenue service). This
has decreased overall confidence in the reliability of the Tier 4 locomotive. To
address this broad area of concern, staff requires EMD fleet-wide inspection and
correction of all root-cause deficiencies found. Plant inspectors carry the message
back to production to correct problems at the source.

 Additionally, payments have been placed on hold until the Conditionally Accepted
units are running more reliable (up to 2,500 miles without critical failure).

Moreover, at the beginning of this year, the executive staff met with the Tier 4 team (via
teleconference) with Progress Rail Services executives to express the Authority’s
concerns with the reliability of the delivered locomotives and dissatisfaction with the
apparent lack of urgency in which Progress Rail was addressing the open (not completed)
items on the pre-acceptance inspection lists.

Staff requested Progress Rail to replace key field staff to bring the Tier 4 Program back
on schedule. Within a brief period, Progress Rail replaced personnel and the new team
resolved a DEF delivery issue that was related to the engines idling for extensive periods, an issue that was not evident when the same technology and software system was
applied to marine and trucking industries. In addition, this change allowed to identify
quicker turnaround on open items on the Authority’s inspection lists that had seem to be
languishing for months without resolution.

Staff conditionally accepted locomotive 905 because this unit passed all the open items
on the inspection list and also based upon the reliability progress of locomotive 908.
Specifically, locomotive 908 completed 21 service runs and completed three days of
Positive Train Control (PTC) interoperable testing without any failure. Locomotive 907
has been in the shop to replace factory fuel modification which is unrelated to the reliability

Sure seems to be a sad statement of what the once proud EMD has become.

This country used to have a can-do spirit.

So, what happened?

Posted from iPhone

I don't remember the London, Ontario GM Diesel plant having problems like mentioned above,

Grab shot from #3 last month. Gosh, all those beautiful shiny engines just sitting there!

---

irhoghead Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Sure seems to be a sad statement of what the once
> proud EMD has become.

CAT should have been a very positive influence on EMD after the years of neglect under a deteriorating GM and then an equity firm.  Instead, they place EMD under the direction of Progress Rail which was never a large, first class operation to begin with.  Sadly, the results speak for themselves.  Progress Rail is bush league and EMD is looking increasingly similar. 

Where is CAT on all this.  Billy Ainsworth has caused their name to be dragged into the press (including twice onto the front page of the the Wall Street Journal) for being indited for fraud related to the car repair scandal.  Time was, that would have ended any division Chief's career.  The stupidity to think that Progress Rail is a more dynamic name in the industry than EMD speaks volumes.

The whole mess could have been avoided, and millions of dollars saved, if they would have ordered an existing locomotive design. California's extreme air quality laws and politics are to blame. Are there Tier 4 requirements for all of the freight locomotives or trucks on the freeway. I'm all for cleaning up the air, but forcing an agency like Metrolink to be the guinea pig for a brand new technology is just foolish and costly. It also adds fuel to the fire for rail and transit critics.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/13/18 10:09 by SanDiegan.

SanDiegan Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> The whole mess could have been avoided, and
> millions of dollars saved, if they would have
> ordered an existing locomotive design.

Yes, but...

> California's extreme air quality laws and politics
> are to blame.

Everything in California is about politcs.

> Are there Tier 4 requirements for
> all of the freight locomotives or trucks on the
> freeway.

Yes, but more so. The tiers are federal EPA tiers. California ARB is much more stringint and problematic for industry. For example, any commercial vehicle (including buses) over 14,000 pounds must have a 2010 engine or newer being phased in over time. Example is that all engines with a build date of 1999 or ealier must be replaced by the end of this year.

> I'm all for cleaning up the air, but
> forcing an agency like Metrolink to be the guinea
> pig for a brand new technology is just foolish and
> costly.

Nobody forced Metrolink to be a guinea pig.

> It also adds fuel to the fire for rail and
> transit critics.

Nope.

Did EMD/Cat send out demonstrator units for this F-125? It seems to me that railroading's tried and true method for finding build quality and reliability defects could have prevented many of these issues. Instead, it appears that Cat pulled a Microsoft-like move sending products to market that were not fully tested and not ready for the real world. It certainly would have saved them a lot of money having 4 or 5 demonstrators to fix problems on over 6-12 months instead of a whole order of locomotives from Metrolink...

My 2 cents worth,

-Martin

EMD is done. Just a name now with a glorious history.

If the IDOT and company had ordered F-125, would EMD put more effort into it?

Judging from the delivery and service record, I am glad that IDOT, WSDOT, Caltrans, and later MARC ordered Charger.

While there seems to be plenty of negativity. Its actually a great locomotive. I'm hearing, It pulls hard, handles well at speed, quiet, and stops great, full extended range dynamic brake. Give it time, work out the bugs.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 02/13/18 21:05 by Entropy.

That's what they get for moving from the experienced workforce at La Grange.

TAH

will74205 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> If the IDOT and company had ordered F-125, would
> EMD put more effort into it?
>
> Judging from the delivery and service record, I am
> glad that IDOT, WSDOT, Caltrans, and later MARC
> ordered Charger.

As has NCTD Coaster!

90mac Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> That's what they get for moving from the
> experienced workforce at La Grange.
>
> TAH


And London.