Forty new MBTA commuter rail locomotives have been taken out of service for faulty bearings in need of replacement. The $222 million fleet was delivered to the T near the end of 2014.
The Boston Globe reported the news Wednesday morning, noting that the manufacturer had discovered, over the summer, that at least half of the new diesel-electric hybrid locomotives had faulty bearings. The T knew about the problem in August but didn’t disclose it to the public; without some digging from the Globe, it’s unclear if the T would have come clean.
Last week, T spokesperson Joe Pesaturo said eight locomotives had already been taken out of service, undergone repairs, and put back in service. But, after reviewing maintenance records, the Globe discovered only four locomotives were in service Friday and Monday. The other four, the Globe reports, were taken off the tracks for maintenance problems, which records showed were unrelated to bearings.
“Technically,” the Globe’s report continues, the Boise, Idaho-based principal manufacturer, Motive Power Inc., did deliver all 40 locomotives by the end of 2014. Twenty of those, however, were shipped directly to Altoona, Pa. for motor bearing replacements; the other locomotives are undergoing repairs at a separate maintenance facility in Worcester.
Much of the existing fleet has been in service since the 1970s. New locomotives were expected to be in service by the end of 2014, however, Pesaturo told the Globe that the rollout has been pushed back to sometime in late 2015.
The bearings on the new fleet were properly installed, but some were damaged during the shipping process from Pennsylvania to Idaho, Pesaturo told the Globe, adding that the T will not be forced to cover the costs.
A union representative for the T’s commuter rail mechanical supervisors and Amtrak told the Globe that mechanics fear “there will be ongoing reliability issues.”
With the rollout of the new fleet in limbo, the T’s commuter rail operator, Keolis, faces the prospect of more fines related to poor on-time performance scores. In November, the T fined Keolis – which took over commuter rail operations in July, replacing the former operating company – more than $400,000 for failing to meet on-time service goals.
Photo via Wikipedia Commons
