The MBTA is wanting into whether or not sure components of the brand new Orange Line trains had been “appropriately designed,” after discovering that the mechanical failure present in 9 new vehicles could have been attributable to ill-fitting supplies.
Erik Stoothoff, chief engineer and performing chief working officer, stated the “end connector,” or the connection level to the body physique, is probably undersized for the cable that’s getting used to supply grounding within the new practice vehicles.
“All failure points have been cracking or cracked terminal end connectors,” Stoothoff stated. “So, not an integral failure of the cable itself or the connection of the cable to the terminal end. The failures have all been cracked terminals at the bolted connection point.”
He stated the problem doesn’t lie with meeting of the automobiles, however reasonably in how the brand new vehicles had been designed.
The MBTA obtained a provide of alternative cables from CRRC, the Chinese firm manufacturing and assembling the brand new Orange and Red Line trains, and is placing these new components into place, Stoothoff stated.
It additionally initiated an engineering evaluate to find out whether or not the facility cables should be changed with ones of a distinct dimension, or if the vehicles probably want a different-sized terminal or connector, Stoothoff stated.
The MBTA is hopeful that there will likely be a decision to that engineering evaluate by the tip of this month or early February, he stated.
Weekly inspections have been carried out on the brand new Orange Line fleet because the MBTA eliminated 9 vehicles from service in late December.
At the time, the MBTA reported {that a} energy cable failure in an “electrical grounding component” had been found throughout a routine inspection.
Steven Culp, chief of security engineering and development, stated grounding cable straps had been discovered to be disconnected and hanging beneath the affected trains. Power cables had been coming into contact with practice axles, which can have induced electrical arcing.
Any axle that exhibits indicators of rubbing from the cable has been eliminated and changed with a brand new axle, Stoothoff stated.
If that rubbing situation is allowed to go unmitigated for too lengthy, Stoothoff stated, “you could create metallurgical changes to the steel or to the metal of the axle, that could end up resulting in cracking and a long-term safety risk.”
It’s the most recent setback for the almost $1 billion CRRC challenge, which has been riddled with delays and quite a lot of points, together with a braking downside and battery failure, that led T to drag the brand new Orange Line trains out of service on a number of events.
An replace on the CRRC procurement will likely be offered at subsequent Thursday’s Board of Directors assembly.
Source: www.bostonherald.com”