# Trinity Railway Express worker axed for questioning safety of DMU



## slickvik (Dec 30, 2013)

Hi I'm new to the forum, but a big rail fan. I've been reading a couple of stories of possible safety problems about DMU trains that will be used for commuter rail in the dallas area; one high ranking official even got fired for posing concerns about them. Just wondering your thoughts, the local paper did a two part expose on DMU.

Part 1

http://www.star-telegram.com/2013/12/27/5446567/tex-rail-controversy-the-rail.html

Part 2

http://www.star-telegram.com/2013/12/28/5446392/why-trinity-railway-express-mechanical.html?rh=1


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## Tokkyu40 (Jan 1, 2014)

They've been used for years with no safety problems. There is an occasional brief loss of signal connection, so the authorities are adding more frequent cleaning to prevent rust build up and the manufacturer is adding cleaning brushes to the train to ensure a god connection at all times.
The DMUs will give better service at a lower cost, which is good, although that may not be the model they finally decide on.
There is a bit of apparent politics going on. They wanted to consolidate a redundant position from two people to one, and they dropped the guy who was undercutting his boss's work.


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## third rail 1200 (Jan 2, 2014)

Agree completely with Tokkyo40.

This guy is his own independent study commission for a problem that really doesn't exist.

There are already a number of successful "diesel-urbans" in service in the North America and many, many in Europe. Ottawa, Austin and Trenton-Camden are but a few examples.

A ride from Trenton to Camden, sitting in the "rail fan's seat" is the closest thing to a real interurban ride in the US.


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## Devil's Advocate (Jan 2, 2014)

Tokkyu40 said:


> They've been used for years with no safety problems. There is an occasional brief loss of signal connection, so the authorities are adding more frequent cleaning to prevent rust build up and the manufacturer is adding cleaning brushes to the train to ensure a god connection at all times.


So there is no safety problem and the safety problem already being addressed.



Tokkyu40 said:


> The DMUs will give better service at a lower cost, which is good, although that may not be the model they finally decide on.


Sounds like they come at a higher cost according to the article. Break-even isn't expected until a decade later.



Tokkyu40 said:


> There is a bit of apparent politics going on. They wanted to consolidate a redundant position from two people to one, and they dropped the guy who was undercutting his boss's work.


 When in doubt, shoot the messenger.


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## Nathanael (Jan 20, 2014)

There's no safety problem with the DMUs. There was a safety problem with the *track maintenance procedures*, which have since been fixed. Railroads which run long, heavy trains have usually gotten lazy about track polishing because "eh, one of our cars will skid and polish the track". When you run single-unit light trains, you have to actively maintain the tracks better in order to maintain electrical connectivity for the track circuits. This is a very old and known thing.

The guy who was fired doesn't know what he's talking about.


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## jis (Jan 20, 2014)

Nathanael said:


> There's no safety problem with the DMUs. There was a safety problem with the *track maintenance procedures*, which have since been fixed. Railroads which run long, heavy trains have usually gotten lazy about track polishing because "eh, one of our cars will skid and polish the track". When you run single-unit light trains, you have to actively maintain the tracks better in order to maintain electrical connectivity for the track circuits. This is a very old and known thing.
> 
> The guy who was fired doesn't know what he's talking about.


I agree. These, or similar, units have operated safely in NJ for over a decade now, and for even longer in the rest of the world. There does not appear to be any real unfixable problem here.
DMUs make routes that would otherwise be cost prohibitive to operate, become feasible and with significantly better performance than loco hauled trains. Unfortunately the business about FRA strange rules has stymied the use of DMUs. We are finally starting to see sanity prevail. There will of course be some rear guard action from a few to kibosh that.


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## Sandra Brown (Oct 16, 2014)

Are these trains noisy? They are coming to my town. The tracks are about 200 feet across the street behind a row of large two story houses from me. Will I notice much?


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## Bob Dylan (Oct 16, 2014)

You won't be bothered much ( depends on crossings/ local and state ordinances etc) and hopefully you'll be able to ride the train instead of driving!


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## Sandra Brown (Oct 16, 2014)

Our town is now installing quad gates quite zones. The only trains on the tracks now is the grapevine tarantula train and an occasional freighter. I was just wondering how much I would notice those DMU trains. Because of the increased frequency. Do you think I need to worry? Like I said I'm about 200 feet away. The train runs behind some houses across the street from me. I'm just a little uneasy. I would appreciate any feedback you could give me.


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## John Bredin (Oct 16, 2014)

Sandra Brown said:


> I was just wondering how much I would notice those DMU trains. Because of the increased frequency. Do you think I need to worry? Like I said I'm about 200 feet away. The train runs behind some houses across the street from me. I'm just a little uneasy. I would appreciate any feedback you could give me.


We're not the best judges of how it will affect you, because many people here like the sound of trains.  My suggestion would be to find online videos of DMUs in operation (with the original sound, without music added) and decide for yourself.


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## PerRock (Oct 18, 2014)

I would say that there really not going to be any noisier than a locomotive hauled train.


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## beautifulplanet (Oct 21, 2014)

Not being aware if you'll still read this answer, since just posting as a guest and the post was already five days ago.



Sandra Brown said:


> Our town is now installing quad gates quite zones.


Some members of this forum here might be very interested to know which town is taking the initiative to install quad gate quiet zones. The towns to be served by the future TEX Rail commuter rail service, currently expected to start operating in 2018, are Fort Worth, Haltom City, North Richland Hills, Colleyville (not having a station) and Grapevine. Many might think quiet zones are a very good investment, as it will enable trains to pass through crossing without blowing a horn that is 100 decibel loud. And the important thing is that quiet zones make all rail operations quieter, not only regular passenger rail like TEX rail, also freight rail and excursion trains like the Grapevine Vintage Railroad (formerly known as "Tarantula Train") will be quieter. Can you possible say which town it is, that is making the investment and that will be installing quad gate quiet zones now?

Here you can see a map of the corridor of the future TEX rail commuter rail service, also in relation to the existing TRE commuter rail that it will connect to in Fort Worth, and the existing DART light rail Orange Line it will connect to at DFW Airport:







source: http://www.texrail.com/About/RouteandStations/Route.aspx



Sandra Brown said:


> Are these trains noisy? [...] The tracks are about 200 feet across the street behind a row of large two story houses from me. Will I notice much?


One question would be, how much do you notice the freight train and the excursion currently operating on those tracks? So however much that will be, you probably will notice the new DMU trains less than the other trains. DMU stands for Diesel Multiple Units, so the train only has rail cars that are self-propelled and don't need a separate locomotive. Many might think, that these trains are the most modern and most comfortable kind of trains that could possibly be used for this kind of service that is planned along the Fort Worth to DFW airport corridor.

Most importantly, the new Diesel Multiple Units, in addition to being more comfortable, they are also using comparatively less fuel, so they are better for the environment and less expensive to operate, and also lighter and quieter.

Here is a picture of a DMU in Austin, TX, that is very similar to the one that will be used for the TEX rail commuter rail service:






source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cotton_Belt_Rail_Line

With DMUs being quieter, it is likely that you will notice them less than other trains currently operating on the route. DMUs that are nearly identical to the ones to be used in TEX rail service are already operating in Texas, on Austin Metro Rail's Red Line and as Denton County's A-Train, and the following article mentions concrete decibel numbers, about to what extent the new DMUs are quieter than conventional passenger trains:



> Officials say the new Stadler cars offer greater fuel efficiency and more seating and are quieter than older diesel vehicles. They operate at 70 to 73 decibels, instead of the 80 decibels of typical commuter trains.


source:

Update: Denton County to roll out more efficient rail cars

06 June 2012 09:31 PM

By WENDY HUNDLEY

http://www.dallasnews.com/news/transportation/20120606-update-denton-county-to-roll-out-more-efficient-rail-cars.ece



Sandra Brown said:


> Our town is now installing quad gates quite zones. The only trains on the tracks now is the grapevine tarantula train and an occasional freighter. I was just wondering how much I would notice those DMU trains. Because of the increased frequency. Do you think I need to worry? Like I said I'm about 200 feet away. The train runs behind some houses across the street from me. I'm just a little uneasy. I would appreciate any feedback you could give me.


Many might come to the conclusion, that there might be no reason to feel uneasy. 200 feet is a comparatively long distance to be away from the actual commuter rail operations, and once again, one is going to notice the DMU trains less than other trains because of them being quieter (see above). And where a regular heavy train might cause a lot of vibration, the DMUs will do much less so, because of not only being quieter, but also lighter. Some might think there is no reason to feel uneasy, and the best way to be convinced to not feel uneasy might be to go and experience some DMU commuter rail service oneself. While Austin of course always is worth a trip, the closest opportunity to experience modern DMU rail service and how comparatively quiet it can be, is in Denton County.

If you would like to check it out, go over f.e. to the Lewisville Old Town station of Denton County's A-Train. It is just a 15 minute drive from Grapevine for example. There is also free parking at that station. In order to hear how loud the DMU is, outside and inside, it would be possible f.e. to take a ride to Downtown Denton, which takes 22 minutes, and cost $3 one-way. In downtown Denton, one can walk right on the street where the train station is at, East Hickory Street, towards the west and after a few minutes, one will be at beautiful old Denton County court house, which is surrounded by cafes (like Beth Marie's Old Fashioned Ice Cream), restaurants (f.e. The Abbey Inn Restaurant & Pub) and little shops. The A-Train offers many convenient departures during the day Mondays to Fridays. Saturdays, the trains leave roughly every two hours, there is no Sunday service yet and the official schedule can be found here:

https://www.dcta.net/routes-schedules/a-train

Regarding the increased frequency on the TEX rail corridor, the T plans to eventually offer service every 30 minutes during peak hours, and every 60 minutes off-peak. So it's not going to be like living next to the New York City subway with trains every other minute. Also, this frequency above is planned for 2035, and as the TEX rail service starts operating, the service might not be as frequent yet. At the same time, many might wish for 30-minute peak/60-minute off-peak service right from the start, because of the transportation options it will bring. With TEX rail, it will be very easy to get f.e. from Grapevine or Haltom City to downtown Fort Worth. Or with TEX rail, it will be easy to get to and from DFW airport, no matter if one works there, travels in and out of there, or if one is just picking up visitors or bringing them to the airport, thanks to the station TEX rail will have right at Terminal B, so no worries about parking costs at DFW, about toll road costs or road traffic congestion. Some might think, that those are just some ways in which the new TEX rail service will be beneficial to the residents and visitors of Tarrant County, in addition to the transit oriented development that is planned around some stations, the increased economic activity and many others.

In case you happen to read this, then please share which town is installing quad gate quiet zones now. In case there are more comments or questions, feel free to post as well.


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## cirdan (Oct 22, 2014)

beautifulplanet said:


> Regarding the increased frequency on the TEX rail corridor, the T plans to eventually offer service every 30 minutes during peak hours, and every 60 minutes off-peak. So it's not going to be like living next to the New York City subway with trains every other minute. Also, this frequency above is planned for 2035, and as the TEX rail service starts operating, the service might not be as frequent yet. At the same time, many might wish for 30-minute peak/60-minute off-peak service right from the start, because of the transportation options it will bring. With TEX rail, it will be very easy to get f.e. from Grapevine or Haltom City to downtown Fort Worth. Or with TEX rail, it will be easy to get to and from DFW airport, no matter if one works there, travels in and out of there, or if one is just picking up visitors or bringing them to the airport, thanks to the station TEX rail will have right at Terminal B, so no worries about parking costs at DFW, about toll road costs or road traffic congestion. Some might think, that those are just some ways in which the new TEX rail service will be beneficial to the residents and visitors of Tarrant County, in addition to the transit oriented development that is planned around some stations, the increased economic activity and many others.



Do you know how the service will work once Cotton Belt East opens?

Will all trains do the dogleg to the airport, or will that be covered by a separate service?


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## Sandra Brown (Oct 27, 2014)

RE: Quiet Zones

Colleyville has just completed three quiet zone crossings. The commuter train is very unpopular here. Mostly the entire route the commuter train takes through Colleyville is through residential areas. And will run right along walking trails and through parks. Colleyville voted not to have a station here. Would like to see the city work with the "T" on some mitigation issues. Doesn't really matter either way. The train is coming. Hopefully the forum is right. I won't notice much.


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