(Bloomberg News circulated the following article by Tom Randall on November 24.)
NEW YORK — Riders on two of New York City’s commuter railroads should expect delays for the next two weeks because a particularly bad season of so-called slippery rail has damaged the wheels of more than 360 rail cars.
About one-third of Metro-North Railroad’s available cars are out of commission, spokeswoman Marjorie Anders said. The Long Island Rail Road has the same problem, with 20 percent of its cars unusable, leading to shorter trains, delays and crowding, spokesman Sam Zambuto said.
The northeast U.S.’s famed autumn foliage is at the root of the problem. Wet leaves falling on the rails are crushed by the wheels, creating a slippery film. The wheels spin rapidly on the film, signaling that the train is moving too fast. Automatic brakes lock on and the wheels skid, grinding flat on one side.
“We’re just living with the results of it now, which is a fleet that’s severely hampered by flat wheels,” Anders said in an interview. “We have some pretty severe crowding issues.”
The newest trains are the most vulnerable to flat wheels, Anders said. In July, Metro-North took final delivery of 336 M-7 trains made by Montreal-based Bombardier Inc., for which it paid $733 million, she said. The M-7 has very sensitive brake sensors and flat wheels have since hobbled the fleet, Anders said. Zambuto said M-7 trains make up 80 percent of the LIRR fleet.
Bombardier spokesman David Slack didn’t immediately return a call for comment.
High-Tech Problem
“It’s a high-tech car, and you’ve got to make a high-tech fix for it,” Anders said. Every year they have problems, she said. “This is the worst.”
Metro-North dedicates 392 cars to its Harlem and Hudson lines. Of those cars, 128 are unusable because of flat wheels, Anders said. On several days last week, trains on the two lines were late more than 20 percent of the time, she said.
The railroad’s three mills can grind wheels back into shape, fixing nine cars a day. At that rate, it will be at least two weeks before service returns to normal, Anders said. Mechanics can repair a wheel faster than they can replace it, she said.
Amtrak, the U.S. passenger railroad, and New Jersey Transit use older cars and aren’t experiencing delays from flat wheels, spokesmen said.
“In general, the extent that we’ve had problems has been with trains not being able to gain traction or get started, as opposed to stopping,” New Jersey Transit spokesman Dan Stessel said in an interview. He said the agency has had one or two cars with the problem during the past month, “but nothing on the magnitude of what we’re seeing elsewhere.”
Slippery Rail
Slippery rail affects railroads around the world. In 2003, New Jersey Transit bought a $420,000 high-pressure washing system called Aqua Track to clear leaves and residue off the rails. The system uses two 250-horsepower diesel units to power two pumps that spray 17 gallons (64 liters) of water a minute at a pressure of 20,000 pounds per square inch, Stessel said.
The agency also has an extensive tree-trimming program and runs trains that drop sand during slick periods to improve traction, Stessel said.
Metro-North built its own track-clearing machine, dubbed Waterworld by employees. Waterworld is a flat car fitted with high-pressure water jets that blast away leaves, the company said in a statement. Metro-North also uses leaf-sweeping rail cars, and all locomotives have the ability to drop sand on the tracks to gain traction, the company said.
The LIRR, which has 214 cars out of service, uses a product called Traction Gel that helps the wheels stick to the rails, the railroad said in a statement. The railroad also trims trees year- round and slows down in areas with lots of leaves, the statement said.
“We have added shifts to our wheel-truing facilities,” Zambuto said. “We have been working throughout the holiday and will be working throughout the holiday weekend to make sure we have the cars returned as soon as we can.”
Amtrak isn’t as affected as other commuter rail services because it doesn’t make as many stops and has plenty of replacement cars to roll out when flat wheels need repairs, spokesman Cliff Black said.