By the Numbers MBTA Commuter Rail System

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A New Standard Shapes Commuter Rail in Boston Innovation, collaboration and dedication continue to push Boston’s commuter rail network through a transformative process.

By Mischa Wanek-Libman, executive editor

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mass_12-19_0719MBTA.indd 12 8/7/19 8:03 AM EOLIS COMMUTER SERVICES (KCS), a unit of Keolis North America, has been responsible for the management, operation and maintenance of the Mas- sachusetts Bay Transportation Authority’s (MBTA) commuter rail service since July 2014. While statistics support the network’s overall Kimprovement during the past five years in everything from ridership to on-time performance, KCS tempers discussion of its work in Boston with a sentiment rooted in its commitment to continue the improvement efforts: Progress has been made, but there remains work to do. The commuter rail network in July 2014 was not in great shape. There were challenges involving the network’s aging locomotive fleet, infrastructure carried a significant backlog of state-of-good-repair work, staff levels were not ideal and maintenance facilities were not operating seven days per week. Then came the winter of 2015, when the city was clobbered by a series of historic snowstorms that halted operations and found everyone from maintenance personnel to station agents to KCS managers with shovels in hand, working to clear platforms and tracks to allow service to resume. On-time performance in February 2015 dipped to 33 percent. The winter of 2015 brought a reck- oning for all of Boston’s transportation stakeholders. The result was the establishment of the Fiscal Management Control Board in July 2015 to provide oversight as MBTA and KCS worked to restore and improve the commuter rail system; $100 million was invested in winter resiliency efforts and state-of-good-repair annual spending was increased between FY11- FY15, among other changes brought by the weather-related service failures. “We know that our customers expect and deserve a safe and reliable trip and that is what we strive to provide every day. We believe that the increased focus from the Fiscal Management Control Board and our senior leadership has pushed us to both identify the long-term improvements that need to be made, but THE COMMUTER rail network also to see if there are immediate smaller in Boston sees 10,000 more steps that can improve the service,” said trains operated annually than it did five years ago. MBTA Executive Director of Commut- Mass Transit/Mischa Wanek-Libman er Rail Robert DiAdamo. “This mix of

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short-term improvements along with a longer-term strategy can continue to make commuter rail the option that passengers want to choose to get [to] work, school, doctor’s appointments or just the fun events around the Boston area.” DiAdamo points to recent efforts where MBTA worked with KCS to install dedicated staff to oversee daily operations of specific commuter lines. “We have recently worked with our commuter rail contrac- tor to institute ‘line managers’ for each commuter rail line to ensure that there is a single per- son whose daily focus is on the performance of that specific line. We piloted this initiative and have Keolis Commuter Services now expanded it throughout the THE MBTA network,” said DiAdamo. short- and long-term opportuni- commuter rail fare revenue “leakage” is three David Scorey, KCS general ties in the operating, commercial network has 14 percent, but MBTA’s is four per- manager and CEO, Commuter and financial areas of the Oper- lines that operate cent to eight percent in potential Services, explains that Keolis took ating Agreement and included over 400 miles of commuter rail revenue lost. track. a strategic approach to long-term benchmarking against interna- “We recognize there is an op- improvements to drive a series tional peers; developing contract- portunity for improved fare col- of well thought out deployment ing alternatives and evaluating lection and revenue generation,” plans that covered all aspects of relative merits of each; and recom- added Muller. “Around 90 percent commuter rail. mending short-term actions the By The of commuter rail journeys pass “We invest in leadership, we MBTA could take to improve upon through the three Boston hub invest in facilities and we invest in the existing operating agreement. Numbers stations, so we expect fare gates the human element,” said Scorey. The MBTA used Ernst & Young’s MBTA will significantly reduce ticketless Those investments have re- recommendations as a roadmap travel from the current level. Our sulted in a rise of KCS staffing for developing an agreement that Commuter expectation is that the fare gates levels from under 2,000 employ- better aligns MBTA’s and Keolis’s will recover some, but not all, of ees in 2014 to 2,500 in 2019; the incentives to reduce fare evasion Rail System the estimated lost commuter rail establishment of the Emergency and increase ridership. The agree- revenue because only the three Operations Center (EOC) and ment includes provisions for in- 400 Boston terminal stations will be simulation lab within the Rail- creased marketing and promotion route miles gated. And we expect additional road Operations Facility and a of commuter rail services, as well revenue recovery with the im- concerted effort to implement as enhanced and expanded fare 14 plementation of AFC 2.0, when better digital solutions. collection efforts, including tick- lines there will be tap-in/tap-out fare MBTA and KCS have also es- et verification checks at stations, validators at all stations.” tablished a revenue/risk sharing handheld devices for onboard 141 Scorey says KCS aims to re- contract that, while a more com- ticket sales and electronic fare stations duce the level of fare leakage to mon approach in Europe, was a gates at North Station, South Sta- between two percent and three first for a transit system in the U.S. tion and Back Bay Station, which 35 million percent, but notes the existing “In 2017, Ernst & Young re- will be installed in 2020.” annual passengers ticketing systems, which were viewed the Commuter Rail Op- Muller pointed to a recent largely cash only, did not lend to erating Agreement and made analysis that estimated MBTA 86 high revenue retention. To help recommendations to incentivize loses between $10 million and locomotives combat this, the Revenue Growth ridership and increase revenue,” $20 million in annual commuter agreement required KCS to intro- explained MBTA Assistant Gener- rail revenue through fare evasion 427 duce technology that allows its al Manager for Strategic Initiatives and fare non-collection. The in- coaches conductors to accept credit cards Michael Muller. “The review found ternational industry average for using an app onboard trains.

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Move to digital cars, or the locomotives power- platform ing the trains, can’t operate. The Working toward integration of maintenance management of the mobile ticketing within the MBTA commuter rail fleet, as well as how Commuter Rail app is one part of the maintenance facilities oper- what KCS Vice President Digital ate, have seen major improve- Solutions Ric Salvatici calls an “un- ments during the past five years. precedented” app deployment ef- Ernest Piper, chief mechani- fort. Salvatici says Keolis currently cal officer at KCS, explains that has 24 apps in total consisting of 18 it took a full 18 months to de- operational apps, three administra- liver improved processes on the tive apps and three passenger apps. mechanical side of the commuter The level of app deployment is rail network. One of his first ob- Mass Transit/Mischa Wanek-Libman an example of KCS’s larger digital jectives was to fully implement an transformation. Salvatici explains THE EMERGENCY A third area where digitaliza- asset management data system that utilizing specialty software Operations tion is key is an Internet of Things to build historical data on which Center is has allowed for real-time data activated during project regarding “smart cars.” trends, costs and labor hours input, improvements in digital major events, The project was jointly developed could be planned and based. operations, scheduling and pay- such as extreme by KCS and MBTA and calls for “Prior to Keolis taking over roll, as well as the digitization of weather, and all cars in the commuter rail fleet the contract, work wasn’t planned more than 2,000 paper records. allows a total to be outfitted with sensors and or recorded, and you need good One of the more significant ar- system overview transponders to deliver real-time historical data to plan properly,” from a single eas of impact involving the digital information that includes an ac- said Piper. location. transformation can be found in its curate passenger count by car, The commuter rail fleet con- application to event management information on car temperatures, sists of four classes of locomotives and passenger information. information on door opening and ranging in age between five years In February 2019, the com- closings, vibration and noise lev- and 42 years old and five coach muter rail system moved more els and GPS. Salvatici says the classes ranging from the 42-year- than twice its usual weekday rid- By The systems, which are all rooted in old Pullman cars to the five-year- ership – and the largest single day Numbers passenger comfort, have been old Rotem cars. The Commuter ridership ever – during the New undergoing testing and the proj- Rail Maintenance Facility (CRMF) England Patriots Super Bowl pa- Commuter ect should be mostly complete by can perform full overhauls or re- rade. Part of the move to digital December 2019. builds of coach cars, as well as light includes a centrally located sin- Rail to medium locomotive repairs and gle source of information that can Better fleet partial overhauls. be accessed for events such as the Performance management The range of fleet that requires Patriots parade. The information All the technology being put into maintenance coupled with the can be shared quickly with pas- 91.3 “smart cars” will be useless if the fact that the CRMF services and sengers and helps drive a templat- percent ed response to major events. On-Time Linda Dillon, KCS director of Performance* customer service, uses this information in the Passenger Informa- 99.8 tion Center (PIC) on a daily basis percent and during special events. service delivery* “PIC provides a single source of truth to push information out 21 percent to stations, to dispatch and to so- increase in cial media using customer-friend- ridership ly language,” explained Dillon. since 2012 “It’s a circle of communication.” The same code providing PIC 10,000 information also feeds informa- more train tion to the EOC during extreme services operated Mass Transit/Mischa Wanek-Libman annually since weather events, which helps drive THE PIC provides a single source of truth from which July 2014 decisions based on real-time com- information is provided to passengers, dispatchers and station muter rail information. *Q1 2019 representatives.

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repairs 22 train-sets every day, makes planning and organization a top priority. For this, KCS in- troduced lean management tech- niques and created a technical group to apply engineering and science to maintenance problems. The result of these efforts, based on FY17-18 numbers, is that locomotive availability is at its highest level ever with locomotive production up 26 percent. There were 28 more coaches avail- able per day on average in FY17- 18 than FY14-15; 2018 produced the lowest mechanical accident frequency ratio and the network is

operating 10,000 more scheduled Mass Transit/Mischa Wanek-Libman trains annually compared to 2014. THE CRMF Bernard Tabary, CEO of Keolis Tabary also notes that prac- services and Future International. “We feel it could tices put in place along Boston’s repairs 22 train- “I think Massachusetts has a gem probably do more and we are keen commuter rail network can serve sets every day. with a network that has huge to help there. The network can be as models for others. He points to potential to [further] weave the used far beyond its commuting the success seen with developing social fabric of the state,” said capabilities.” and sharing passenger informa-

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included $538.6 million in invest- thing from maximizing the assets ments to improve the safety and that we have today to reimagining resiliency of the commuter rail a new, electric, high-frequency ser- system and $1 billion for Phase 1 of vice. There will be a robust pro- the South Coast Rail Project, which cess to determine the next steps broke ground on July 3. In May, the and the timing on that initiative FMCB approved a contract option going forward. While we plan for to overhaul an additional 27 F40 the future, in the meantime, we are commuter rail locomotives. The continuing to push the ‘meat and original contract was awarded in potatoes’ improvements that will Keolis Commuter Services 2017 for the overhaul of 10 loco- improve daily service – upgrade FOLLOWING motives to improve equipment re- our fleet of coaches and locomo- THE difficult tion, attitude of staff, specifically liability and to support Rail Vision, tives, modernize our stations, and winter of 2015, within the customer service cen- MBTA’s strategic plan to identify enhance our track and signal in 10 additional ter, and enhanced data manage- cost-effective strategies to better the course of this five-year capital snowfighters ment as examples. support improved mobility and plan. Delivery of the plan will be were purchased “Transportation is a gold mine economic competitiveness of the a challenge, but we have the sup- to help keep the for data and here we have data sci- commuter rail system. port of the general manager and commuter rail network open entists who are able to do data anal- “We are in the midst of a sub- his team and the coordination during inclement ysis that helps us identify trends – stantial planning process called among the agency departments to weather. be it on equipment or ridership or Rail Vision that is designed to look deliver. If there are challenges, we on behaviors,” said Tabary. at the types of investments that we are meeting in multi-disciplinary In June, the commonwealth could make in the future to poten- teams early in the process to iden- approved a five-year Capital Im- tially change the nature of the ser- tify and solve the problems,” said provement Plan for MBTA, which vice that we are providing – every- DiAdamo.

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