What are CSX Heat Orders?

As we are in a heat wave with temperatures over 90 and hitting 100 degrees, two of MARC's lines are hit with "heat restrictions". Why the third doesn't is a matter of track ownership. Here is the "official" explanation:

What are Heat Orders?

Thursday, March 15, 2012 - 11:51am

Passengers on the Brunswick and Camden Lines often see messages during the spring and summer informing them that there are “heat orders” in effect. CSX Transportation, the owner of the Brunswick and Camden Lines, reduces the maximum speed of passenger trains by 20mph (but not under 40mph) under one or both of the following conditions:

• Consistent ambient temperatures of 85 degrees or greater
• A 25 degree swing in temperatures either warmer or colder in a 24-hour period.

Criteria for heat orders are more stringently implemented when trackwork has recently taken place. Newly-installed rail and ties are more likely to shift in high heat and fluctuating temperature conditions. An example of a sunkink can be viewed by clicking here.

Typically, heat orders cause delays of 5-15 minutes. The less stops that a train make and thus the more time a train spends operating a maximum authorized speed (such as Brunswick Line train 877 or Camden Line train 852), the greater the impact the heat orders will have on maintaining schedules.

In addition, CSX dispatches track inspectors to check the rails during these conditions. This requires one of two tracks to be out of service and may cause additional delays. Our colleagues at the Virginia Railway Express have written an extensive explanation of heat orders, which can be found on their website.

Heat orders do not take effect on the Penn Line until temperatures reach 95 or 100 degrees, and these restrictions relate primarily to the overhead electric wires. Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor is a heavily-engineered, high speed railroad and much less prone to sun kinks because there is much more frequent, high-speed service, which discourages sun kinks from forming. Also, the Camden and Brunswick Lines have many more curves than the Penn Line does, limiting engineers’ ability to see track defects. It is important to note that this does not mean that CSX tracks are unsafe—CSX maintains its tracks in compliance with all Federal Railroad Administration regulations.

Source: http://mta.maryland.gov/advisories/what-are-heat-orders[06/21/12 11:15:54 AM]

Brunswick Line July 15 Schedule Image

Specific information on changes between Version 2 and the final schedule change:
A.M. Service

• The first departures in the morning from Brunswick and Frederick will be 10 minutes earlier, to ensure that customers can arrive in Washington by 6:30am and 6:45am, respectively. This was requested by many passengers.
• At the request of passengers and the Mayor and Town Council of Kensington, the proposed 6:25 a.m. stop at Kensington on Train 890 will be dropped and a later stop added to Train 876 at 7:42 a.m. This will also help Frederick Branch riders as this train will make one less stop.
• The proposed 6:00 a.m. departure from Martinsburg will be shifted to 5:00 a.m., at the request of West Virginia passengers.

P.M. Service

• The 4:25 p.m. Washington departure of Train 875 will be maintained. Draft two had proposed a 4:15 p.m. departure, which was disruptive to customers’ schedules.
• The 5:15 p.m. Washington departure of Train 893 will be maintained. Draft two had proposed a 5:35 p.m. departure; customers complained that this added a significant amount of time to their commute.
• Train 881, the proposed 6:15 p.m. departure to Martinsburg, will depart at 6:20 p.m. to provide more even spacing of service to West Virginia.
• Train 895 will depart Washington at 6:40pm to provide adequate spacing between it and train 881 and also at the request of passengers who make connections from the Camden and Penn Lines.
• Running time between Monocacy and Frederick is standardized for all trains at 10 minutes

Source: http://mta.maryland.gov/advisories/marc-brunswick-line-schedule-change-july-16

MARC Brunswick Line "Final" Schedule Comparison

Hi folks, this is hot off the press. I received a copy of the schedule MARC plans to activate on July 16, 2012.

They made some changes from the Second Draft meaning you need to review the third version row by row and column by column. http://tinyurl.com/bruns-july12

The personnel who worked on these changes are John Hovatter and Dave Johnson pictured here below. You may have spoken with them at the Meet the Management sessions or seen them at Union Station in DC.

John Hovatter & Dave Johnson at December Gaithersbury City Council Meeting

Here is the Eastbound Schedule released to the Advisory Committee Members:

Here is the Westbound Schedule released to the Advisory Committee Members:

Feel free to comment on this blog and to those at MARC as well as your local government officials.

Director, MARC Train (John Hovatter): jhovatter1@mta.maryland.gov

MARC Trainmaster (David R. Johnson): djohnson25@mta.maryland.gov

MTA Customer Service Superintendent (Donna Walsh): dwalsh@mta.maryland.gov