Tri-Rail vows to fix delays and build trust
Tri-Rail officials are vowing to change operations to regain passengers’ trust after a month of crippling delays that saw less than 60 percent of trains run on time.
And after a near perfect performance this weekend with almost all trains on schedule, the new approach seems to be working.
About 6,000 notices were distributed to passengers on trains Monday morning, detailing the steps being taken to improve service. They include:
Trains will depart exactly as scheduled — no more waiting for passengers since that leads to delays all along the route.
All stations during rush hour will feature live announcements — not automated messages — about delays.
“Ambassadors” in Tri-Rail uniforms will be staffed at 10 of the busiest stations at rush hour to answer questions and respond to problems. Soon, someone will be available at all 18 stations.
More staff will oversee daily operations. Tri-Rail’s operations director, for instance, will work in the train’s Hialeah yard instead of the main offices in Pompano Beach to directly oversee contractors maintaining trains.
Tri-Rail will adhere to a stringent maintenance program and by June will incorporate 11 new locomotives into service.
Officials hope to restore confidence after a month of issues ranging from mechanical breakdowns to accidents to dispatching challenges.
“We are committed to our passengers and are doing everything we can to earn your trust. It is our pledge to you that we will regain our on-time performance and deliver the best possible train service,” said Tri-Rail executive director Jack Stephens.
By the end of last week, some progress seemed to have been made. On Thursday, 74 percent of trains were on time. That’s well below the 90 percent or above TriRail aims for but above the 58 percent average for the first three weeks of the month.
On Friday, 80 percent arrived on time from one end of the 72-mile line to the other, with nearly 71 percent leaving individual stations on time. On Saturday and Sunday, all trains arrived on time from one end of the line to the other, with at least 90 percent leaving individual stations on time.
“We’re not where we want to be but it’s getting better,” said spokeswoman Bonnie Arnold.
Many passengers said train delays, while unacceptable, would be easier to deal with if Tri-Rail provided more timely and accurate information about what’s holding up trains.
“The paging system either does not work, does not announce anything, or worse, announces the wrong thing,” said Alain Pellen, who has been riding Tri-Rail from Boca Raton to Mangonia Park north of West Palm Beach since 2008.
“Things have been worse and worse. Someone needs to be held responsible,” said Adam Weinstein, of Tamarac, who rides from Cypress Creek to Hialeah Market. “People are late for work. Missing flights. And yet we sit at a station with only a broken message board telling us the same message over and over.”
Tri-Rail is spending $5 million on new message boards with up-to-the-minute visual and audio announcements as well as wireless Internet. But they won’t be installed until 2016.
Most of the equipment that provides information to passengers today is outdated and failing. The manufacturer is no longer in business and maintaining the software is increasingly difficult.