Keolis chief looks to to keep MBTA on track
With the MBTA's commuter rail system back to full service Monday for the first time in weeks, the top private sector official in charge of the railroad is considering a number of options to avoid a repeat of this winter's service failures.
Gerald Francis, who took over as general manager of Keolis Commuter Services mid-February, said officials at his company are looking at potential capital improvements, different approaches toward repairing traction motors and ways to give commuters more advance notice about schedule changes.
Francis, who greeted commuters at North Station Monday morning − the first day of full weekday service since harsh snowstorms started jamming up the trains − was short on specifics about how the rail operator would respond.
"Next couple of months we'll know exactly what we need to do and some of it's ongoing now. We do have projects that we're working on now," said Francis. The commuter rail had operated at less than full service since Feb. 17, according to Keolis.
Francis was unable to say when the commuter rail would determine its capital needs, and could not put a dollar-figure on the costs caused by the relentless snow or say when the commuter rail would provide information to the MBTA for its state-of-good-repair database.
Asked if he could assure customers the sometimes unreliable and diminished service of the past several weeks would not be repeated next winter, Francis hedged. "You're going to give me 120 inches again?" Francis responded. "I can tell you, this was a challenging winter for everybody − from not just the railroad's standpoint. As I've said before, we've learned a lot from this winter and it's my goal to continue to provide service to the customers."
Francis, who stepped into the job after Tom Mulligan resigned, said, "Trust me, I do not want a repeat."
On Monday morning, 94 percent of commuter rail trains were on time and there were no cancellations, according to Keolis. Transportation Secretary Stephanie Pollack and Interim MBTA General Manager Frank DePaola plan to join Francis for a media availability Monday afternoon.
Next winter, the commuter rail will repeat some of the efforts undertaken this year to mitigate the harmful effects of snow on the tracks, beginning with a fleet of working locomotives and using snow-clearing equipment, Francis said in an interview.
He said the commuter rail is looking at installing a different vendor for its traction motors and is working to fulfill customers' requests for notification of work on the tracks weeks in advance and more detailed information about immediate schedule changes.
A former general manager of the Metropolitan Transit Authority in Washington D.C., Francis said Keolis officials are considering whether additional snow-clearing equipment will be needed for next year.
"We've gone through our lessons learned, and we know it's obvious that we have to have equipment running to pick up our passengers," Francis said. He said, "What reduced service, what it was during the winter storms we lost over 20 of our locomotives, which had traction motor problems, and that's what reduced the service."
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