Commuter rail service improvement plan

The MBTA is responsible for providing public transportation services in certain areas of the Commonwealth, including commuter rail services as more particularly described in the “Operating Agreement” described below (the “Commuter Rail System”); and

As a result of a comprehensive, multi-phase, open, fair and competitive selection process the Operator was selected to operate the Commuter Rail System and the MBTA and the Operator entered into that Commuter Rail Operating Agreement Contract No. 159-12 dated February 5, 2014, (the “Operating Agreement”); and

In recognition of the need for the Operator’s performance to improve over the results in the first year of the Operating Agreement, the MBTA and the Operator have developed a plan that is intended to produce a better performance by the Operator between the effective date hereof and December 31,2015 and thereby better service for the MBTA’s customers.

The MBTA and the Operator therefore agree as follows:

1. 
   PURPOSE AND SCOPE OF THIS PLAN
   

The following sections of the plan describe specific actions which the Operator will take and the support that the MBTA will provide under the Operating Agreement currently in effect between the MBTA and the Operator. Unless otherwise stated, the benchmarks below are intended to apply to the August – December 2015 period.

Improvement in the service will be measured against the following benchmarks derived from the Operating Agreement:

• 
  Total On Time Performance (OTP) (adjusted per the contract) for the five month period of at least 92%, with no individual month below 90%.
  
• 
  Periodic training of operating personnel.
  
• 
  65 locomotives available for service each weekday.
  
• 
  Meeting seating capacity requirements by division (North/South) as set forth in Schedule 3.3, Appendix A of the Operating Agreement.
  
• 
  The Operator to implement Life Cycle Maintenance without delay and provide MBTA with regular reports and updates on both ongoing and future plans to better utilize existing maintenance facilities, as described in Section 3 below.
  
• 
  The Operator and MBTA to finalize and implement a plan to enhance revenue collection.
  
• 
  The Operator and MBTA to (a) review system-wide train schedules, as described in Section 4 below, and (b) design and implement a more reliable schedule to support an OTP (adjusted per the contract) of at least 92%, with no individual month below 90% on any line. If the Operator and the MBTA find that the schedule change does not suffice to achieve that OTP level on each line, they will analyze the Operator’s performance to identify other causes for the lack of consistent and satisfactory OTP on every line.
  

During the pendency of this plan, performance improvements will be continuously reviewed and evaluated. The MBTA may request modifications to the benchmarks or action items to support improved passenger service. This plan is without prejudice to, and nothing herein is intended to waive, amend, or modify either part’s rights or obligations under the Operating Agreement

1. 
   OTP:
   
   1. 
      Overall:
      

That OTP working group will meet weekly. The Operator’s Quality and Performance Group will provide the OTP working group with a detailed report listing all delays and cancellations during the prior week and analyzing the cause of each. The report will describe trends and identify recurring causes. The members of the working group will review the report and concur with (or dispute) the causes and trends that are presented and will be charged with identifying remedies. Prior to each meeting the members of the group will report back to the Operator’s Contract Compliance Officer and the Operator’s Director of Quality and Performance on remedial steps taken and any obstacles encountered the prior week. The Operator’s Director of Quality and Performance will keep all members of the OTP working group advised of actions taken, actions not yet taken, obstacles encountered and results noted.

2. 
   Peak period:
   

1. 
   set interim target OTPs for the peak period, based on trends observed and the causes identified for peak period delays;
   
2. 
   use existing and new passenger information to track the impact of peak period OTP trends on the customer base;
   
3. 
   meet regularly with the scheduling team and review the draft schedules to identify and remove obstacles to better peak period OTP;
   
4. 
   coordinate with the staff working on passenger information/amenities to improve real time information provided to customers and evaluate heavily used station facilities to determine if on-site improvements would be warranted.
   

3. 
   Process for Priority Review:
   

4. 
   Reports:
   

2. 
   Staffing:
   
   1. 
      Operating personnel:
      

1. 
   New Locomotive Engineers: One class of 11 is currently in training and the successful trainees will join the Operator workforce in October and November 2015. A second class of at least 10 will start training no later than October 15, 2015. Given the lead time (approximately 12 months) required for recruiting and training engineers, the Operator recognizes that it is important to closely monitor staffing levels and to be proactive in hiring and training. The Operator will continue its locomotive engineer hiring and training program calculated to graduate new engineers each year at a level designed to balance attrition and provide sufficient qualified personnel to perform transportation services at Operating Agreement levels.
   
2. 
   New Conductors: The Operator is promoting 5 Assistant Conductors to Conductor in July and another 4 in August. The Operator will continue to promote Assistant Conductors as merit and attrition dictate in order to provide sufficient qualified personnel to perform transportation services at Operating Agreement levels.
   
3. 
   New Assistant Conductors: One class of 18 Assistant Conductors started training May 1 and the graduates started work on June 27, 2015. A second class of 18 Assistant Conductors started training on July 16, 2015 and the graduates will start work no later than September 11, 2015. The Operator will continue its Assistant Conductor hiring and training program calculated to graduate new assistant conductors each year at a level designed to balance attrition and provide sufficient qualified personnel to perform transportation services at Operating Agreement levels.
   
1. 
   All Personnel:
   

3. 
   Operations:
   
   1. 
      OTP impact:
      

2. 
   Programs:
   

1. 
   “Every Second Counts”
   

1. 
   Analyzing and addressing recurring causes, including inspection procedures and staffing shortages
   
2. 
   Institute regular on-platform observation by managers and follow-up critiques of staff ‘s schedule adherence
   
3. 
   Improved distribution of train information through Passenger information systems
   
4. 
   On time departure from originating stations with specific process for crews
   
1. 
   “Joint Performance Improvement Program”
   

1. 
   Weekly meetings with senior management of each of the Operator’s operating departments to review the previous week’s performance
   
2. 
   Close monitoring by the dispatcher when trains are late by 5-7 minutes
   
3. 
   Engineering troubleshooting of critical areas identified by analysis of delays
   
4. 
   Working with the mechanical department to focus on timely delivery of the correct combination of equipment for each trip
   

4. 
   Schedule review, modifications and updates:
   
   1. 
      System-Wide Review:
      

2. 
   Temporary Modifications:
   

3. 
   Further Causes of Unsatisfactory Performance
   

5. 
   Equipment maintenance:
   
   1. 
      Locomotive and Coach Availability:
      

2. 
   Improvement:
   

The Operator has already initiated work process changes designed to better utilize the maintenance facilities provided by the MBTA, and will continue to implement others, including:

1. 
   Developing work specifications for the locomotive truck shop, coach shop and service and inspection facility and reconfiguring work areas as needed to implement those specifications;
   
2. 
   Creating a department dedicated to lessons learned, scheduling and life cycle maintenance;
   
3. 
   Increased utilization of the workforce to reduce the backlog and expediting the work flow of maintenance and repair activities
   
4. 
   A report on the effectiveness of the foregoing programs will be incorporated into the recommendations that the Operator presents on September 30, 2015
   

6. 
   Life Cycle Maintenance:
   
   1. 
      Implementation:
      

7. 
   Winter Resiliency Plan:
   
   1. 
      Lessons Learned
      

1. 
   equipment such as that which the MBTA is providing through the Governor’s Winter Resiliency Initiative.
   
2. 
   anticipatory planning such as the training exercises that the Operator will be conducting in September.
   
3. 
   better coordination among departments, particularly with respect to snow removal and the utilization of equipment and the workforce
   
4. 
   the importance of providing timely and accurate information to the passengers
   
1. 
   Action Plan
   

8. 
   Fare Collection:
   
   1. 
      Creating Benchmarks
      

2. 
   Immediate Improvement
   

9. 
   Interim OTP Cap:
   
   1. 
      OTP Cap Calculation
      

2. 
   Evaluation of Interim OTP Cap
   

10. 
    Reports and Consultation:
    
    1. 
       Senior management meetings
       

2. 
   Reports:
   

3. 
   Continuing Obligations:
   

By:_______________________________

Name and Title:

KEOLIS COMMUTER SERVICS LLC

By:__________________________________