by Aaron M. Renn
Chronicling life riding the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA)
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Jon Hilkevitch of the Chicago Tribune wrote in his "Getting Around" column this week that CTA breakdowns might just be the wave of the future. Those of us who actually ride the CTA know that it has been the wave of the past for the last several years. He then goes on to defend CTA employees, whom he seems to hold blameless for all these problems, while pointing to the CTA's maintenance backlog. [ Source: Chicago Tribune 8/24/98 ]
It has not been the best of times for the Red Line. A friend of mine told me about a massive delay he experienced due to a fire on the Red Line. I'm assuming this is the same fire written about in the Getting Around Tribune column this week. A cable shorted out under a car, causing delays of up to two hours. (No reports of injuries).
And Irene L. Replogle (nospam-irene@alumni.caltech.edu) wrote in to tell us this incredulous story:
I boarded the northbound Red Line at Madison at about 5:50 pm on Thursday Aug 13 (as luck would have it, I just missed a train). We picked up more passengers at Washington and Lake and after entering the tunnel, the train stopped. I didn't think much about it at first -- the trains are always stopping and starting (often in a manner that seems to be a deliberate attempt to knock people off their pins). Mucho time passed, we could hear people outside. A CTA type person entered the train through our car, he wouldn't say anything. No announcement was ever made. The lights and A/C were on, and a couple of times the train id sign spun through all of its changes. 3 cops entered the train through our car, helpfully telling us "the train is stopped" when asked what was going on.
After more than 30 minutes, the train started up again, but we were told we would have to get off at Grand and State and the train would run light to Howard. I looked at how the contents of the train filled the platform, and after waffling a bit, decided to head out and pick up a Brown Line train, which is what I should have taken in the first place. I chatted with some other refugees, who said that the 2nd train was unloaded as well.
Once I got on the Brown Line to where it is running next to the red line, I saw a Red Line train with a smattering of people in it!
A part of me can see some logic in it -- if they didn't empty out several trains and shoot some ahead up the line, there is no way for the trains to ever get evenly spaced. It would be like one immense Red Line train, the length of 5 or 6 regular trains. It could well be a saftety hazard, too, as everyone tried to pack into the first train.
I have to wonder, though, what happened to the people on the Grand/State platform? Does the CTA just count on a certain percentage of people giving up after a while? That's what I'm curious about -- once they get backed up, how do they get things flowing. I can see that the method they chose got the trains flowing, but what about the people? Instead of making EVERYONE unload, why not tell the first train that it is going straight to Howard with no stops. They could tell the second train that it is going straight to Belmont with no stops. There would still be a lot of people stuck but at least some people would get to where they're going and the trains would begin to flow again. [ Normally, the motorman simply announces that a particular train is running express to a certain stop, leading to a free for all as those who want to get off earlier scramble to exit the train. I have never been kicked off a train so it can run express - AMR ]
And Bob Soron (nospam-bobsoron@enteract.com) writes to tell us about this gem:
Riding southbound on the Red Line from Belmont today -- I *think* it was run 807, but the train didn't have its regular crew, so there was no announcement. The train left Belmont at about 9:30, though. Aside from the lack of announcement, everything was normal until we reached North/Clybourn. The train paused only briefly and then left the station without opening its doors. At Clark/Division, the train stood for quite a while, and finally people used the red ball to open doors on a number of cars. The doors closed properly and we proceeded on to Chicago and then Grand (where I got off) without incident. But it seemed that the conductor didn't get on at Fullerton and the trainman didn't know it.
The Weekly Breakdown is a small Internet journal devoted to the trials and tribulations of being a regular rider of the Chicago Transit Authority. I would be happy to hear about and include your experiences. Just send mail to breakdown@urbanophile.com.
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