by Aaron M. Renn
Chronicling life riding the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA)
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Chuck Metalitz wrote in with this rather amusing tale:
Last night at the tail of the rush hour there was a train delay at Merchandise Mart, reportedly due to sick passenger. In order to keep the inner loop clear for Midway trains, the last Evanston express, run 518, (which I was aboard) was re-looped, going from Washington/Wells to Clark/Lake. This is a standard practice when there is such a problem. The train would go around the Loop a second time, after which the congestion at Merchandise Mart would have been cleared up and it would proceed on the normal route, perhaps 15 minutes late.The big failure was what happened next. The operator at Tower 12 (Van Buren/Wabash) apparently did not notice that this was an Evanston train, since the last Evanston train had passed previously. Operator 518 also did not notice that the line-up was wrong, and proceeded south beyond Tower 12 toward Roosevelt. Before entering Roosevelt, the operator realized the problem and stopped the train, thus delaying Midway and 63rd St. southbound trains. Eventually, a supervisor appeared and ordered the operator to go thru the Roosevelt Road station (thus preventing riders from escaping to the subway) and, after more delays, the train reversed direction south of Roosevelt. There was a quick northbound stop at Roosevelt, then an announcement of an express run to Howard. Later, this was changed so there were stops at Merchandise Mart and Belmont. I don't know if any announcement was made to riders at Chicago, Sedgewick, Armitage, Fullerton, Diversey, or Wellington. Eventually we arrived at Howard Street, about 45 minutes later than usual for this run.
I have long contended that capacity could be increased substantially if the tower operators were consistently awake and alert. It wouldn't hurt for the train operators to be likewise. Either could have avoided this problem.
Incidentally, while standing in confusion north of Roosevelt, the operator felt it necessary to activate the automated "waiting for signals" announcement. I guess they don't have one for "we're lost." The passengers generally took the whole event with surprisingly good humor, since it gave them an opportunity to use their cell phones. Perhaps everyone who needs to be on time has already abandoned CTA.
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. The views expressed by contributors are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the opinions of the publisher.
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