'Dead' train crew delays Chicago commuters

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http://www.utu.org/worksite/detail_news.cfm?ArticleID=30930

'Dead' train crew delays Chicago commuters Thousands of rail commuters on Metra's Southwest Line were delayed--some nearly two hours--Thursday morning (Oct. 5) because a freight train was blocking the tracks and its crew was not allowed to move it, according to the Chicago Tribune.

The incident was the latest in a series of problems that commuters say they have faced on the line serving Chicago's Southwest Side and suburbs.

Six of the Southwest Line's eight inbound trains were blocked by a CSX freight that came to a stop at the Forest Hills crossing, between 179th and 153rd Street stations in Orland Park, according to Metra. It stopped because its crew had exceeded federally mandated work hours, Metra spokeswoman Judy Pardonnet said.

A fresh CSX crew had to be summoned to move the train while about 3,400 Metra commuters waited, Pardonnet said.

"The train should not have been left where it was," she said. "It's certainly not proper protocol, and we expressed our concern to CSX. They said they've made a mistake and would initiate new procedures to see that it doesn't happen again."

One Metra train left the 179th Street station at 5:10 a.m. and didn't arrive at Chicago's Union Station until about 8:08 a.m., Pardonnet said. It was scheduled to arrive at 6:15 a.m
 
Not good...

Even so, the CSX response, or lack thereof speaks volumes. Note how the reporter in the original article could not get a response out of CSX; only the Metra PR person could.

IMO, it is a classic case of bad RR PR. But I've typed in other threads how lousy most RR public relations is these days.
 
If it would have been me sitting on that train, I really would have been ___!

Perhaps the CSX PR person stayed invisible for fear of receiving about 1200 angry e-mails, calls, or letters from Chicago Bound Commuters!
 
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