Another schedule glitch...

Happened to be in Des Plaines today, and I had planned on catching 650 back downtown, the new local train originating from Des Plaines. The schedule doesn't currently indicate that this train loads from the center platform, but I had a feeling it did, due to the current switch configurations at Deval crossing, about 1/2 mi N of the station, where outbound train 623 turns to become 650. Sure enough, as the train made its way down the center track toward the station, there were several confused passengers making a mad dash down the far side platform trying to cross over in time in order to make the train. Fortunately, the conductor was quite helpful in terms of making certain everybody got on.

I've emailed Metra about this latest glitch in the new UP-NW schedules, so hopefully, the additional correction of marking 650 as a center track train will appear on the reprinted schedules along with the reinstatement of 622's Barrington stop as well. It would be ideal if 623 could operate on the center track, then turn to 650 upon arriving Des Plaines, and simply wait in the station until departure, but that would tie up all the grade crossings in the area, which is why the current move at Deval is needed. Nevertheless, it is now obvious that the first version of these new schedules weren't planned very well, and now they have the added expense of printing these schedules a THIRD time. I can only wonder what will happen when the schedules for the expanded services of the SWS, NCS, and UP-W are drawn up, but one thing is certain: If Metra's planning department uses the same disorganized and haphazard approach to the design and planning of these schedules as they have for the UP-NW, there will be even more glitches coming to a schedule near you.

Metra: Ready, Fire, Aim!

Gotta love it though...

Tadman wrote:Metra: Ready, Fire, Aim!

Gotta love it though...

Well, I'm pretty sure the people of Barrington haven't been loving it lately, but at least they'll get their express train back starting on Monday...

Honestly, though, I don't think Metra will bother to correct the schedules. If a train is running Center Track at West Chicago, UP Commuter Control is supposed to make announcements. Now whether that happens I don't know; I honestly think that schedules are a lo priority at Metra.

Sorry, but I'm not buying that. Trains running center track on UP-W between Elmhurst and West Chicago represents a deviation from normal practice, and passengers are normally informed by commuter control ahead of time, as they should be. But that's not the issue here. It is simply a matter of being uniform and consistent.

Physical plant limitations (i.e, lack of sufficient crossovers other than at Deval and Mayfair), as well as platform configuration at stations in the triple track section between Barrington and Clybourn, were the main factors that led CNW to begin listing the trains using the center track on its commuter schedules. This practice still continues today, and it plays a vital role in mitigating possible confusion among passengers boarding at these stations. So then, there's no reason why local train 650 from Desplaines shouldn't be listed since it will be normally scheduled to use the center track. And since there's more than one change to be made, Metra should reprint the schedules accordingly, but whether or not they actually will is debatable...

Is the flipback still running down the center on the return trip to downtown?

Yes it is... rode on it today (10/21). I noticed that on the center platform at Des Plaines, Metra has yet to update the schedules, which still show pre-Pingree Road service, even though service has been in place to that station for about six weeks now. However, in lieu of printing updated schedules to correct the minor error with train 650, Metra seems to have decided to address this by having commuter control make the announcements of the center track assignment for this train between Des Plaines and Jefferson Park several minutes before the train's scheduled arrival at these and other intermediate stations, so at least there's some notification now, where none existed before.

I think they forgot that Seeger interlocking which would allow the train to cross all the way to the inbound track is only a mile further north of Deval...

That's true, but that would mean two moves through the diamonds, which increases the chances of crossing freight traffic on the other two lines delaying 650's trip back downtown. The current arrangement allows for a more efficient use of the interlocking...

How do they do it now then? I was under the impression they had to pull north of the southward absolute signals just north[west] of the Deval plant on main 1 so the operator could line the crossover from main 1 to 2. Then after changing ends they come back through the interlocking going south now (the second time), using that crossover to get to the center track. I figure if they went to Seeger and crossed over they would go through Deval the same number of times as what they do now. Now you've got me curious.

Ok, I just checked my CORA guide, and your assessment is actually the most accurate one. Somehow, I was under the mistaken impression that the crossover from MT 1 to MT 2 was south (timetable east) of the crossings, when it is actually between the two sets of diamonds. So yes, the train does make two trips through the plant; going through the crossings northbound, then stopping just past the southbound absolute signal on the west (north) side of the plant as you described. After the CY dispatcher (remote from Clybourn tower) lines the route for the trip back downtown, the train then crosses from MT 1 to MT 2 on its second pass through the interlocking.

With this in mind, I suppose a stop could have been added at Cumberland, and the train turned back to MT 3 at Seeger, so I have no idea why Des Plaines was chosen as the terminal instead...

I looked at the schedules on Metra's website. The way they did it is actually pretty slick. They "thought outside the box" in regards to the notion that express trains run on the center and locals on the outside tracks. They have the local running on the center in BOTH directions and 625 running on track 1. That way, they did make "efficent use of the interlocking" as you put it since the local never has to cross Deval at all since its already on the center. They do have the notation that the local stops on the center track in both directions online.

Metra? Thinking "outside the box?" Don't be silly!