Railroad Forums 

Discussion related to commuter rail and rapid transit operations in the Chicago area including the South Shore Line, Metra Rail, and Chicago Transit Authority.

Moderators: metraRI, JamesT4

 #1261412  by Backshophoss
 
She was on the extra board according to WBBM stream at the time,and noted in some of the print stories.
CTA may catch some "flack" if she was called after a barely legal rest period.
 #1261420  by justalurker66
 
Backshophoss wrote:There MUST be some form of HOS for CTA Train Operators.
Whatever they have worked out in their union contracts. Not a Federal rule based on what I understand. The union contracts are designed around getting people enough hours and shifts to make a living wage while providing CTA enough people to run the train service.
 #1261431  by philipmartin
 
She dozed off while running a train once before, got it stopped half way past a station. Also, she was late for work, account oversleeping once- who hasn't done that. It's in the report, believe it or not.
Living about 900 miles east of Chicago, I don't know if these trains have conductors. One might have pulled the emergency cord, if he was fast.
I don't see how the company could be faulted if she got the time off required by law, (if the hours of service law applies here.)
 #1261550  by JLJ061
 
philipmartin wrote:She dozed off while running a train once before, got it stopped half way past a station. Also, she was late for work, account oversleeping once- who hasn't done that. It's in the report, believe it or not.
Living about 900 miles east of Chicago, I don't know if these trains have conductors. One might have pulled the emergency cord, if he was fast.
I don't see how the company could be faulted if she got the time off required by law, (if the hours of service law applies here.)
No conductors anymore, just the operator at the head end.
 #1261640  by JamesT4
 
Mod Note: Merged airport wreck video with Breaking: Blue line cars at ORD since it is talking about the same subject, & renaming the topic O'Hare Blue Line derailment.
 #1261870  by Gilbert B Norman
 
Milwaukee_F40C wrote:If there wasn't something like hours of service before, there may be soon with the FTA's new powers.
Mr. MILW F40, first a quickie correction, I would think the Federal agancy you address is the FRA vice FTA.

But more to the substance of your posting, the NTSB of course has jurisdiction in the investigation, and I don't think too many dispute 'ther're the best in the business' (off topic I'd wager if the air safety division of the NTSB had jurisdiction 'from the get go' Malaysian 370 would have been found by now); I somehow think that there will be a recommendation of Hours of Service for mass transit employees. I defer to others if those employees could be encompassed by the Federal law, or, considering there are not too many interstate mass transit agencies out there, would State-level legislation need to be enacted.
 #1261902  by Milwaukee_F40C
 
Nope. The Federal Transit Administration is getting new regulatory powers (and a budget) over non-FRA regulated rail transit and any other transit that was previously not regulated at the federal level. At this point they are probably still hiring "experts" and developing policy. So far it looks like they have been working on drug and alcohol regulation for transit workers. If the NTSB recommends hours of service that leaves the need for an agency with powers to implement it, which is now apparently the FTA. Individual states or transit operators could have implemented their own policies, of course that could end up conflicting with union contracts and budget concerns. The feds can override all that. Also, whether or not they are "interstate" doesn't really matter, since pretty much every transit agency is already getting "interstate" federal money from time to time.

http://transit-safety.volpe.dot.gov/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

An article:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/co ... 05326.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
 #1261917  by Gilbert B Norman
 
All I can say for myself is live and learn, Mr. MILW F-40C, as in the past, the FTA has simply been 'the banker' handing out Federal funds to the various mass transit agencies for capital projects.

I thought it was a typo; after all what letter on your keyboard is located immediately next to 'R?.
Last edited by Gilbert B Norman on Sat Apr 05, 2014 5:51 am, edited 1 time in total.
 #1262011  by justalurker66
 
From CNN:
The early morning incident at one of the nation's busiest airports was the operator's second serious safety violation, according to Chicago Transit Authority spokeswoman Tammy Chase. That said, Chase said the woman was primarily terminated because of the severity of that crash, which injured 32 people.

The development came the same day the transit authority announced several policy changes aimed at enhancing safety.

They include requirements that train operators not be working at least one day in a seven-day period and must have at least 10 hours off between shifts (up from the previous 8-hour mandate). Train operators also can't work more than 12 hours (including layover times and non-driving duties) in a 14-hour period.

Fresh restrictions were also placed on those in their first year of operating trains: They can't do so more than 32 hours a week, though these employees can "work other rail-related duties besides operating trains in their other work hours," the transit authority said in its statement Friday.

http://www.cnn.com/2014/04/04/us/chicag ... ?hpt=hp_t3" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
 #1262018  by Gilbert B Norman
 
This is hardly the last regarding Ms. Brittney.

This is a high profile dismissal - even though quite just. However in all likelihood, the ATU will progress the case through appeal first 'on the property', then off to an arbitration panel.

Remember, we have the Landrum-Griffin Act to consider. This was the last of 'the Trilogy' regarding labor relations and was enacted during the Eisenhower administration. While many of its provisions relate to union abuses of power, also provided within is 'failure to represent' under which if an employee feels aggrieved by their Union, that employee can seek legal remedies against that organization.

No wonder, while I was in railroad Labor Relations, I well remember the remark once made to me by a General Chairman '90% of my grief comes from 10% of my members'.
 #1262037  by Pacific 2-3-1
 
Murphy's Law is not likely to be repealed anytime soon.

Even it causes backups, I think they should take out the center track at O'Hare and just have two tracks and one very wide platform.