by doepack
Hasn't this line suffered enough?
Another mishap added to Metra's list of problems
Rider injures arm when train leaves earlier than planned
By Virginia Groark
Tribune staff reporter
Published October 13, 2005
Metra is investigating why an engineer pulled out of the LaSalle Street station 11 minutes early Sept. 30 with the train doors open, injuring a passenger who was trying to board the Rock Island line train, an agency spokeswoman said.
Separately, the three engineers who were involved in the 2004 River Grove accident that killed a 10-year-old Schaumburg boy have told Metra they want to come back to work and are scheduled to meet with agency officials Thursday, a Metra spokeswoman said.
In the Rock Island line incident, Train No. 525 began leaving the station at 7:29 p.m. after a button was pushed that tells the engineer it is time to depart, Metra spokeswoman Judy Pardonnet said. The train was scheduled to leave at 7:40 p.m.
Pardonnet said she does not know who pushed the button, located in the train car's doorways. Normally, it's the conductor's job, she said.
The train moved seven car lengths but stopped when the conductor told the engineer that the train was not secure, Pardonnet said. The doors were closed and the train backed up to the platform, she added.
A man who was boarding the train injured his arm and was taken to the hospital, Pardonnet said. Metra would not identify him, and Pardonnet said his injury was not life-threatening.
The engineer, who also was not identified, has worked for Metra for more than five years. He continues to work on the line and finished the run Sept. 30 under the supervision of the Rock Island superintendent, she added.
The incident is the latest in a series of problems that have occurred in recent weeks on the Rock Island line. A train derailed Sept. 17, killing two people and an engineer was suspended after the train he was driving sped through a 20 m.p.h. zone on Sept. 29.
Meanwhile, the three engineers who were involved in the River Grove accident on the Milwaukee District West line have told Metra they want their jobs back, Pardonnet said.
In August, federal arbitrators ordered Metra to reinstate engineers Donald Little, Brian Voss and Ernesto Gavina Jr. because they did not receive a fair disciplinary hearing before they were fired in April 2004 for safety violations.
The men will have to be retrained before they will be allowed to operate a train. They also are entitled to backpay minus any earnings they received in the last 18 months, Pardonnet said.
An attorney for the family of Michael DeLarco, killed in the River Grove accident, could not be reached for comment Wednesday.
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[email protected]
Copyright © 2005, Chicago Tribune
Another mishap added to Metra's list of problems
Rider injures arm when train leaves earlier than planned
By Virginia Groark
Tribune staff reporter
Published October 13, 2005
Metra is investigating why an engineer pulled out of the LaSalle Street station 11 minutes early Sept. 30 with the train doors open, injuring a passenger who was trying to board the Rock Island line train, an agency spokeswoman said.
Separately, the three engineers who were involved in the 2004 River Grove accident that killed a 10-year-old Schaumburg boy have told Metra they want to come back to work and are scheduled to meet with agency officials Thursday, a Metra spokeswoman said.
In the Rock Island line incident, Train No. 525 began leaving the station at 7:29 p.m. after a button was pushed that tells the engineer it is time to depart, Metra spokeswoman Judy Pardonnet said. The train was scheduled to leave at 7:40 p.m.
Pardonnet said she does not know who pushed the button, located in the train car's doorways. Normally, it's the conductor's job, she said.
The train moved seven car lengths but stopped when the conductor told the engineer that the train was not secure, Pardonnet said. The doors were closed and the train backed up to the platform, she added.
A man who was boarding the train injured his arm and was taken to the hospital, Pardonnet said. Metra would not identify him, and Pardonnet said his injury was not life-threatening.
The engineer, who also was not identified, has worked for Metra for more than five years. He continues to work on the line and finished the run Sept. 30 under the supervision of the Rock Island superintendent, she added.
The incident is the latest in a series of problems that have occurred in recent weeks on the Rock Island line. A train derailed Sept. 17, killing two people and an engineer was suspended after the train he was driving sped through a 20 m.p.h. zone on Sept. 29.
Meanwhile, the three engineers who were involved in the River Grove accident on the Milwaukee District West line have told Metra they want their jobs back, Pardonnet said.
In August, federal arbitrators ordered Metra to reinstate engineers Donald Little, Brian Voss and Ernesto Gavina Jr. because they did not receive a fair disciplinary hearing before they were fired in April 2004 for safety violations.
The men will have to be retrained before they will be allowed to operate a train. They also are entitled to backpay minus any earnings they received in the last 18 months, Pardonnet said.
An attorney for the family of Michael DeLarco, killed in the River Grove accident, could not be reached for comment Wednesday.
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[email protected]
Copyright © 2005, Chicago Tribune
--Dorian--
