Service Disruptions

doepack wrote: The Metra website isn't clear on this as it mentions the ongoing delays on Milwaukee West, but: Is River Grove still open to those who don't need to use the shuttle buses, which would be folks coming to, or leaving the station from the south side of the tracks? Or was/is Metra not stopping there at all?

My understanding was they were stopping at River Grove for south side access. An e-mail alert later last night said they had the derailed train out of there so the busing was discontinued although the implication was westbounds are still on Track 2 due to track damage on 1.

doepack wrote:

lstone19 wrote:I was on 2231 (4:50p departure with Franklin Park first), We were the predicted 10 minutes late although it's not clear to me that it was due to the derailment. Instead of going out Track 3, we went out 1 (I think there were parallel inbounds on 2 and 3). At A-2, we stopped for a few minutes, then crossed to 2, across the UP, and then to 3 (I could see an eastbound waiting at Western Ave. with another behind it). Of course, after making the turn at A-5, we then crossed back to 2. Perhaps a delayed eastbound related to the derailment on 3 was the reason for us going out 1 but then why cross us to 3 at A-2 rather than just running us out 1 and crossing us to 2 at A-5 (on second thought, maybe it was so Milw West trains would be where passengers expected them at Western Ave,. except that 2231 is the one train that skips Western Ave.).

Maybe the A2 operator was trying to get 2231 around something else. Do you recall seeing another train (which possibly could have been MDN Deerfield local 2133, leaves two minutes before 2231) on track 1 between A-2 & A-5?

I don't recall seeing anything on 1. Since we were stopped at A-2 for three to four minutes, anything on 1 at Western would have been long gone (we were there long enough and with the conductor checking tickets in my section that I could hear 2233 (4:55 departure) calling on the radio right behind us). Why the move to 3 at A-2 really has me scratching my head. It strikes me as A-2 wanting to get us back on our normal route even though at that point, it would have been faster to just leave us on 1.

What service disruptions occured durring the filming of 'Source Code' on Metra?

Not sure if it's related to a service disruption or not but I saw Metra's switcher #6 pulling engine 129 westbound on the MD-W line tonight (6-1) just west of Galewood around 6:30 pm. Anyone know why?

I passed through the Galewood area on 2235 a little before 5:30pm and there was nothing unusual going on. Also, there have been no MD-W service alerts tonight (I get them via e-mail).

Not a service disruption, rather 129 is the latest unit going to rebuild. Units are brought to Schiller Park, where they are picked up by CN.

At about 9 am BN Line #1242 and Amtrak Carbondale Line #391 collided near Chicago Union Station.
Does anyone have any details on the accident and which lines are blocked?

Andy

From what it looks like, Amtrak Train #391 the 8:15am Saluki was departing and hit inbound BNSF train #1242 (arrival at CUS 8:15am) which was arriving on track 2.

Metra is anticipating delays throughout the afternoon but expects service to be mostly normal for the evening rush.

Since the BNSF train was hit by an Amtrak train, I'm assuming this accident happened near track 16 or higher seeing as that is where the Amtraks normally board. The outbound Saluki #391 is regularly on Track 16 or 18. From what I understand, the inbound Metra train was in the process of making the long jog to the west to get onto track two when the outbound Saluki hit the 4th car of the train. What I don't understand, is how the Saluki would have gotten the green light to proceed with the Metra train on the inbound approach. Aren't the signals and switches tied together to prevent conflicting movements? With all the train moments in and out of Union during rush hours, if the system is faulty, then I'm honestly surprised nothing of this sort has happened before.

This inbound train #1242 is one of the most crowded trains of the morning rush, reaching it's 1500 person capacity after only making stops to receive passengers at Aurora, Route 59, and Naperville (as has already been discussed on this forum in another thread). The fact that only 12 people were hurt is truly a miracle and I credit the crew for reacting quickly and appropriately. Most news report I've read regarding this have said that the communication was amazing and that they were tending to injured passengers just seconds after the crash.

The Amtrak train had 117 passengers and 4 crew who were taken back to Union Station and bussed on to their final destinations.

My thoughts are with the injured and all the passengers of both trains who were extremely shaken up after this. Especially with the woman pregnant with twins who was hurt in that 4th car of the BNSF train.

If anyone finds any of my information to be inaccurate, my apologizes. This is just what I've gathered from the news reports I've seen/read coupled with my personal experience of using Union Station regularly for several years and having a general idea of the operations there.

The incident happened between tracks 2 and 4. BNSF Naperville express trains typically arrive and board from track two during both morning and afternoon rush hours. There is also a concrete wall that borders track 2 to the west with little clearance as you get closer to the main station.

Train 1242 runs with 11 cars, so it must've been near its 1,600 person capacity.

From some of the pictures I have seen, a 7200 or 7300 series coach car had one side shredded and derailed and possibly an 8500 series cab car was also damaged. One thing that I'm not sure of based on published reports is if the trains hit head on or if the inbound Metra ran into the side of the departing Amtrak.

MetraBNSF wrote:The incident happened between tracks 2 and 4.

That's what the Tribune was saying all day but it makes no sense. Amtrak shouldn't be anywhere near those tracks. And just what does "between tracks 2 and 4" mean? Trains are ON tracks, not BETWEEN them.

Perhaps those are not station tracks but mainline tracks. I don't know the track nomenclature on the south side beyond the station tracks so I have no idea if that makes any sense (I normally stick to the north side of CUS)

A later update to the Tribune's article says the Amtrak was departing from track 18. Its not unusual to see Amtrak trains on tracks 2-16 during the midday, but that's worth mentioning. The physical layout of the south throat of CUS is very complex. Its a crazy myriad of switches. Much more so than the north throat.

lstone19 wrote:

MetraBNSF wrote:The incident happened between tracks 2 and 4.

That's what the Tribune was saying all day but it makes no sense. Amtrak shouldn't be anywhere near those tracks. And just what does "between tracks 2 and 4" mean? Trains are ON tracks, not BETWEEN them.

On the tracks is the goal ... fortunately (despite early reports) no train left the tracks in this incident.

Perhaps those are not station tracks but mainline tracks. I don't know the track nomenclature on the south side beyond the station tracks so I have no idea if that makes any sense (I normally stick to the north side of CUS)

Seven numbered tracks extend south of Taylor St. Tracks 1 and 2 become "BNSF" 1 and 2 south of Roosevelt Rd. Tracks 4 and 5 extend south of 18th St. Track 3 branches off to the west (Union Ave B-3) before ending where it joins Track 4 on the west leg of the wye. Track 6 joins Track 5 just south of Roosevelt Rd. Track 7 is the "West Runner" until it ends where it joins Track 5 under 18th St.

As far as the station itself, I'll refer to Bill Vandervoort's page: http://web.me.com/willvdv/chirailfan/tstation.html
At the bottom of the left image the tracks are 1-5. The platforms are at the top.

"Between 2 and 4" is an odd description. I don't believe the reporter would have made it up. Perhaps the Amtrak was supposed to cross between tracks 2 and 4?

Metra cancels 6 UP-W trains.

Canceled were outbound trains Nos. 17 and 13. Also inbound trains Nos. 24, 28, 16 and 10. Other trains were delayed. Union Pacific spokesman Mark Davis said the lack of engineers was not due to labor strife but to a combination of vacations, family leave and illness that left crews shorthanded.

E Runs wrote:Metra cancels 6 UP-W trains.

Canceled were outbound trains Nos. 17 and 13. Also inbound trains Nos. 24, 28, 16 and 10. Other trains were delayed. Union Pacific spokesman Mark Davis said the lack of engineers was not due to labor strife but to a combination of vacations, family leave and illness that left crews shorthanded.

As if this route hasn't suffered enough problems with delays over the last few weeks, of just about every kind. Until today, most of the other delays have due to circumstances beyond the railroad's control, things like angry weather, police activity, dumb drivers, and just plain bad luck. It happens; but what's strange to me is that on UP/W, you can have decent service with perhaps minor delays to a couple of trains at worst, but no significant delays for weeks or even months at a time, then it's followed by a rash of several of these major disruptions that occur within a 10-14 day window. I just hope that the railroad gods find mercy, and please leave this woebegone route alone. Amen.

Speaking of the latest glitch, I've noticed that certain morning rush hour trains have been affected by crew shortages every once in awhile over the last few months or so (and normally it only affects just one train, though Metra typically disguises these delays as "mechanical problems"), but nothing nearly as widespread as this. Still, I wonder when UP knew that there weren't going to be enough crews to staff the trains? Depending on the time frame, could there have been enough time to draw up an "ad hoc" schedule for Monday's 6/13 AM rush, and publish mobile and email alerts if only so more folks could have known about this ahead of time and planned accordingly? I guess we'll never know, but there does seem to be more going on here than meets the eye...

It's probable that no one really "knew" about it until the very morning that it unfolded. Railroad crew management departments tend to operate on a day-by-day basis. It is possible that someone (either from the local mgmt. or the central crew dispatch office) might realize a potential s**tstorm ahead of time. The article mentions that there were supposedly 6 engineers on the extra list. So maybe three people were supposed to be on vacation, and then another four or five marked off at the last minute? You can't stop someone from marking off. You can discipline them for it later, but you can't stop it right when it happens.

http://www.ble-t.org/pr/news/newsflash.asp?id=5140

“This past weekend, there was a signal cutover on UP’s Geneva Subdivision on Saturday and Sunday in connection with a new control point being placed into service just west of Elmhurst. Four of the five extra board engineers who protect the Metra commuter service were required to work on Sunday in connection with this project. Of these, only one had the federally-required off duty time to work this morning.

“It should be noted that, until late this morning, only five engineers were assigned to this extra board, despite consistent complaints by the local BLET representative that ten engineers were required in order to adequately protect the service. Three additional engineers were added to the extra board within the past couple of hours.

“Regarding UP’s claim that this service disruption was the fault of engineers on vacation and being ill, the following should be noted. A total of six engineers are on vacation today. Those engineers on vacation for this entire week were assigned that vacation last year. Engineers on a single-day vacation today were granted permission to be off by the railroad, which makes the sole determination how many single-day vacations may be taken.