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

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 #985445  by lstone19
 
At Roselle this morning, I just missed a 20 minute late 2214. 2216 then came through with its normal ten cars operating on Track 2 west of Roselle West (from reports, only one track is open through Spaulding which I assume is Track 2). Then things got ugly. 2203 came through outbound and had to wait at Roselle West. Then came the deadhead with the equipment for 2220 pulling up behind 2203. And there things sat. Eventually something came east on Track 1, crossed over, and went through Roselle without stopping. I assume this was 2218 but it had eight cars rather than its normal four cars. And why was it coming east on Track 1? 2218 should have been the last out of Elgin before they shut down Spaulding for more work (OTOH, I'm pretty sure there was at least one extra train out there this morning as mentioned above).
So with whatever that was through, 2203 headed west, the equipment for 2220 did its turn, and we were finally off arriving about 40 late.
Now I know Metra was struggling to keep service going but here is where it seemed to be "we have our plan and are sticking to it". With Roselle West plugged, why not turn 2220's equipment in the station and head back on Track 1. 2205, the next westbound, was so late that we had plenty of time to make it back to B-17 (Bensenville), the next interlocked crossover (although there is hand-throw at Itasca as well). We could have saved 20 minutes right there. The conductor even told me they asked about doing that and were turned down.
 #1029443  by metraRI
 
Interesting problem plaguing several districts tonight:

Rock Island District
Inbound Train #532 to Arrive Chicago at 11:48pm 26 Minutes Late Train #532 to arrive Chicago at 11:48pm is on the move and is operating 26 minutes behind schedule due to earlier electrical problems.

SouthWest Service
Inbound and Outbound Trains Currently Stopped: Extensive Delays
All inbound and outbound trains are currently not operating due to electrical system problems. These delays may be extensive with train delays of up to 60-90 minutes. We will provide updated information as it is available. Train #842 to arrive Chicago at 10:50pm is stopped near Ashburn.

Metra Electric District
The following trains will be delayed due to electrical problems: #151 to depart Chicago at 11:20pm to arrive University Park at 12:30am; #248 departs Blue Island at 10:43pm and arrive 115th at 10:56pm; #349 to depart 63rd at 10:39pm and arrive 93rd at 10:58pm; #348 departs 93rd at 11:09pm and arrive 63rd at 11:27pm; @249 departs 115th at 11:11pm and arrive Blue Island at 11:25pm; #150 departs University Park at 11:40pm and arrive Chicago at 12:47am; #250 to depart Blue Island at 11:43pm and arrive 115th at 11:56pm; #351 departs 63rd at 11:39pm and arrive 93rd at 11:58pm; #350 departs 93rd at 12:09am and arrives 63rd at 12:27am; #251 departs 115th at 12:11am and arrives Blue Island at 12:25am; #153 departs Chicago at 12:50am and arrives University Park at 2:00am; and #353 to depart 63rd at 1:07am and arrives 93rd at 1:26am. We will provide updated information as it is available.

Must be a computer outage of sorts causing delays across districts.
 #1029739  by lstone19
 
Regarding the above, MILW-W was also affected given the e-mail and text alerts I found this morning. Since I believe B-12 (Franklin Park) is controlled from the main Metra center, that fits with the other problem lines.

Tonight, the MILW-N and NCS were messed up. Sounds like a freight of some sort (CN?) was disabled on the MILW-N/CN diamond at Prairie Crossing. At CUS, I found the NCS 4:58pm and MILW-N 5:25pm cancelled. Also, my MILW-W 5:05pm, which is a turn from a North train, was using a four-car set stolen from somewhere instead of its normal six-car. I hope they get the equipment straightened out for morning although it shouldn't be too bad if they don't. 2235, the 5:05pm, normally becomes 2208 in the morning which on the couple of occasions I have ridden it did not come close to filling all six cars. But it then deadheads back out to become 2224 and I have no idea what it's like.
 #1054720  by lstone19
 
Only a minor inconvenience but tonight at CUS-N, the 5:08 Hiawatha was in the middle of Metra territory on Track 9 while the 4:55 MD-W train was in Amtrak territory on Track 17. Lots of other minor delays to various Metra trains.
 #1054981  by doepack
 
Did you notice a delayed #8 arriving at CUS right at the peak of the evening rush? I've seen that cause some impromptu track changes at times, it can throw things off a bit...
 #1055094  by lstone19
 
doepack wrote:Did you notice a delayed #8 arriving at CUS right at the peak of the evening rush? I've seen that cause some impromptu track changes at times, it can throw things off a bit...
I see 8 arrive during rush hour a lot but it doesn't normally cause a problem. Amtrak has both 17 and 19. Normally 8 arrives on 19 with the Hiawatha on 17 (Heritage run-throughs use 21). If 8 is too long for 19, then it uses 17 and the Hiawatha uses 19.

In Friday's case, both the Metra train (equip. for 2233) and the Hiawatha arrive about the same time (Hiawatha first I think). For whatever reason, he couldn't get to 17 so they stuck him on 9. Lots of late equipment coming from Western Ave.. The equipment for the 4:58 NCS didn't arrive until 4:59. 5:01 NCS pulled on time (when I'm on 2235 on 3, the 5:01 NCS is right next to me on 5), then the 4:58 (presumably passing the 5:01 somewhere between A-5 and B-12), then my 5:05. Equipment for 2237 (the 10-car) was just arriving - normally in about 10 minutes earlier). We had to sit around Washington St. for the 4:58 to get out of our way. 5:08 Hiawatha went on-time passing us while we sat at Washington (normally passes us between A-2 and A-5).
 #1060800  by metraRI
 
This morning 421 died out in Grayslake on #2106. HC's 3 car set ended up being used on NCS #'s 101 & 112, appears the normal NCS 4 car set was used in place of the failed equipment.
 #1066221  by ohioriverrailway
 
Not a good day on the South Shore. Some kind of electrical problem, according to early reports.

The following trains were late on Tuesday July 24

2012:

Eastbound:

Train 205 108 minutes

Westbound:

Train 102: 7 minutes

Train 110: 83 minutes

Train 112: 54 minutes

Train 212: 58 minutes

Train 12 was annulled from East Chicago to Millennium station passengers were transferred to Train 112 or Train 212

Train 116: 84 minutes

Train 216: 33 minutes

Updated at: 07/24/2012 02:39 PM
 #1066232  by CHTT1
 
Storms moved through the Chicago area during the morning rush hour. Radio traffic reports said a wire was down in Hammond. Apparently just on one track, since Chicago bound trains moved through on a delayed basis while eastbound trains were canceled. Every back in order by 10 a.m.
 #1066246  by lstone19
 
Problems outside CUS-N this afternoon affecting MD and NCS trains. While my train departed on-time and then took about a 30 second delay to get though the terminal throat, rather than coming out main track 3 as normal, we were crossed to 2, then back to 3 at the Canal Street crossovers.
 #1066250  by justalurker66
 
The earlier reports from NICTD's website this morning:

At this time trains are delayed indefinitely due to a weather related power outage between East Chicago and Hegewisch stations. Passengers should be at departing stations at scheduled departure time in case delays are shorter than expected.
Updated at: 07/24/2012 07:23 AM

At this time trains are delayed indefinitely due to a weather related power outage between East Chicago and Hegewisch stations. Crews have been dispatched to the area. We will update this message once we know the extent of the problem.
Updated at: 07/24/2012 07:29 AM

At this time trains are delayed indefinitely due to a weather related power outage between East Chicago and Hegewisch stations. We have overhead wire damage in the vicinity of Calumet Ave. in Hammond. We will update this message once service resumes. Metra is accepting NICTD tickets during this temporary outage.
Updated at: 07/24/2012 07:45 AM

At this time trains are delayed indefinitely due to a weather related power outage between East Chicago and Hegewisch stations. We have overhead wire damage in the vicinity of Calumet Ave. in Hammond. A NIPSCO static wire fell on to our Track 1 overhead wire damaging our circuit causing this disruption. We are attempting to restore service to Track 2 as quickly as possible. We will update this message once service resumes. Metra is accepting NICTD tickets during this temporary outage.
Updated at: 07/24/2012 08:09 AM

Westbound train service has resumed to Chicago with Train 110 from East Chicago. We will post a complete listing of train delays later this morning.
Updated at: 07/24/2012 08:21 AM


So it was everything out until they managed to reopen Track 2. And then recovery trying to get people to work.
 #1067761  by Tadman
 
Heads-up, commuters on BNSF and SWS - I drove by CUS tonight on some errands, and the old post office appears to be on fire. That may or may not affect your ride in tomorrow morning (Monday 7-30).
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