CTA Tattler

is that something you reported? can't be good to overshoot platforms... seems like a bad sign and driver could do worse.

Um, was she a new driver being trained or something? Yikes.

There's a maniac operator on the north-bound Red Line leaving the loop at about 4:40PM who drives fast and brakes real hard at each station. About a month ago, the operator jammed the brakes the hardest I've ever experienced at the North/"Clybern" station. People went flying. We overshot the platform after speeding down that long straight-away in the tunnel.

By the way, there is also a great operater at about the same time that comes on the PA "Good evening ladies and gentlemen..." as he announces the Brown and Purple line connections at Fullerton. At first I was suspicious of the bad news that might follow his greeting, but he is always very pleasant and professional.

Please tell me you reported her to the CTA! Sometimes I wish they had seat belts on buses cause some of these bus drivers are crazy. I'd hate to be on road when these speed demons are driving their personal cars.

I always joke that there's some hidden quota of people that they need to knock over per day.

But this is frightening considering the accident this past weekend with the Metra train was about speed.

It's one thing to get to the next stop quickly, but it's something altogether different to get there quickly and safely.

You guys are right: I definitely should have reported the driver, but did not. That was dumb.

Frankly, I was so stunned it didn't even occur to me!

I cracked an ankle bone last year on the train when I went flying on a hard stop.

The CTA takes situations like this very seriously. Opening doors while the train is not fully berth in the station is grounds for immediate suspension. The operator would be relieved of his or her duties on the spot and supervisor personnel would complete the run.

So after the mistake is made, what is done to mitigate the damage? I'm suspecting that the T.O. can't just reverse direction to get back into the station. Would SOP be to then skip the stop, or should the T.O. get out of the cab, and disable the front door so it won't open before opening the rest of the doors?

Warren, I wasn't on the first car, but I can tell you we had to wait about two minutes before the doors opened. And we did not back up. So I figure the driver disabled the first doors that had overshot the platform and warned passengers in the car.

Well I hope somebody on the train reported it. Maybe somebody from the CTA HQ is reading this now :)

I wouldn't worry about L trains going 60mph over the speed limit like Metra did. The CTA uses "Automatic Train Control" on all of their lines (except the Milwaukee/Dearborn subway). ATC sends a signal to the train every so often consisting of useful information like the maximum authorized speed and signal indications. The train considers this information along with the current speed and stops the train if the operator is doing something stupid. In standard CTA practice, when the operator is exceeding the speed limit (usually due to the train going 70mph and then getting close to an interlocking where the speed limit drops to 35; it obviously takes a few seconds to dissipate that energy and slow the train, this is no fault of the operator), he receives a "warning chime" and has five seconds to start slowing the train (and more time for the train to actually slow to the speed limit). If the operator ignores the warning, the train receives a penalty emergency break application and the train has to remain completely stopped for a certain amount of time. This is probably also reported to CTA HQ. There are also certain rules for yellow and red signal indications that the system also takes into account.

Really, the operators aren't needed anymore -- a few simple modifications to the trains and they could drive themselves (like BART has done for 30+ years). You only need a human to operate the door controls (and maybe press the emergency brake if someone jumps in front of the train).

In fact, most recent L accidents could have been prevented if the trains were automatic -- the brown line / purple line collision from a few years ago was from the operators exploiting a weakness in the ATC system. If you stop at a red signal for a certain amount of time, the system will let you continue past at 5mph. This is completely illegal by CTA rules unless authorized by the control center, but it was apparently "standard practice" (by the operators) to ignore this rule during rush hour. An operator ignored this rule and pulled around a sharp curve into Merchandise Mart right behind the train in front. He got distracted by a car accident below and smashed into the train in front of him. Red means stop!

As for the Milwaukee/Dearborn subway, operators can physically drive the trains as fast as they want, except in certain areas where this would be dangerous. (This is most of the area between Jackson and UIC-Halsted going westbound. I've never watched in other areas.) Anyway, the system to prevent them from violating signal indications is a metal "trip" under the track that puts the train into emergency brake mode if the trip is "up" when the train goes by. The trip automatically goes up if the signal near it is red.

To regulate speed, a timer system is used. When the train passes the first timed signal, the timer starts. Signals in front of the train turn red and the trips go up. Then when the timer reaches a certain time, the signal clears and the train can go past. This process repeats for as many signal blocks as necessary. The timer is set such that if the operator runs the train at the speed limit, the trips will clear just in time for the train to go by. If the operator is going too fast, he'll hit a trip and the train will stop. Next time I happen to have my digital camera and get the seat right behind the cab, I'll make a video... the time tolerances are pretty interesting to watch.

Read more about this at:
http://www.nycsubway.org/tech/signals/timesig.html

Overshooting the platform? Happens routinely on the CTA. Part of the wonderful service they offer.