I saw some disturbing things at the Brown line Kedzie station this morning

[ryanbytes]

The first was that a bus stopped on the tracks and had a gate come down on top of him. He stopped but didn't give any information to the CTA employee at the station before he tried to leave. I got the bus number and passed it along. I hope the driver gets the discipline and retraining he needs.

The second thing was three northbound trains stopped by the emergency brake trip because the signals weren't a steady green. Since the gates weren't functioning the system never set the signal to a proceed indication. It seemed like the train operators were on autopilot which is a little frightening. If they were assuming the signal would be a steady green when they approached and maintained that assumption all the way until they system had to stop them I think something is very wrong.

The final thing was almost a repeat of the first. A bus stopped on the crossing with enough of the bus in the crossing to be hit by the gate if the gate had been repaired. The operator of the southbound train had to inch along as the left the station because they weren't sure if they would clear the bus.

I do want to give praise to the signal maintainers for the quick repair of the gate. They were there very fast and worked their butts off to get the gate repaired. I also want to say that the CTA employee at the station rocked. She took control of the situation and kept things running as smoothly as possible. She's an asset to the CTA, I wish other employees were as exceptional as her.

[sw4400]

I do want to give praise to the signal maintainers for the quick repair of the gate. They were there very fast and worked their butts off to get the gate repaired. I also want to say that the CTA employee at the station rocked. She took control of the situation and kept things running as smoothly as possible. She's an asset to the CTA, I wish other employees were as exceptional as her.

I'm suprised nothing was mentioned about this in the news, or at the very least, a CTA press release.

The first was that a bus stopped on the tracks and had a gate come down on top of him. He stopped but didn't give any information to the CTA employee at the station before he tried to leave. I got the bus number and passed it along. I hope the driver gets the discipline and retraining he needs.

Not sure if this was a CTA Bus Operator, School Bus or Coach Operator. But regardless, whichever should've been more aware of procedures for Railroad Crossings.

The second thing was three northbound trains stopped by the emergency brake trip because the signals weren't a steady green. Since the gates weren't functioning the system never set the signal to a proceed indication. It seemed like the train operators were on autopilot which is a little frightening. If they were assuming the signal would be a steady green when they approached and maintained that assumption all the way until they system had to stop them I think something is very wrong.

Lack of info from CTA here... what caused the malfunction? And if the gates were not working, couldn't the CTA have flagmen on-site to direct traffic, because in this city, nobody wants to wait for anything, even a quick two minute train. I'm guessing the Rail Operators are supposed to proceed out and quickly stop at the beginning of the crossing in the case of a flashing green, in case some yo-yo tries to play "Beat The Train".

The final thing was almost a repeat of the first. A bus stopped on the crossing with enough of the bus in the crossing to be hit by the gate if the gate had been repaired. The operator of the southbound train had to inch along as the left the station because they weren't sure if they would clear the bus.

Again, in the event of railroad crossings, buses and trucks are supposed to come to a complete stop and listen and look(if possible) before proceeding. If this was a School Bus or Coach Operator, that company needs to be called to have the Operator disciplined and re-trained. If it was a CTA Bus Operator, then what the hell is he/she thinking???

[ryanbytes]

The bus that was hit by the gate was a CTA bus. I should have been more clear on that point.

[Busjack]

sw made me look, and the Vehicle Code division on Special Stops makes it quite clear that any vehicle must stop at least 15 feet from the tracks when the signal is flashing (625 ILCS 5/11‑1201) and, in the case of a second division vehicle (i.e. one having the capacity to carry more than 10 passengers (625 ILCS 5/1‑146)) carrying passengers for hire, must stop and listen and look for a train (625 ILCS 5/11‑1202). I don't see the old saw about a bus driver having to open the door at the crossing, but at least they have to stop. So, sw is correct that in the instances mentioned, the CTA bus drivers were violating the law.

I thought that the scary thing you were going to mention was that a felon convicted for lying to a federal agent lives a couple of blocks from there. :lol:

[sw4400]

Somebody has some explaining to do!!! Do you know which garage this bus was from?(Kedzie doesn't have service around the Brown Line stop) Unless you called HQ directly, calling the wrong bus garage supervisor may just get the whole incident swept under the rug.

[ryanbytes]

It was a North Park bus that was not in service. A lot of buses returning to the garage from rush hour runs drive up Kedzie.

[sw4400]

I thought that the scary thing you were going to mention was that a felon convicted for lying to a federal agent lives a couple of blocks from there.

You know what's scarier than that... the clown is free and in New York proclaiming innocence!!! But, I won't get into it on this forum, because I could write several paragraphs on how much I hate Blago. To sum it up... you don't want me on your jury, Blago!!! I'll make sure you rot in hell/prison!!!

[Railwaymodeler]

In a similar vein, two Pace North Division drivers got in trouble for gates coming down while crossing the tracks.

There is a crossing on the 572 route, where the tracks are at about a 45 degree angle to the road, and there are buildings and trees/natural growth that blocks a proper view of the line. Even worse is when one has a bus with a wraparound over all the passenger windows. Both drivers got in trouble at this crossing.

One driver hit the brakes and stopped short of the gate coming down, the other gunned it and cleared the crossing. Both were given writeups.

What bothered me, is that they were both told 'well, if you had waited a few more seconds... this could have been avoided.'

With that logic, you're waiting all day long!

I am not familiar with this CTA crossing - were there any obstructions to visibility?

[Busjack]

One driver hit the brakes and stopped short of the gate coming down, the other gunned it and cleared the crossing. Both were given writeups.

From what I noted above about second division vehicles having to stop 15 feet from the track in any event, not just when the flashers appear, it sounds like both drivers violated that.

[sw4400]

Those CTA Bus Operators better thank their lucky stars that something like this didn't happen.

[Busjack]

Those CTA Bus Operators better thank their lucky stars that something like this didn't happen.

Of course, the law exempts streetcar tracks. Supposedly, the Houston system has a lot of that. Someone also noted in the comments, and the video seems to confirm, that the LRV went through a couple of red lights.

[busfan2847]

Of course, the law exempts streetcar tracks. Supposedly, the Houston system has a lot of that. Someone also noted in the comments, and the video seems to confirm, that the LRV went through a couple of red lights.

The traffic lights you can see from this video are for road traffic only, the LRV has its own special lights which are between the tracks I think in Houston, typicaly a vertical white bar for proceed and a horizontal white bar for stop is used for LRV sysutems when sharing track with wheeled vehicles. This gaurantees that the LRV signals cannot be confused for the regular traffic signals by car drivers etc. In this case it was determnined the bus driver went through a red light in front of the LRV which did have the right of way and he was suspended.

See http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=news/local&id=7267671 for more video from other cameras (around 1:07 into the video I believe you can see the LRV signal, however it cuts away to a different view before I can be sure.)

[artthouwill]

The other side of the Houston rail vs bus.

But according to this news story, the driver of the bus was male. Go figure.

[sw4400]

I don't see the old saw about a bus driver having to open the door at the crossing

I think they're supposed to. My Father, a school bus mechanic, driver and safety inspector for 30+ years, has said that when you approach the crossings, you are to stop the bus and open the door. More on this point, when I was on a South Harlem Ave. PACE bus some time back(route 3xx), we were around Harlem and thirty-something street when we encountered a three-track railroad crossing(I know there is a two or three track crossing at Harlem and Grand, but this was much further south). When the driver arrived at the then quiet crossing, he put the bus in "N", set the parking brake, and opened the front door for about 5-10 seconds, then closed it, took off the parking brake and put the bus in "D" and was just about to head out when the gates activated, and we were stuck for about 7 minutes for a Metra and Frieght Train.

[Busjack]

Must have been the regular Harlem route (307) at the Burlington crossing. Looks like this one is the only one reported here doing the correct thing.

[rmadisonwi]

I'm suprised nothing was mentioned about this in the news, or at the very least, a CTA press release.

A news report or press release for what? A malfunctioning crossing gate being repaired? Stuff like that is far too minor to warrant any sort of mention in the news. It would be like the city issuing a press release stating that they fixed a walk signal that was misaligned with the crosswalk.