CTA Rail Service Alerts

[sw4400]

1/4/13 11:32a

Rail Line(s) Affected: Red

Service Interruption Severity: Significant Delays (95th-bound trains) after earlier equipment problems near Fullerton. Service is resuming at this time.

[Busjack]

1/4/13 11:32a

Rail Line(s) Affected: Red

Service Interruption Severity: Significant Delays (95th-bound trains) after earlier equipment problems near Fullerton. Service is resuming at this time.

Apparently a 2 for 1 emergency. Tribune.

[jajuan]

Was there any word of what the problem was this morning on the Red Line during rush hour in the State Street Subway? WGN Morning News had reported there were delays during the 7 AM hour of morning rush due to firefighters checking out reports of smoke in the subway and workers getting power back up in the subway. They reportedly weren't sure if it was braking issues that were the cause of concern that got the Fire Department involved after the smoke reports. Whatever the issue was apparently got cleared up shortly before the 8 AM hour.

[Busjack]

Was there any word of what the problem was this morning on the Red Line this morning during rush hour in the State Street Subway? ...

The Sun-Times article, for which there was a link on the home page, seems to answer that.

[sw4400]

Was there any word of what the problem was this morning on the Red Line this morning during rush hour in the State Street Subway? WGN Morning News had reported there were delays during the 7 AM hour of morning rush due to firefighters checking out reports of smoke in the subway and workers getting power back up in the subway. They reportedly weren't sure if it was braking issues that were the cause of concern that got the Fire Department involved after the smoke reports. Whatever the issue was apparently got cleared up shortly before the 8 AM hour.

I believe it all had to do with the smoking brake or brakes coming from a car this morning. However the disabled train was said to be between the Sheridan and Fullerton stations somewhere, on the elevated portion of the 95th-bound tracks. This might be unrelated to the incident you're mentioning. The only other thing I can think of is the disabled train ran to Howard and developed the brake issue in the Subway somewhere, leaving smoke residue and was finally noticed on a return trip to 95th between the above mentioned stations. If true, that was a terrible job on noticing an issue then, and thankfully a fire didn't start on that car.

I wonder if it was 2400's, 2600's, or a new 5000-series railcar. They did have sticking brake issues in the beginning on their first day of revenue service I believe.

[Busjack]

I believe it all had to do with the smoking brake or brakes coming from a car this morning.

How about reading the prior post?

[sw4400]

How about reading the prior post?

For one thing, I was replying while you posted...

Secondly, I did view what I could of your link, but the Sun Times cleverly requires you to register to read the article.

[Busjack]

For one thing, I was replying while you posted...

Secondly, I did view what I could of your link, but the Sun Times cleverly requires you to register to read the article.

Clear the cookies out of your browser, restart it, and try again. At least with Firefox.

[jajuan]

The Sun-Times article, for which there was a link on the home page, seems to answer that.

Thank you Busjack.

[sw4400]

1/7/13 6:56p

Rail Line(s) Affected: Brown, Purple

Service Interruption Severity: Significant Delays due to equipment problems near Merchandise Mart.

[sw4400]

1/10/13 11:08a

Upcoming Alert for 1/12/13 @ 6:00a until 4:00p

Rail Line(s) Affected: Brown

Service Interruption Severity: Kimball-bound trains will not stop at Southport station.

-For service from this station, take a Loop-bound train to Belmont and transfer to a Kimball-bound train.

-For service to this station, take a Kimball-bound train to Paulina and transfer to a Loop-bound train.

This is due to platform maintenance at Southport station.

[sw4400]

1/10/13 11:12a

Upcoming Alert for 1/13/13 @ 6:00a until 4:00p

Rail Line(s) Affected: Brown

Service Interruption Severity: Loop-bound trains will not stop at Southport station.

-For service from this station, take a Kimball-bound train to Paulina and transfer to a Loop-bound train.

-For service to this station, take a Loop-bound train to Belmont and transfer to a Kimball-bound train.

This is due to platform maintenance at Southport station.

[Busjack]

You got the same one twice, but missed a bigger one affecting the Brown and Purple further south.

[sw4400]

1/11/13 9:50a

Upcoming Alert for 1/12/13 @ 5:00a to 4:00p

Rail Line(s) Affected: Purple

Service Interruption Severity: Board Linden-bound trains on the Loop-bound platform. Trains in both directions will operate on the same track between Howard and South Blvd., resulting in Minor Delays.

This is due to track maintenance at Howard.

[Busjack]

According to the Sun-Times link on the home page, all hell is breaking loose because of defective signals and equipment, but no alert to the unsuspecting passengers here.

Similar story on most morning traffic reports (e.g. CBS).

[sw4400]

According to the Sun-Times link on the home page, all hell is breaking loose because of defective signals and equipment, but no alert to the unsuspecting passengers here.

Similar story on most morning traffic reports (e.g. CBS).

Well, my Internet service was down to just about now due to "Defective Equipment", so I had my own "Service Disruption" today...

[sw4400]

1/16/13 3:42p

Upcoming Alert for 1/19/13 @ 6:00a until 4:00p

Rail Line(s) Affected: Brown

Service Interruption Severity: Kimball-bound trains will not stop at Southport station.

-For service from this station, take a Loop-bound train to Belmont and transfer to a Kimball-bound train.

-For service to this station, take a Kimball-bound train to Paulina and transfer to a Loop-bound train.

This is due to platform maintenance at Southport station.

[artthouwill]

According to the Sun-Times link on the home page, all hell is breaking loose because of defective signals and equipment, but no alert to the unsuspecting passengers here.

Similar story on most morning traffic reports (e.g. CBS).

Funny thing happened early this morning. Just before 5 a.m., the train I'm riding (an inbound 5000 series Green Line) stopped at the Lake/Wells junction to let off a worker. Apparently she stopped at a "dead spot" because the generator motor stopped, then after pulling the cherry to let the worker off, she had a hard time getting the door closed again. Just as she finally did get it closed, most of the lights went off in the entire train. Worse yet, we were blocking the intersection with a waiting inbound Brown Line train north of the junction as a NB Brown Line was turning north on Wells from Lake. My mind immediately raced to the past fiascos concerning stalled 5000 series trains at that very junction, and I though here we go again. She was somehow able to get the train to limp forward and we bucked a bit until she got to trackage with third rail before she could accelerate to Clark/Lake station. Upon reaching said trackage, we could hear the generator motor kick back in, the lights came on and we had heat again. Total delay about 2 minutes.

I don't think this was directly related to this mornings problems, but who knows?

[sw4400]

1/17/13 11:24a

Upcoming Alert for 1/19/13 @ 6:00a until 4:00p

Rail Line(s) Affected: Red

Service Interruption Severity: Howard-bound trains will not stop at Bryn Mawr, Thorndale or Granville stations.

-For service from these stations, take a 95th-bound train to Berwyn and transfer to a Howard-bound train

-For service to these stations, take a Howard-bound train to Loyola and transfer to a 95th-bound train

This is due to track maintenance to ensure trains continue to operate safely on the Red Line.

[sw4400]

1/18/13 11:39p

Upcoming Alert for 1/21/13-1/25/13 @ 10:00a until 2:45p

Rail Line(s) Affected: Red

Service Interruption Severity: Howard-bound trains will not stop at Addison station

For service to Addison station, take a Howard-bound train to Sheridan and transfer to a 95th-bound train.

For service from Addison station, take a 95th-bound train to Belmont and transfer to a Howard-bound train.

Note: At Belmont station, board/exit Howard-bound trains on the Brown Line side of the Howard and Kimball-bound platform.

This is due to track maintenance to ensure trains continue to operate safely on the Red Line.

[sw4400]

1/20/13 11:07a

Rail Line(s) Affected: Green

Service Interruption Severity: Minor Delays after earlier Fire Dept. activity near Laramie. Service is being restored currently...

Fire reported on southbound tracks near Laramie.

[sw4400]

Here's an interesting article about what causes delays on the CTA. Being that it ties into this thread and explains in detail the reasons for Delays and Disruptions of service, I thought I'd pin the article here and put in the "L" section only.

On the ‘L’ System

Why do delays happen on the ‘L’ and what do you do about them?

Railroad networks are complicated systems with a lot of variables that can affect service. The cause of delays can range from equipment problems to suspicious packages to people falling ill on their commute.

Knowing that we must deal with the unexpected every day, our schedulers build a little wiggle room into schedules to allow for a vast majority of delays to be compensated for by a train simply continuing uninterrupted.

When a delay occurs during the peaks of morning and evening rush service, even for just three or four minutes, at the peak of the peak, it can cause bunching and gaps in service. This can be compounded by the lead train in a bunched pack having longer dwell times—the time a train is stopped at a station to load passengers—due to heavier passenger traffic following the gap in service. Thus, we sometimes have to consider other restoration methods to space out service. These options are carefully considered because they often involve other potential inconveniences.

With major track and signal upgrades on the way, route renovations and reconstructions across huge swaths of the system, and new railcars and buses replacing old ones more likely to break down, we are doing much to reduce delays and improve the quality of service on the rail system.

But in the end, there will be times when delays are unavoidable, and this is true for any rail system as busy as ours. Here are some of the more common causes, and why they happen, and what we do.

Equipment Problems (Trains, Signals, Switches, etc.)

Even though they’re designed to be hardy and take a beating, complex machines like trains and track switches do have the occasional problem. Just as bicycles get flat tires and automobiles sometimes break down, train cars—chock full of complex mechanisms and technology—encounter occasional problems too.

If an equipment problem occurs on a train, operators use their skills earned through extensive training and professional experience to troubleshoot and get it going again. These problems can range from a stuck door (an 8-car train has 32 side doors), to a propulsion system error (32 motors per 8-car train), a brake problem (over 64 braking mechanisms on an 8-car train or any number of other things that can happen due to external factors that require an operator to check his train.. For the most part, trains run perfectly fine—but if any one of the many thousands of pieces of equipment that are in service every day fails, it can affect the quality of service along an entire route.

Our operators usually only need a few minutes to identify and sufficiently resolve a problem, but every second counts and sometimes problems are complex.

If a junction (where two or more sets of tracks meet) has a problem, such as the loss of signal indications and risk of tracks not properly lining up, we may have to manually throw switches to keep things moving, which takes extra time and requires trains to operate at restricted speeds to ensure your safety. It’s rare that this happens, but when it does it can have a big impact, so signal and switch maintainers are on duty at all hours and often arrive in mere minutes to begin restoring regular service.

With about 1,200 railcars at an average age of over 26 years (with some over 40 years old—or 15 years beyond their “design life,” which makes them more likely to suffer from equipment problems), it’s a tough job, and we work very hard to keep the city moving.

Much has already been done to improve reliability on the ‘L’: Red and Blue Line subway track, signals and switches have been renovated or completely replaced in recent years; the Pink Line was completely renovated; several junctions and interlockings were renovated or built for the Brown Line Capacity Expansion Project; and major track replacement work on the Blue Line’s O’Hare branch and Loop signal and track work is also nearing completion.

Further, major projects to improve the Red and Purple Lines from end to end are getting underway,as well as significant improvements to the Blue, Green and Brown lines. And a fleet of over 700 new railcars—the 5000-series—is on the way, which will allow us to expand our fleet (thus reducing the likelihood of equipment shortages after a major weather event, for example) and retire hundreds of old railcars that are at (or beyond) the end of their intended service life.

Sick Passenger / Medical Emergency

If a person falls ill on a train and is unable to walk, move or is unconscious, we may need to hold a train at a station until paramedics can arrive and provide assistance. While we do what we can to keep service moving, a person’s health and well-being is something we take very seriously.

Police Activity

There are a variety of reasons police may require us to halt service on a route. If we see or someone reports a suspicious package, for example, police may ask us to stop trains while they investigate. In the event that a crime takes place on or near CTA, police may ask us to stop service while they look for a suspect, or even evidence, in a crime. (Note that crime on CTA is actually very low—despite hosting what’s nearing 2 million people per day on our buses, trains and in stations, crimes are extremely rare.) If an employee spots an unauthorized person on the tracks or trespassing in a subway tunnel, we may need to cut power and wait for police to remove an offender. In any of these cases, safety comes first.

Fire Department Activity

If we receive a report of smoke (or just smelling smoke) in a subway, we take it very seriously. Often it’s something as simple and innocuous as smoke from outside drafted in by air currents. Sometimes there can be smoke from a single set of brakes that locked up on a train (which often can be rectified by the operator). Smoke does not always mean fire—in fact, it usually doesn’t. But if we’re not sure of the cause, we have to investigate and the fire department may require us to hold service while they make sure everything is clear and it’s safe to resume service. Again: safety first.

Fires in the adjacent vicinity of rail tracks may also cause major delays. Last year, for example, a large fire broke out at furniture warehouse directly adjacent to the elevated tracks just north of Fullerton Avenue—causing a disruption to Red, Brown and Purple Line service for about four hours. CTA restored the service only after the Fire Department determined it was safe to do so, and we communicated with our customers throughout the entire incident.

Keeping you informed

One of our biggest priorities during an incident is keeping you informed of what’s going on. To do this, we use multiple channels: Web, e-mail and text alerts; electronic information screens; social media alerts (Twitter and Facebook); and station/platform announcements. We strive to be as timely and informative as possible, and provide information that helps you make decisions about your commute. But the nature of every incident is different, and disruptions by their very nature are fast-changing—as is the information about them. And providing information to dozens—or sometimes hundreds—of customers on a crowded platform is a challenge. This is an area in which we know we can do better. Look for improvements to come in 2013.

Why do trains sometimes break down?

Our maintenance crews work hard to keep our operating equipment in good shape—including scores of railcars that have been in service since the late 1960s and which are now nearly twenty years beyond what their designers would reasonably have expected.

The good news is that we’re now in the process of replacing our oldest railcars with new, modern 5000-series cars (the first new cars in 20 years) which feature state-of-the-art propulsion technologies, added features for reliability based on our 120+ years of institutional experience running a railroad, and advanced, computerized controls and diagnostic equipment. This will make the average age of the fleet much younger, reducing both maintenance and the number of failures that occur (or the time to identify and troubleshoot a problem).

Why do Red Line trains sometimes get rerouted via the elevated lines?

If something stops service in the subway, the Red Line has the unique advantage of being able to be rerouted away from the subway via elevated lines. We (and many experienced riders, in fact) refer to this as Red Line trains being rerouted “over the top.” It’s a way to make sure that people from the North Side and South Side can reach the other, via downtown, without having to exit the system and use shuttle buses in the event something temporarily prevents us from sending trains through the subway, and one of many of what we call “service restoration procedures.”

There are a number of other, common reroutes we might implement, too, such as sending Brown Line trains into the subway if something prevents them from accessing downtown via the elevated, or “through-routing” Brown and Orange Line trains via just two sides of the Loop ‘L’, if they can’t utilize the complete Loop.

Why does my train keep stopping for signal clearance?

In the event that there is congestion (which can occur during high traffic periods on our rails, particularly if there have been earlier delays), trains may need to stop to wait for a train ahead to move through a junction. This is similar to traffic congestion on roadways.

Why do you run trains “express?”

Running a train “express” (not stopping at stations it normally would stop at) is a way to alleviate congestion following a delay. Delays can cause a gap in service, and it’s important we try to distribute service evenly across a route. Running an express train allows the following trains to pick up more passengers to reduce platform crowding.

Note that we know that it may not feel all that much like a good solution if a particular express train doesn’t serve your trip directly, but after a major delay, we look at the big picture of where most people are going and make service decisions that try to benefit the greatest number of people as efficiently and effectively as possible. Because we know this is an inconvenience to some, our rail controllers and transportation managers don’t make the choice lightly, and work to use this option only when necessary to avoid continued, major delays for masses of people across an entire route.

[Busjack]

Here's an interesting article about what causes delays on the CTA. Being that it ties into this thread and explains in detail the reasons for Delays and Disruptions of service, I thought I'd pin the article here and put in the "L" section only.....

Short story: There is an excuse for every occasion, but instead of telling you what really happened at Granville twice* we'll use a euphemism and give you a glossary.

And while CTA says it is cleaning up the excuses, they will never disappear.

BTW, according to the traffic report "equipment problems at 79th have been cleaned up. And there are delays on the Milwaukee District North Line."

_______

*As noted in that thread, no one was willing.

[sw4400]

1/24/13 11:23a

Upcoming Alert for 1/28/13-2/1/13 @ 10:00a until 2:45p

Rail Line(s) Affected: Red

Service Interruption Severity: Howard-bound trains will not stop at Addison station

For service to Addison station, take a Howard-bound train to Sheridan and transfer to a 95th-bound train.

For service from Addison station, take a 95th-bound train to Belmont and transfer to a Howard-bound train.

Note: At Belmont station, board/exit Howard-bound trains on the Brown Line side of the Howard and Kimball-bound platform.

This is due to track maintenance to ensure trains continue to operate safely on the Red Line.

[sw4400]

1/24/13 11:26a

Upcoming Alert for 1/26/13 @ 6:00a until 6:00p

Rail Line(s) Affected: Red

Service Interruption Severity: Howard-bound trains will not stop at Bryn Mawr, Thorndale or Granville stations.

-For service from these stations, take a 95th-bound train to Berwyn and transfer to a Howard-bound train

-For service to these stations, take a Howard-bound train to Loyola and transfer to a 95th-bound train

This is due to track maintenance to ensure trains continue to operate safely on the Red Line.