Tom ([info]prdem) wrote in [info]chicago_el,
@ 2008-05-11 11:48:00
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Red Line Dramatics

So last night I was on the Red Line coming home from Evanston and about every three minutes, the conductor came on the speaker to inform us that the train would be making all Brown Line stops, but only to Merchandise Mart, where the train would then turn around due to a "fire in the loop" and "unauthorized people walking around the tracks."  This was fine by me, as I was just going to Diversey, but then she suddenly announced that the train was stopping at Belmont and would not continue...apparently the unauthorized people had traveled further north. 

Does anyone know what happened?  I imagine if people were setting fires on the L tracks it would be on the news or something, but I haven't seen anything.  


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[info]xica_s
2008-05-11 05:18 pm UTC (link)
I was unfortunate enough to be trying to take the red line south from the loop around 11:30 last night. It was a total mess. I had heard that trains were being re-routed to the elevated tracks but i didn't know they were operating via Wells. That was no big deal because it was something I could have found out ahead of time if I'd wanted to. The problem started when I got to the Washington/Wells stop and happened upon the madness there. The station personnel were not well informed (and it wasn't from lack of trying and they WERE very nice, but obviously frustrated) and no one knew what to do. For some time they were being told that eventually the trains WOULD start running again so people waited around. Some trains did come around the tracks but people weren't allowed to board. Eventually passengers waiting on the red line were told to go to Merchandise mart to take a shuttle bus but most people didn't feel comfortable hiking down to the merch in the rain when it seemed like even the CTA people weren't sure when or IF those buses were actually going to show up. Eventually they made the announcement that all the train service was cut and announced some alternate bus routes. At that point I walked up to state to wait for the state street bus but after about 10 minutes the shuttle bus came. No one seemed really sure where it was going (not even the bus driver who instead of getting on the expressway at 22nd took a left turn and then performed a U TURN to get himself back on the right route). The shuttle bus took the expressway to Sox 35th where apparently people could get on the red line and ride south from that point. I heard that after that the shuttle bus was going to go up and ride along the green line route. Luckily for me I had a ride waiting at 35th. Ugh. What a total effing mess. I've lived in Chicago my whole life and I defend the CTA a lot but this was just the most unorganized clusterfuck I've ever encountered.

And I still have no idea where this fire was. But i guess that service was restored sometime after 6am. It boggles me that there isn't more information out there about what happened.

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[info]drdru
2008-05-11 11:57 pm UTC (link)
www.google.com is a wonderful thing...

MAY 11, 2008 CTA PRESS RELEASE:

"Rail service on the Loop elevated resumed shortly after 6:00 a.m. Sunday morning. Crews worked overnight to repair damage from a cable fire that occured late Saturday night. The Orange, Green, Brown and Red Lines are operating on the elevated today. As announced earlier in the week, due to previously scheduled construction work, trains will operate on the Van Buren and Wells side of the elevated on Sunday and return to their normal routings before Monday morning rush period. Pink Line riders who wish to travel to the Loop Sunday should transfer to the Green Line at Ashland."

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