The rail deal

It seems we can’t go anywhere on the El these days without crazy delays—we’re starting to think there’s a conspiracy designed to make us late. So we turned to a veteran train operator to give us the real scoop on delays and other El curiosities. Our man asked to remain anonymous, for fear CTA prez Frank Kruesi would can him faster than, well, something much faster than the El.

Is it just my imagination or has it been especially awful on the CTA lately?

Believe me, it’s not your imagination. It started in August, with the situation they had on the Blue Line at Lake Street and Clinton in the subway. There was a derailment, and there was a cracked rail, and everyone was pointing fingers. That was really where it all started. Now they’re discovering more of these cracked rails.

What exactly is a cracked rail?

It’s just a gap in the rail. It’s broken, missing.

And is that something that’s always happened, or is it happening more frequently now?

We’ve had more cracked rails in the past couple months than in my entire CTA career, it seems. Especially on the South Side. They just rebuilt that Dan Ryan branch. I’m no engineer, believe me, but that expressway was not built for trains. And they’ve always had problems with that since the day it opened. I talked to one engineer and he thinks it has something to do with water, when it rains it goes in and does something to the tracks. Hindsight is 20/20, but they should have used another right of way.

Do you think the tracks are just old and need to be replaced?

They just rebuilt the tracks on the subway ten years ago. And they just replaced the ones on the Dan Ryan this year.

So you think it’s shoddy construction?

That’s my guess. Maybe it went to the lowest bidder. The reason we have the slow zones, too, especially between Belmont and the subway, that’s because of the Brown Line expansion. Even when they’re not working on it, they still keep the speed down to 15 mph. When I operate at 15 mph, it’s not because I want to, it’s because there’s a cap signal, which is one step toward automation.

Is that the beeping you hear when you’re sitting in the first car?

Exactly. And if I don’t brake in a second and a half, it brakes me. It’s a penalty stop. That’s why you may feel the train stop all of a sudden because the operator, the motorman, doesn’t have the reflexes to [stop right away]. And starting in April, at any one point, there’s going to be three tracks instead of four [between Belmont and the subway], causing even worse delays. I don’t know if the station is permanent or not—its structure looks permanent—but come on, it’s 2007, why do we still have wooden platforms?

There seem to be a lot of fires lately. During a recent one on the Blue Line, my co-worker heard the operator talking with the CTA on his walkie-talkie, and the CTA told him to tell his passengers that they were stopped because crews were working ahead. Does that happen often?

Well, think about it now. I wouldn’t say, “Attention, passengers. There’s a fire, no need to panic.” If you say that, people are gonna panic. That’s just common sense. Depending on the level of severity, I’ll level with the passengers. Those kinds of fires are common, especially when it’s warm outside, because of the friction, the heat. Sometimes from throwing a cigarette butt [on the tracks]. No big deal, you get a few sparks [makes motion of putting out fire with extinguisher], then you go. When you have an electrical problem with a train, when the motor is out, or the brakes, people overreact then. People say “Oh, there’s a fire in the back!” There’s no fire. It’s just smoking because the brakes or the motor need to be cut out. You cut the power, and then the smoke will subside. Maybe not right away, but in five minutes it’ll be all gone. But people are panicking. And that’s why when I heard they’re putting cell phones on the subway, I was thinking, Oh man, they’re really going to have a field day.

Would you say that lack of funding is the biggest problem facing the CTA right now?

Oh, absolutely. Two years ago last December, a lot of my coworkers got pink slips and letters saying everyone is going to get laid off if we don’t get this funding. And this was the holidays—a nice way to ruin your Christmas. Then they said, Okay, we changed our minds, we’re not going to cut, we’ll wait for the spring legislature session. So the legislature took $53 million from the State Teachers Pension Fund and gave it to CTA. That’s like robbing Peter to pay Paul. That’s not a permanent solution.

Well, what is a permanent solution?

I wish they would come up with it. The city should kick in some money. All I know is most cities contribute to their transit systems; ours don’t.

But they do give some money to the CTA.

Yeah, $3 million a year. Ok, if you want to call police protection a subsidy, that’s fine. That should be a given.

So the reason why everything is so slow is because of all the construction?

Yeah, especially the Brown Line. It’s going to be hell in the next few years because of that. Right by Clark and Belmont there’s Clark Junction. I can’t really fault the CTA completely for this, but there could have been a flyover junction from the furthest tracks to the east, which is track four, to go onto the branch. Because you’ve got the Red Line waiting there northbound at Belmont, waiting for the Brown Line to go on, and that causes the line to go all the way back. So there needs to be a flyover junction, where the train literally goes over the tracks onto the branch. What’s there now is what is called a flat junction. But the yuppies didn’t want it. “What’s that over there?” “Oh that’s the train, that was there over 100 years ago.”

What’s up with all the signal problems lately?

At Wells and Lake, it’s known as Tower 18. If a signal goes out, you have to have a supervisor crank the switches manually, and that delays everything. But the cracked rails are the biggest problem.

How do they fix a cracked rail?

They have an emergency crew come, lay a new rail, weld it—it takes about a half hour.

Given the derailments and the threat of terrorism on the trains, do you think taking the El is a safe way to travel?

As far as I’m concerned, the rails are safe. I am not worried about terrorists; I am more likely to be jumped by someone on the street than I am to be the victim of a terrorist attack.

Have you ever said, “There’s a train directly behind me” when there really wasn’t?

Some operators do it, but I don’t. First of all, we’re all adults. You can see the train is crowded; I don’t have to tell you the train is crowded. If you can’t see the train is crowded, then what’s the point in me telling you? You know, use common sense. And the train behind you is probably just as crowded as the one you’re on. I think a lot of people do say that, though, just to get them out of there. “Sure there’s a train behind me. I mean, granted it’s at 87th, but it is behind me.” People should just use their best judgment. Police yourselves. Don’t come up to me and say, “This person won’t give me the seat next to them.”

What’s the craziest thing you’ve ever heard on the passenger intercom unit?

“The man next to me is clipping his nails.” And I say, “Okaaaay,” “He’s very annoying.” “Okay. The only thing he’s doing that’s against the law is littering.” Another one: “There’s a man in here that smells.” I go, “He paid his fare.” “How do you know he did?” “How do you know he didn’t?”

What’s the best line to operate?

For me personally? Without question, the Evanston Express. Oh, the scenery, you start in upper-class Willmette, then you drive through Evanston. When I go past Armitage, and I’ve done this for 20 years, I still get a kick out of looking at that skyline and seeing how it’s improved. And just seeing how Clybourn Avenue has changed over the years. I never get tired of watching it. I get about $1700 every two weeks. So the money’s good. I can’t complain about the money at all. It’s because of the CTA that I’ve been able to go on some nice trips.

Who gets paid better, a train operator or a bus driver?

We’re equal.

What’s considered a better job?

Are you kidding me? A train operator. Oh, there’s no question about it. Do I think we should get paid more than bus drivers? Hell, yeah. Is it gonna happen? No. What I really resent are the switchmen, the people who bring the trains in from the yard. They make the same money we do. They bring the train to us, and that’s it.

You said it takes an hour and five minutes to get from Howard to 95th. When do you go to the bathroom?

That’s called taking a personal. I do that at 95th. We have to go the bathrooms downstairs at the kiosk. They used to be open to the public, but now they’re not.

Wouldn’t that prevent people from pissing on the platform?

People are still going to do it. That’s what people do. That bridge at Howard, oh, I don’t even want to go on it. I tell passengers, Don’t go up there. But not all stations have bathrooms. Those stations on the Brown Line—Rockwell, Francisco, Kedzie—there used to be bathrooms there. Not anymore. They say it’s because of the budget crisis.

What do the people who sit in that kiosk do when they have to go?

They gotta go on a personal, wait for the next train, and go to a station that has it. And what if that station has a broken bathroom? They have to find a restaurant nearby. At least on the buses, you know there’s a gas station or a McDonald’s or something.

What do you want to say to all those frustrated CTA passengers out there?

Don’t blame me. I didn’t vote for Daley.