# Metra Cancels Trains: No Engineers



## WhoozOn1st (Jun 13, 2011)

UP crews operate Metra trains on the Union Pacific West Line.

Metra vows only minor delays for evening rush after morning cancellations

"'It's just a shortage of engineers and extra engineers,' Union Pacific Media Relations Dir. Mark Davis said. 'It's kind of like a combination of reasons. You have vacations, employees in training, family leave, a few employees are ill—but by no means is this a labor incident or dispute of any kind.'"


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## Spokker (Jun 15, 2011)

Hahaha this is passenger rail. Whoops, nobody showed up to work. Oh well, no big deal. Trains aren't important anyway.


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## WhoozOn1st (Jun 15, 2011)

The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen issued a statement:

BLET statement on cancellation of Metra trains

Among other things, the union says, "It is unfortunate that UP and Metra have chosen to attempt to shift the blame for their own poor workforce management to the shoulders of the men and women dedicated to transporting Chicago commuters safely, consistently and on time."


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## Ryan (Jun 15, 2011)

I have a friend that is a UP engineer (freight, not passenger) near Chicago. Sounds like it was pretty easy to tell in advance that the number of people available was going to be less than the number of people needed, but due to the small number of people on the extra board, there just wasn't anyone to work!


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## Spokker (Jun 16, 2011)

WhoozOn1st said:


> Among other things, the union says, "It is unfortunate that UP and Metra have chosen to attempt to shift the blame for their own poor workforce management to the shoulders of the men and women dedicated to transporting Chicago commuters safely, consistently and on time."


No doubt.
I always have to laugh when things like this happen. A lot of our "betters" in management and executive offices are screwing up all over the place. As someone who is currently looking for work, I am frustrated at the amount of perfection they expect applicants (even for jobs that pay minimum wage!) to exhibit despite a constant stream of incompetence from superiors. What I want to see is an honest job description that says, "Screw up and make mistakes that delay trains and no one will care." How do I get a job like this?


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## MikefromCrete (Jun 16, 2011)

Spokker said:


> WhoozOn1st said:
> 
> 
> > Among other things, the union says, "It is unfortunate that UP and Metra have chosen to attempt to shift the blame for their own poor workforce management to the shoulders of the men and women dedicated to transporting Chicago commuters safely, consistently and on time."
> ...


I fail to see why you say no one will care. There were plenty of angry commuters that morning and I would bet there were a number of hot phone calls from Metra to UP that day. UP immediately added engineers to the extra board. So I think quite a few people cared. They question is why did UP allow the situation to exist in the first place.


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## DET63 (Jun 21, 2011)

> They question is why did UP allow the situation to exist in the first place.


Because UP thinks passenger rail sucks, whether Amtrak or commuter?


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## MikefromCrete (Jun 21, 2011)

DET63 said:


> > They question is why did UP allow the situation to exist in the first place.
> 
> 
> Because UP thinks passenger rail sucks, whether Amtrak or commuter?


UP doesn't mess around with the Metra routes very much. They are a heritage operation from the C&NW and the lines carry People With Influence, especially the North Line, but also the Northwest Line through Barrington. A large number of their passengers are people who have the power and influence to make things miserable for even a big corporation like the UP. Never underestimate the power of very rich lawyers and business executives.


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## Shawn Ryu (Jul 15, 2011)

Rich people take the Commuter rail? Since when? A shock to me, since most commuters who take public transits are the middle class folks.

And doesnt UP operate the busiest Metra line?


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## MikefromCrete (Jul 15, 2011)

Shawn Ryu said:


> Rich people take the Commuter rail? Since when? A shock to me, since most commuters who take public transits are the middle class folks.
> 
> And doesnt UP operate the busiest Metra line?


Plenty of rich folks can be found on trains serving rich communities, particularly the UP North Line along the ritzy North Shore suburbs. Metra's single busiest line is the BNSF route to Aurora.


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## Shawn Ryu (Jul 15, 2011)

I guess I meant millionaires when I said rich. But I guess those who earn 500 grand a year is rich too.

And oh right, thats BNSF line.


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## Spokker (Jul 16, 2011)

Shawn Ryu said:


> Rich people take the Commuter rail? Since when?


When average incomes hit $80k for commuter rail and $12k for bus, it does not take a genius to figure out what class rides commuter rail.


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## MikefromCrete (Jul 16, 2011)

I define rich as somebody who makes more money than I do. Seriously, there's a private car that runs on a pair of UP North Line trains and while the members of the private car club may not be millionaires, they're pretty well off.


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