CHICAGO — Newspapers and television and radio stations here June 14 were asking Union Pacific, “Is this any way to run a railroad?” after a shortage of UP engineers caused the cancellation of six morning Metra commuter trains and inconvenienced thousands of passengers trying to reach their jobs here.
Metra pays UP to operate and staff the Metra trains on its west suburban line.
The Chicago Tribune reported that “half a dozen engineers were allowed to take vacation simultaneously, and another called in sick.” Additional engineers qualified to operate the commuter trains and called by UP had already exceeded their hours-of-service following signal maintenance delays Sunday and could not report for work.
Metra’s CEO told the Chicago Tribune the fault was with UP and its “poor manpower planning.”
A UP spokesman responded, “We are looking at our crew management team to find out what happened and make sure it doesn’t happen again.”
DePaul University Transportation Professor Joseph Schwieterman, who has written extensively on railroads, told the Chicago Tribune, “This is something we expect with an airline, but not with a railroad. The lesson is, UP needs to have better contingency plans.”
Related News
- Rail Safety Is Too Important For Corporate Discretion
- Virginia 2-PC Law Could Become a Reality if We Act Now
- WATCH: Members Step Up to Take Care of Their Own
- Metro Micro Operators Overwhelmingly Ratify First Contract
- New Documentary Features California Local 1741 Bus Operators
- WATCH: Railroaders Meet Life’s Risks Head-On
- What Does $73.16/Hour Actually Mean?
- New Jersey Leads with Rail Safey Law
- “The Safety Program That Works — And Why Railroads Won’t Use It”
- Jobs Still Protected After Merger Delay