CTA Chief Tells Riders He Blew It on ‘L’ Shutdown

By Jon Hilkevitch, Chicago Tribune

Jul. 11–CTA President Ron Huberman acknowledged Tuesday that he blew it when he dismissed the shutdown of elevated rail service downtown on July 3 as a mere “inconvenience in the Loop.”

Huberman now believes the mechanical breakdown that left hundreds of riders stranded on overcrowded sweltering trains — and another long service interruption on the Red Line last weekend — were “not inconveniences, but hardships.

“We didn’t communicate effectively or give people the reassurances they needed,” he said. “It was scary. Passenger needs took a back seat. I apologize to our riders.”

Under pressure from City Hall to stem the problems, Huberman announced steps to improve safety and customer satisfaction. Those measures range from worker retraining to a new hot line to report unsafe conditions.

When an emergency or any service disruption occurs, extra CTA staff will be sent to the scene to provide timely information about delays and, if possible, evacuate riders on stopped trains, Huberman said.

In the July 3 incident that halted three train lines for more than an hour, one of six trains stopped in the Loop was in front of a station platform, officials later said. The train operator could have directed passengers to the back of the train and led them to exit safely.

Huberman also said the CTA would no longer automatically cut off power to the third rail when incidents occur.

Electricity was turned off Saturday for about two hours along the Red Line on the Near South Side after a man threatened to jump from a CTA viaduct. A train operator opened the doors to allow a breeze to enter the rail cars, and some passengers bolted and walked to the nearby Cermak-Chinatown station.

jhilkevitch@tribune.com

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