Passenger Trains > Metro-North crew grilled after passengers stranded

Metro-North crew grilled after passengers stranded
LoHud.com
May 15, 2014

> Robin Radway's son was taking her for an early Mother's Day shopping
> spree when their plans were ruined by Metro-North, who treated them
> to an unexpected — and unwanted — visit to the Stamford station.
>
> The Connecticut residents were among several passengers left behind
> by a morning train last Saturday after a conductor reportedly told
> them they could step off to stretch their legs. The train had stopped
> in Stamford for 17 minutes because of an equipment fire in
> Greenwich.
>
> Once they were on the platform, Radway said, her son barely had time
> to light a cigarette and take two puffs before the doors hissed
> closed and the train left without them.
>
> "We were literally two feet away from the door (when it closed),"
> said Radway, 57. "And it just drove away, and we're just waving our
> arms looking like fools."
>
> Railroad spokeswoman Marjorie Anders said the train's crew — an
> engineer, a conductor and three assistant conductors — will face
> disciplinary charges for the incident. She said a security video,
> reviewed in an investigation after The Journal News inquired about
> the mother and son's claims, shows at least three people banging on
> the train and waving to try to get the crew's attention as it pulled
> away...
>
> ...Radway said about 12 people seemed to have been left behind,
> including a man who said he had left baggage and a laptop on the
> train...


Metro-North crew grilled after passengers stranded

USAir did this to me in Pittsburgh once. Plane landed; I am a through passenger to its next stop which was Washington National. Crew said we'll be here for an hour or so. You can get off if you'd like, just take your boarding pass. Everyone did so as the plane was starting to get cold.

We go back and the plane is being loaded with passengers for a different destination - they did a plane change and didn't let the folks who had come in on that aircraft that it had been reassigned to another destination after it landed. Chaos ensued as folks tried to get their stuff off the plane before the doors closed.

John Gezelius
Tustin, CA



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/16/14 08:12 by john1082.

I'm quite surprised.

The protocol on NJ Transit appears to be that a conductor toward the rear of the train remains in an open doorway until he/she is certain that there are no people running alongside, hanging on the train, etc. I've seen this practice dozens of times, in many stations.

I'll usually wave and step away if I'm on the platform, to let the conductor know I don't want to board. I'm surprised MetroNorth doesn't have a similar protocol.

Lackawanna484 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I'm quite surprised.
>
> The protocol on NJ Transit appears to be that a
> conductor toward the rear of the train remains in
> an open doorway until he/she is certain that there
> are no people running alongside, hanging on the
> train, etc. I've seen this practice dozens of
> times, in many stations.
>
> I'll usually wave and step away if I'm on the
> platform, to let the conductor know I don't want
> to board. I'm surprised MetroNorth doesn't have a
> similar protocol.

Speaking of NJT, they have some of the finest on board
train personnel that I've come across!

Once, I when I was at the Atlantic City station. I cut
my timing real close to catch the last train of the night/early AM.
I got there about 3-4 minutes before the scheduled departure.
The ticket machine acted weird and it took me about that
long to buy my ticket. I remember running out onto the
platform and to my chagrin. The train was starting to leave
the station. Then I saw it stop and the conductor got off
and motioned for me get on the train. I thanked him profusely
and slipped him a couple of bucks and told him to get a soda or
coffee!

If I hadn't made that train. I would have had to wait about
3-4 hours for the first train of the that morning.

BaltoJoey

Lackawanna484 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I'm quite surprised.
>
> The protocol on NJ Transit appears to be that a
> conductor toward the rear of the train remains in
> an open doorway until he/she is certain that there
> are no people running alongside, hanging on the
> train, etc. I've seen this practice dozens of
> times, in many stations.
>
> I'll usually wave and step away if I'm on the
> platform, to let the conductor know I don't want
> to board. I'm surprised MetroNorth doesn't have a
> similar protocol.

Probably a NORAC rule, because SEPTA and Amtrak follow the same policy.

Metro North has its own book of rules, just like it has its own signal system apart from the PRR legacy speed signals/CSS installed everywhere else in the northest.

abyler Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Lackawanna484 Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > I'm quite surprised.
> >
> > The protocol on NJ Transit appears to be that a
> > conductor toward the rear of the train remains
> in
> > an open doorway until he/she is certain that
> there
> > are no people running alongside, hanging on the
> > train, etc. I've seen this practice dozens of
> > times, in many stations.
> >
> > I'll usually wave and step away if I'm on the
> > platform, to let the conductor know I don't
> want
> > to board. I'm surprised MetroNorth doesn't have
> a
> > similar protocol.
>
> Probably a NORAC rule, because SEPTA and Amtrak
> follow the same policy.
>
> Metro North has its own book of rules, just like
> it has its own signal system apart from the PRR
> legacy speed signals/CSS installed everywhere else
> in the northest.

Maybe Metro North should get back with the rest of the NORAC world, then??

In these touchy-feely, "don't do that again, Billy" times - discipline works. 2 people at my job were fired this week for not reading a build sheet and using the wrong part in a build that resulted in $11,000 scrap. We get 20 well-qualified assembler applicants a week, so no problem.

Bob