CHICAGO — That “human error” that snarled Metra’s Thursday evening commute? It wasn’t just someone flicking the wrong switch or a programming mistake.
U.S. Sen Dick Durban (D-Ill.) says the problem that disrupted signal systems at Chicago Union Station was caused when “a worker fell on a circuit board, which turned off the computers and led to the interruption of service that went on all day long.” Durbin learned this, the Daily Herald reports, when he spoke with Amtrak CEO Richard Anderson about the incident.
Anderson issued a statement Friday saying human error had caused the problems that disrupted traffic in and out of Union Station for about 12 hours, apologizing for the problem and promising to appoint “a veteran Amtrak executive” to improve performance in Chicago. [See “Amtrak CEO says ‘human error’ caused signal problems that snarled traffic at Chicago Union Station,” Trains News Wire, March 1, 2019.]
Durbin said the fall wasn’t the only problem that led to the service disruption.
“The most important error they made was to decide to do a server upgrade to their computers during peak hours of service. This should be done in the middle of the night when only a handful of trains are running.”
Durbin wasn’t the only member of the Illinois congressional delegation concerned about Thursday’s incident. Congressman Dan Lipinski, a Democrat whose district includes a number of Metra-served communities southwest of Chicago, issued a statement saying Amtrak’s apology “is only a start. There are many questions Amtrak needs to answer and then fixes need to be made as soon as possible.” Lipinski, chairman of the House Subcommittee on Rail, Pipelines and Hazardous Materials, said he will meet with Anderson next week.
Erich: I’m glad to see that you don’t use any greasy kid’s stuff.
As the movie industry announces at the end of the credits: No Amtrak worker was injured during his time working for Amerak!
Ahhh, the old “falling on the server” IT-maintenance event. I’ve been through lots of failed IT events in my life, but never had that happen. I bet the “falling on the server” event will be talked about for years (Hey, remember when Bob fell on the server rack?!! Lots of laughter. Yeah, took us an hour to dig him out. The racks looked like a bunch of dominoes. What happened to Bob anyway…?)
When CUS was constructed more than a century ago, its track layout was dictated by the proximity to the east of the Chicago river, which at this point west of the Loop runs north and south. As there was no room nor need for a wye, the 2 main tenants being the Burlington coming in from the south and the Milwaukee from the north, only 1 through track was squeezed in by the Pennsylvania on the river bank, used by Amtrak now for positioning moves. And to this day the vast majority of traffic is push/pull Metra service on the original tenants’ lines.
Penelope – I’m sorry your post makes no sense to me. There’s nothing unusual about CUS’s track configuration and the track configuration has had zero, zilch to do with the signal problem. Thousands of stations around the world, of all configurations, have signal systems that work.
Whatever the station looks like or however it’s laid out, the signals need to function.
Had Chicago Union Station been configured like Memphis Union Station and St Louis Union Station in track layout with wye, this problem would not have occurred. Every train it hosts ends and originates there.
I don’t buy it. “fall on a circuit board” doesn’t make sense. Did he fall into a PC, was a mini/mainframe involved and/or did he knock out a key blade, what happened?
And if there was a cutover involved why did it happen during a peak traffic period rather than 0-Dark-30?
The above comments are general in nature and do not form the basis for an attorney/client relationship. They do not constitute legal advice. I am not your attorney. Find your own damn lawyer.
I’m sure that one of the senator’s requirements be that no Amtrak employee be allowed to fall during working hours on company property. There will be a temporary moratorium on falling until this matter is straightened out. That should show ’em. (And of course gain more publicity for the senator. Roll cameras!!)
One thing for sure, nothing makes sense about what happened at Chicago! Circuit boards are mounted in cabinets, like a book in a book shelf. Was the board on the floor? Really, why would anyone try to upgrade a major computer system in the middle of the computers busiest work time of the day??? The worst thing that ever happened to me was letting a small screw driver drop between the boards!
I am with Anna Harding. What idiot decided that the evening rush hour was a good time to upgrade signalling control electronics?
Time for PFC, positive fall control
Scapegoating at it finest!
I usually rub circuit boards in my hair before I install them just for good luck.