Friday, November 27, 2009
OUR FRAGILE LIGHT RAIL NETWORK
Thursday, November 26, 2009
CONVERSATION WITH VETERAN LIGHT RAIL OPERATOR-part 2 the day of the firing
Veteran max operator when asked if the call boxes could be to blame:
-yea that’s entirely possible, we’ve had nothing but problems with those call boxes”
It was another type 4 malfunction.-
I asked about the lack of mirrors on those type 4’s.
-Yea they are camera’s, and they are another sad story, ½ the time you pull into a platform on a sunny day and you think a fog has just settled in, the view is as thick as pea soup.-
-He watched the video today for the first time, there was quite a gap between when they requested the ramp and when he closed the door. The operator definitely hit the door close button, overriding the ramp request. That is definite because you can see the door closed when all the other doors are still open.-
When asked why he would override it he answered:
-Strictly speculation, if your there at the platform and somebody requests the ramp after you have been sitting there awhile, the chances are good that it is somebody just bumping the button. At the time your getting ready to go you’ll now have to wait for that ramp to cycle, and its going to kill your time right there. If you’ve put a request in for a preempt, you only got one shot at that preempt or you will lose a couple of minutes if you have to wait for it to time out and cycle around and get it back. If somebody at the last minute hits that bridge plate, you’re going to want to close it and go. If you wait you lose your preempt. I’m not saying its right or wrong, it’s just a reason why an operator would do that. It might be a case where he has gates down and a signal, he’s only got 60 seconds before he gets out of there otherwise it could be a 90 second time out before you can get the signal again. In some cases, like Willow Creek, its 45 seconds before that gate will even start to come down. You’re requesting your signal as soon as you pull in because your stuck there for 45 seconds immediately. People don’t think it’s a big deal but two minutes is about your window of opportunity because by the time you get to Old town your gonna be cut off by the green line, or yellow line, whatever, now your gonna be 10 minutes late and you can kiss your schedule goodbye-
I asked if he thought the firing was justified:
-Based on his history, the answer would be yes. If it was just based on this one incident, If he did cancel that call then yes, he should be fired. If he deliberately cancelled the call then yes.
This operator was shocked that somebody would actually cancel a call for help and ignore it.
A road supervisor commented that if he had left the call on and answered it when he got to the next station that would have been acceptable.
The whole incident and who is too blame hinges on weather the call box worked, and if it did indeed, then did this operator INTENTIONALLY cancel the call.
If he actually did that, then the firing is justified. Nobody in the room disagreed.
A CONVERSATION WITH A VETERAN MAX OPERATOR
I also had a conversation with a veteran max operator tonight. I did my best to re-create the conversation as best I could from memory.
He described the sound you hear when a call comes in from that call box as
“Take a backpack to your ear and rub it around, that’s what you hear”
He also told me that 90% of the calls are just somebody pushing up against the button or a little kid pushing the button , nuisance calls.
5% of the calls are “does this train to me to?????. or how do I get to blah blah blah, etc.
A few calls are “I lost something”.
An occasional call is for medical help, seizure and the like.
Most of the time those calls go directly to 911 rather than the call box.
A big problem with those boxes is they stick way out and they get pushed by accident, 9 out of 10 calls.
The box used to say “for emergency only” but TRIMET wanted people to be able to call the operator for whatever reason, so that creates lots of nuisance calls. Operators used to answer the call box like this “please state the nature of your emergency” but TRIMET wanted people to feel “good” on the train.
When you do answer it you stop watching what you were watching and divert your attention to the box, a major distraction and potential hazard.
On top of all this they have always had problems with those devices; the quality of the communication is very poor.
It seems that this particular operator has not been a star employee; he didn’t go in to details.
ATU 757 PRESIDENT JON HUNT ON THE FIRING
TriMet Management Eager to Throw Operator Under the Train
"Most people hope that they will be treated justly in their workplace," says Jon Hunt, president of the Amalgamated Transit Union, Division 757. He is talking about recent events where a three-year old child ended up stranded on the rail platform while his father was still on the train.
Hunt states that he is also the father of a pre-schooler and so can imagine the terror that father must have felt. "I can also understand that people want to hold someone accountable so that this situation never happens again," Hunt says.
"But," Hunt goes on to say, "Here's the problem. Before doing any investigation whatsoever, TriMet managers announce to the press that they intend to discipline the operator of the train. The question everyone should ask is "why is TriMet management so quick to point the blame away from themselves and onto the operator?"
Over the past few days, the Union has conducted its own investigation, talking to mechanics, supervisors and other operators. What it has learned indicates the accusing fingers may be pointing in the wrong direction. The Union has asked for documents that should help it finalize the investigation.
"Our preliminary investigation has shown the following. A test on the train's intercom system the day of the event indicates that the two-way communication system did not work. No alert whatsoever appeared in the operator's cab. The data recorder also shows that every time the passenger frantically pushed the button, the passenger cancelled his prior call. Unfortunately, this is not the first time this has happened. Operators and passengers have been complaining about a number of intermittent problems with the new rail car's communications system. Nothing has been fixed."
"There are numerous other problems with the new rail cars as well. In this case, as in other cases, customers push the button for the disabled ramp and the doors won't open and the operator does not even know the button was pushed because the notice doesn't get through to the cab. Operators and passengers have been complaining about trapped passengers and malfunctioning communication equipment. TriMet management knows this is a problem. They have been communicating with the rail manufacturer about these issues but there has been no resolution.
As a consequence, the child was left alone on the platform. Unfortunately, this is not the only safety issue in the rail system that needs attention," Hunt says.
TriMet managers knew about this problem even before the green line to Clackamas was opened to the public. If they had delayed that opening until the problem was fixed the child would not have been left on the platform. People with disabilities and passengers seeking to leave the train would not find themselves trapped on TriMet trains. And a twenty-year operator, with a wife and children, would not find himself worrying about his family's future this holiday season."
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
NEWS REPORTS
Police rally in support of 'beanbag cop'
Identified: Gresham man killed Sunday by downtown-bound train
MAX operator suspended after boy, dad separated
Stranded MAX Boy Media Blitz Comes to a Close
TriMet Identifies Man Struck By MAX Train - Portland News Story ...
| Portland TriMet MAX operatorcontributed to 3yearold boy being left ... |