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The Blue Line is back up and running, according to the CTA.
T Meyer took this video this morning as he was ushered through a tunnel near Clark and Lake. You can see his whole set here.
Blue Line Running, More Blues About This Morning
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Bring on the Olympics!!!
The CTA is an embarrassment to this city.
Looks like Cloverfield. Only the monster is CTA's brutal imcompetance.
Shockingly this was not the normal scheduled maitnance which apparently cannot be worked on any other time than morning rush hour.
OMG look at the chaos shown on that video!! How did anyone survive?? The disorder!! The panic!! The CTA didn't even tell anyone how or where to evacuate.
i love the crybabies complaining about this. it's a mechanical failure. these things happen sometimes with machines. deal with it or move to the suburbs. the cta isn't perfect but they hardly did anything wrong here
I can't quite tell where Dillinger was going with the first comment, but I'd make the same statement-- I'd welcome the Olympics if only for the chance to give the world-class city something more than a cut-rate transit operation.
"i love the crybabies complaining about this. it's a mechanical failure. these things happen sometimes with machines. deal with it or move to the suburbs. the cta isn't perfect but they hardly did anything wrong here."
Our system is a bit worse than this. If you don't believe me, ask the NTSB. Or travel to other cities around the world--do about a dozen cities both larger and smaller than Chicago, then get back to me. This is hardly a case of whining from people who would be happier in Naperville. This is just another reminder of how shitty our mass transit is in this area.
The real secret that the CTA doesn't want you to know, is that there is a mutant Cougar pride living the the tunnels. Those people escaped within minutes of being devoured.
I am so jealous! I seriously wish I could be in a situation - a safe situation - that would result in my escaping the El through the tunnels.
after reading the trib this morning, i'd like to retract my statement above. it seems the cta messed up on several accounts in this incident
escaping the el should be part of the Olympic games
That sounds like a good game there spook, take a bunch of international athletes, crowd them onto a train, put the train underground in a tunnel, fill the tunnel with smoke, and then leave them there with no instructions whatsoever. First one out wins (just like a couple of commutes I've had on the blue line).
The CTA is a a joke, and has been for the 18 years I've been riding it.
My Olympics reference was just poking fun at the fact that this city is a disaster from a public transportation standpoint.
I cannot think of a major US city that is close to this bad.
Shit, even the interior layout of the trains is grossly inadequate. I'd say they accommodate about 3/4 the number of people they could. And the simple addition of a bar running from end to end on the ceiling would add a lot of value.
Like it or not people judge cities by their airports and public transport and we are living in the Second City. Or worse.
Despite all the issues, Chicago's public transit is better than any other major city, aside from New York.
Ask people in Boston about the T. Ask people in DC about how frequently their Red Line is fucked up. Ask LA about how useless their system is unless you both live and work downtown. Furthermore, ask people in NY how long it's been since EVERYONE from of Queens was unable to get to work because there was a thunderstorm that shut down the subway.
Please. Infrastructure issues are not unique to Chicago.
Tower:
First, I think the NTSB might have a different view about how our system compares with others than you do.
Second, perhaps Chicago is indeed better than DC on mass transit, and is second only to NYC. I will give you that.
But, I think that says more about the generally crappy mass transit systems in the US than anything good about Chicago. NYC has a world-class transit system, even with its many, many, many faults. Chicago hardly--or barely--makes that cut.
The true test--even when acknowledging the differences in funding and cultures and geographical factors--is how Chicago stacks up against other cities around the world, whether smaller or larger or roughly the same size. After all, Tower, Chicago is trying really, really hard to be a global city, isn't it? Shouldn't other global systems be our true measure?
Believe me, Chicago fails that test. If you travel, you know.
Vit
don't forget to add some hungry cougars or perhaps Chicago’s newest mascot, fighting pit bulls imported from the southwest side
Matilda, yes I was definitely limiting my list to the US, as that was the initial statement from another commenter--that Chicago was worst in the US, which I vehemently disagree with.
And the NTSB thing...I know that "yeah we may be bad, but you're worse!" is a specious argument, but I can tell you that Washington's Metro has, in the last 25 years, had 5 serious incidents, which together killed at least 6 people and injured many more (derailment in station killing waiting passengers on the platform, train collision due to lost brakes, trains rolling backwards on hills and colliding in station, maintenance workers killed by trains disregarding signals). Metro has two NTSB investigations currently underway, that I could find. So Chicago having 1 (damning as it was) doesn't exactly make us the red-headed stepchild.
Tower: Fair enough.