The CTA's Heat Lamps Are Not All Done For The Season Yet, Thankfully

By Austin Brown in News on Apr 6, 2016 6:49PM

The CTA officially turns off the power to the outdoor station platform heat lamps as of March 31—but thankfully for Chicago commuters braving this week's cold snap, a lot of them are still up and running—and will be for a while yet.

Almost half of the heat lamps set up in CTA train stops are still running, leading some to believe the transit authority has extended an olive branch to its freezing patrons, or perhaps that the organization isn't quite on the ball. But it turns out it's not a malfunction, or an uncharacteristically benevolent municipal office—rather, according to CTA spokesperson Jeffrey Tolman, the lamps just take a while to turn off.

In order to turn off the heat lamps, various CTA staff go through all of the stations to switch them off individually, one by one. This process usually takes around two weeks, although it can vary—the shutoff happens at the convenience of several CTA employees, not according to any defined schedule.

But despite an unexpected return to cold weather in the last few days, the CTA reports that its shutoff plan is still going according to schedule. Any pleas from shivering train riders have fallen upon deaf ears, leaving only the anticipation of the day that these nameless CTA staff finally seal their fate. So for your sake, CTA commuters, hope the electricians are as inefficient as possible. According to the Weather Channel, it's supposed to be below 60 degrees for the next ten days, and there's no guarantee it'll get much warmer in the days to follow that. We could all use a working heat lamp or two in our lives.

[H/T DNAinfo]