CTA Security Problem?

[Phoebe Vet]

Don't talk to the operator is about keeping his focus on his driving, not about security.

The separate compartment is for the same purpose.  They don't want him/her distracted by what's going on in the passenger compartment.

[CSSHEGEWISCH]

I remember seeing a built-in door prop on older CTA equipment (6000 and 2000 series).  It was a hinged pin at the top of the door that could be latched into the door frame, holding the door slightly open with about 3-4 inch gap.

[gardendance]

I'm surprised that this is the first time you've seen an operator prop his cab door open. I've seen it often, both before and after 9-11. Usually it would be on equipment like what I assume you have on the CTA, operator's cab to one side of the trainline door, but I have in my lifetime seen it done on full width cabs.

I often thought the operator was doing it for ventilation, which then begs questions: why doesn't the vehicle have adequate ventilation already; what's a bigger security risk, having someone assault or distract the operator, or having the operator succumb to lack of fresh air.

You didn't mention what the operator was using to prop the door open. I can remember New York subway cars, again older models with only partial width cabs, and maybe Philadelphia subway cars as well, had an actual built in prop, so I'm sure it must have been deliberately designed by the authorities to allow the operator to keep the door open.

Also there are installations which don't have a full barrier between operator and public. To start, most buses have little or nothing to separate the driver from the passengers, sane for Philadelphia and Toronto light rail. There were a few assaults, and at least one knife murder, on drivers and motormen in Philadelphia in the late 1970's, after which SEPTA experimented with several enclosures around the operator.

Moving up to heavy rail, 2 operations, SEPTA Upper Darby-Norristown route 100, the operator's cab has a door, which they leave open to allow the operator to handle fares. PATCO Philly-Lindenwold operator's console has a full height steel and glass buklhead behind the operator, but only about waist high on the side, so a passenger in the aisle could step over with not much effort if they wanted to.

And I have seen door propping on mainline railroads. The Reading-SEPTA Wall Street and Crusader trains, Philadelphia Reading Terminal to Newark, ran RDC's (that would be Diesel Multiple Unit or DMU). A popular railfan seat was at the snack bar counter in the front car, the 2 times I rode it the engineer kept the cab door open the entire trip.

Amtrak in the 1970's ran a Philly to Washington DC trip with leased NJ Transit electric mu's. I rode that once, standing the whole way with my foot holding the cab door open. I remember doing the same thing on at least one Philly-Harrisburg trip, and a couple of times NJ Transit Trenton-New York. I admit I haven't tried since 9-11, and I can't remember for sure if I've seen it done lately on railroads.

In all of these cases there is some sort of warning, or custom, against distracting the operator.

I'm not sure if your concern is about security related to inadvertent distractions, or criminal or terrorist attacks. All other things being equal I'd expect an evildoer could cause more havoc taking control of and crashing a bus than they could trying to hijack a train. In addition to being tied to the rails, most trains have some sort of deadman device, or tripping signal, that will try to stop them.

[iowahsrail]

Over the last few days I have been riding in the first car of the CTA's Blue Line trains on my way home from work. I noticed that some operators of the trains had the door to the operating cabin proped open by several inches. Only the operator was in the cab. CTA has a sticker on the door to the cab that states that operators are prohibited from talking to customers while the train is in motion (or something similar), so I would think that propping the door open is a violation too. Anyone have any thoughts on this?