Well, not really. But you’re not high on my list of favorites.

So, lately I’ve started taking the train to work. Specifically, the Union Pacific North (Kenosha) Line, from Ravenswood to Chicago. Normally, it’s a 45 minute ride each way, no problem. Normally, anyway. Unless someone decides to see if they can stop an oncoming train with their body, anyway. After that happened, they shut down the tracks, north and south.

Y’know, Metra has thousands of grade-level crossings throughout the Chicago area; you’d think they would have some kind of recovery plan in place, right? Evidently not. I got on the southbound train at 5:15 PM. We went as far as Highland Park (about 1/3 of the way home) and then sat just north of the station (so no one could get on or off) for about 30 minutes. At about 6 PM they told everyone on the train to get off and, since the accident was between the Highland Park and Ravinia stations, they would provide shuttles down to Ravinia and we could continue home. So everyone got off, and the train headed out back north.

And we waited for shuttles. And waited. And waited.

There was no information being provided, except for the general announcement that trains would be heavily delayed. No kidding? Since I had the good sense to stand next to the one conductor stuck at the station with about 200 unhappy commuters, I got to listen in on his conversations with the Control Center (who only answered his questions 3 out of 5 times or so). It sounds like UP was saying it was a Metra problem, and they would have to call Pace to get buses. Metra said it was a UP problem, and they should call Pace. So nobody called Pace, and we all just sat there. Finally, the train that had pulled out heading north at 6 PM returned heading southbound at about 8:15 PM. Then it was a 45 minute ride home, followed by a short drive back to Linnaeus’ place, with a stop by McDonald’s for dinner. Instead of getting in at 6:30 PM as usual, I walked in at 9:15. Ugh.

I guess I could be more upset about things, but hey – this kind of stuff happens when you get several million people in one place at once. What annoys me more was the complete incompetence Metra showed in recovering from this problem. I plan to get copies of system maps for Pace and the CTA so that the next time something like this happens I’m a little better prepared (the telephone “Trip Planner” center proved to be worse than useless, advising me to simply take Metra from Highland Park to Ravinia, oblivious to the fact that it was not possible at that time).

Then there was this morning. The combination of leaving the house a little late and getting stuck waiting for a semi to back into an alley on Lawrence found me pulling into the Metra parking lot just as my train pulled into the station. I knew there was no way I was going to make it, so I said the hell with it and just got back into the car and drove to work. One slight upside, though: even though the construction on the Edens Expressway has made northbound morning traffic hellish, Skokie Blvd. was a pleasant alternative, putting me onto the Edens right at the beginning of the construction, thereby avoiding all the backups. Even though I started driving about 15 minutes past my normal time, I got into work with time to spare. Skokie Blvd. has proven to be a useful alternate route, though after Thanksgiving it’s going to be a complete loss, owing to its proximity to Old Orchard. I’m going to pick up a more-detailed street atlas so I’ll be prepared for all eventualities, though.

So hey, I figure the day has nowhere to go but up. I’ve got dinner at a tasty Japanese restaurant tonight with chouette and linnaeus, and that should be a lot of fun. And my wonderful wuff flies into town on Friday! I’m so looking forward to that.

Back to work I go…