from sylvie@XXXXXXX.ca
to cj@thiscrazytrain.com
date Mon, Oct 31, 2011 at 7:17 AM
Good morning CJ,
I am on the third train out of Barrie this morning and the CSA just announced that due to a medical emergency, the train ahead of us is running express to Union. This means we are taking on all their passengers (from Aurora on), and all passengers have been asked to remove any bags from seats and store them under seats as we're going to be crowded. This is the first time I've heard of a train continuing express due to a medical issue - I sure hope the sick passenger will be okay!
Reply
from cj@thiscrazytrain.com
7:23 AM (2 hours ago)
Isn't an ambulance faster?
from sylvie@XXXXXXX.ca
to cj@thiscrazytrain.com
date Mon, Oct 31, 2011 at 7:33 AM
Probably, especially if they took him/her to a local hospital.
Anyone on that express train? I'm curious what the emergency was that it could wait for a train to arrive in Toronto as opposed to an ambulance ride to a hospital located near a station.
26 comments:
the person who was ill probably said they didn't want to fuck up anyone's morning and said they'd go to a hospital in TO
Right. Great for the people already on that train, but not so great for those waiting to board at subsequent stations. They had to wait 30 minutes for the next train, only to be packed in like sardines, or as the CSA called it, "extreme overcrowding".
In a situation like this, it was a bad call. I don't care who said what, since when does one customer set the tone for what should transpire. The person should have been taken off the train and transported to a local hospital. End of story.
My coworker said it was the conductor.
Then who the hell was driving the train? Was it express because no one could figure out how to stop it while the conductor is having a, oh I dunno, heart attack?! Jeeze, just stop the train and get the guy to a hospital.
The locomotive engineer is, the conductor is the person in charge of the train and for your safety.
oh for chrissakes, did you not pass gr. 12 english? it's IN an ambulance, not ON
Sick kid going to the Sick Kids Hospital, maybe.
There's a full hospital just a hop, skip and jump down the road from the Newmarket GO station. An ambulance would have taken little time.
I only heard it was an emergency, not a medical emergency. Interesting approach to bypassing traffic including rail priority at intersections, and an alternative to helicopter? I wonder what happened at the Union station end?
Maybe it was a haunted train...
Runaway train and a Runaway rig pulling a flatbed trailer... a Crazy day!
Holy shitballs people, don't get your panties in a bunch. The CSA was ill. I got in in Newmarket, we waited for an ambulance to show up, maybe 3 minutes later and then they hauled Gord, the CSA, off the train. I'd say all in all, delayed about 15 minutes but with the express to union, which was nice I might add thank you very much, we got to Union the same time as we would normally have.
All you wankers that bitch, just wait for your time when you need some medical assistance, I'm sure you won't be bitching then, will you?
did i miss something? you just said they hauled Gord, the sick CSA off the train. So, if they hauled him off the train the medical emergency would have been resolved. why'd they still have to make the train express to Union? cuz there was no one to announce the stops and synchronize their wathces with?
One would assume that was the reason. Sure they have their conductor/engineer dude and maybe a back up I dunno, but maybe safety protocol is that they cannot leave the locomotive, aka henceforth why it was express to Union.
Come on people, if you're able to deduce that Gord the CSA was hauled off the train to go to the hospital as I said, then yes, presumeably since the train still went to Union and had no where else to go but south, then yes one would assume it was because there was no one to announce the stops, open the doors, check the doors, and the accessibility coach.
Feelin' me here? Need any more explanations?
although i wasn't affected by that train, i think GO needs to think of a better back up system for situations like this. they really screwed up a Monday morning for a lot of people.
Anywho, hope Gord is OK!
I hope he is all right!
Now it all makes sense, thank you kindly for clearing it up.
Please extend my well wishes to Gord.
Thing is, people do want to know what's going on so the excuse for being late for work sounds plausible. It's easy to say, "Hey boss, the doors are malfunctioning on the train I'm on so I won't be in til 9:30 ... " since the boss has heard this one too many times before.
Now with GO alerts, the boss can verify the claims ... so it would be nice to know what's going on not just for this situation so people understand why they're packed in like sardines but also why they're late (for the other situations).
I had a manager who refused to believe me that track congestion was the cause of my inability to be at my desk by 9am since it was happening frequently at Union (lTE 2008).
I had no way to quantify it which is why I rely on better communication from GO so I can show a text alert and not feel like a liar.
ps. "Need any more explanations?"
You know what? That wasn't necessary. We pay for the service. It's not like it's provided for free.
Like I said, some of us like to back up why we're late for work.
Go may need a better "system" but in this situation, on the Barrie line, there is no back up because there is only one set of tracks. So if the tracks are blocked by a stopped train or something like that, there isn't a way to get around them unless the train magically can jump off the tracks and up and around the stopped train.
I fully agree re the communication bit. I overheard several people on the GO this morning say that they didn't even get any email notifications to inform them of the delay and express train to Union and the announcement made at the station was simply a "medical emergency", so really unless you were on that train or knew someone on it, you didn't know.
GO is terrible for communicating, or should I say lack thereof. I always feel like an asshat when explaining reasons for being late but my employers have always been sympathetic, thank jesus.
Maybe it wasn't necesarry Cindy but I find some of the readers on this site and GO riders in generally to have this holier than thou type attitude that believes the entire world should come to a crashing halt if they're lives are interrupted for 2 seconds. We're all trying to get some place, people are just so bloody quick to get so stinkin mad about the littlest shit. I just firmly believe that some people need some perspective in life and what really and truly matters at the end of the day.
I'm not arguing with you CJ, yes we ALL have to have explanations to our employers as to why we're late.
*necessary
Oh for sure some readers are hot under the collar, suffer from GO rage, etc ... but we can't change them. Although, it doesn't hurt to try.
Don't take it personally. I've learned to take it in stride and I don't even work for GO. I just run a site but I feel the rage all the same from people who aren't quick to figure out that I'm just a blogger who rides, not drives, the train.
Well, kudos to you because I don't know how you do it, especially with the idiots, although they are indeed good for a laugh or two ;)
have a good morning! :)
Anonymous from 9:00 AM and 9:58 AM, I really hope you did not direct this comment:
"people are just so bloody quick to get so stinkin mad about the littlest shit. I just firmly believe that some people need some perspective in life and what really and truly matters at the end of the day"
at me. If you re-read the email I sent to C.J., I simply stated the situation and expressed my sincere wish that the sick person be okay.
As you were on the express to Union (sure hope nobody needed to get off at one of the earlier stations), you were likely less affected than the people who had to wait for the next (over-crowded) train.
I really hope Gord will be okay - I missed him last night on the 16:40.
No it wasn't directed at you but merely people in general. Didn't hear Gord over the PA this morning so not sure how he is. I'm sure the regulars on the Accessibility coach would know but I haven't a clue.
Gord is back on the train tonight :) Apparently it was a 4mm kidney stone - ouch!
Good to hear Gord is doing ok. He seems like a pretty nice guy over the PA, whenever I take the 803 outta Union.
...although Alanna on the 809 is cuter ;)
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