THE JOURNAL & TOPICS NEWSPAPERS | FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2008
Study Shows Railroad Gates Down 217 Hours Due To Malfunctions
By TOM ROBB
Journal Reporter
If motorists in Des Plaines think they spend a lot of time in traffic waiting to be waved around malfunctioning railroad crossing gates by police or for the gates to go up, they're right.
A study released by the city this week says during a one year period railroad gates were down in Des Plaines for 217 hours due to malfunctions. These malfunctions occurred at all or some of the 32 railroad crossings in the city at a rate of almost one a day.
During the morning rush hour also on Wednesday, Jan. 30, train crossing gates along Miner Street in downtown Des Plaines were stuck half closed from 8:22 a.m. to 9 a.m. Braving the sub-zero blast of cold Wednesday, Des Plaines Police directed traffic through the affected intersections.
City Attorney David Wiltse Wednesday released a summary of how often crossing equipment has malfunctioned recently in Des Plaines. He also explained that he followed up on two September 2007 complaints filed with the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) against the Union Pacific Railroad.
City Engineer Tim Oakley said he has seen some improvement with downed gates since April but added Union Pacific engineers have not coordinated with his office.
Des Plaines Fire Chief Randy Jaeger said malfunctioning crossings slow emergency response times. He explained that when a fire truck comes to a malfunctioning gate, a crew member must exit the vehicle and look both ways down the tracks before the track may cross.
The fire department's goal is to reach their location within six minutes-a goal they currently reach only 73% of the time, in large part due to malfunctioning railroad crossing gates, said Jaeger. The city study looked at 32 gate crossings in Des Plaines over a period from April 2006 to April 2007. It said there were 337 gate malfunctions throughout the year. On Nov. 29, 2006 there were 15 malfunctions in one day and on Feb. 12, 2007, 15 incidents in one day. Gates malfunctioned for 217 hours over that one year period.
Only five of the crossings had no malfunctions and the worst seven crossings accounted for 50% of the problems. The worst 10 intersections accounted for 64% of the total 217 hours of equipment malfunctions.
The average malfunction lasted 39 minutes with 80% of malfunctions lasting less than one hour and 36% lasting less than 10 minutes. There were 34 incidents or about 10% that lasted more than two hours.
The seven intersections with the most malfunctions were: Thacker and Dempster streets with 27 malfunctions; Oakton Street crossing east of Lee Street 25 malfunctions; Oakton Street crossing near Busse Highway with 19 malfunctions; River Road crossing at Miner Street with 25 malfunctions; Rand Road crossing near Golf Road with 18 malfunctions; Graceland Avenue and Miner Street with 17 malfunctions; and Northwest Highway and Mt. Prospect Road with 16 malfunctions.
Intersections with the most time malfunctioning were at Oakton Street crossing east of Lee Street at 22.5 hours, Oakton Street crossing near Busse Highway at 17.9 hours, Lee Street/Mannheim Road and Touhy Avenue at 14.9 hours, Algonquin Road east of Lee Street at 13.6 hours, Prairie Avenue near Miner Street at 12.9 hours, Thacker and Dempster streets at 12.2 hours, Rand Road near golf Road at 11.5 hours, River Road between Rand and Golf roads at 11.3 hours, Mt. Prospect Road at Northwest Highway at 10.8 hours.
Union Pacific Director of Corporate Relations and Media Mark Davis said, "We will work on a plan to determine the case of the malfunctions and will take corrective actions." He declined give a time line for assessment or repairs.