Calgary Transit officials are investigating why a CTrain operator inexplicably abandoned his post this week, leaving cars full of passengers stranded after a Flames hockey game.
Passengers say it was after 11:30 pm on Wednesday when a northbound CTrain stopped at Sunnyside Station, located in northwest Calgary. Instead of taking off after a short delay, the train never left the station.
The driver announced over the intercom that he had worked a 12-hour shift and refused to go any further. Bewildered passengers, meanwhile, were left to wonder how and when they’d get home.
Alistair Delday was riding home from the game when the operator announced he was ending his shift.
“It was kind of ridiculous,” Delday said. “It was late at night, and we were all stuck waiting on the track. It was odd to stop halfway through a route and nothing was really explained. There was no communication.”
Calgary Transit said an internal investigation is currently underway to determine whether the employee in question exceeded a 12-hour shift.
Transit representatives explained that in the case of a driver being ill or needing to be relieved, protocol is to send out a replacement operator.
At the time of the incident, Calgary Transit sent a message over social media that the northbound CTrains on the red line were running behind due to a malfunction.
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Calgary Transit ✔ @calgarytransit
CTrains on the #RedLine are running 15 minutes behind schedule from Sunnyside to Tuscany due to a CTrain malfunction.
10:48 PM - 16 Nov 2016
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Delday said disgruntled passengers grew increasingly annoyed by the train operator, who hopped on the intercom two more times, saying “Sorry folks, I want to get home, too.”
Calgary parent Peter Martin said he received a call late Wednesday night from his 22-year-old daughter, who was stranded at Sunnyside station after the driver put the brakes on the trip.
“My daughter called me in the middle of the night panicking, so I got up and flew downtown to get her,” Martin said. “I’m sure it’s an isolated incident, but unfortunately my daughter being there got me hair-raised as a parent.”
Martin said he isn’t blaming the driver for what happened, but is questioning why there was little response from Calgary Transit during the incident.
“My problem is with how Calgary Transit handled the situation,” he added.
“There has to be a plan in place for this type of situation. There needs to be a contingency plan, or at least communicate with passengers and address the problem.”
Train service resumed about 15 minutes after the unexpected stop when a substitute drive arrived at the station. A transit official said Friday morning that management had yet to speak to the absentee CTrain operator.