Metra disciplines engineers for letting teen drive
Two Metra engineers who allowed an 18-year-old into a locomotive on separate occasions will face financial penalties for their actions, officials said Friday.
One engineer, an 11-year employee, will receive a 60-day suspension without pay and spend one year on probation.
A more senior engineer with 26 years of experience will be suspended for six months without pay and spend two years on probation.
A third engineer who let the teenage train enthusiast operate the controls of a Metra train quit his job Nov. 3 just before a disciplinary hearing.
All three were suspended Oct. 9 without pay after Metra learned the teen had been allowed into the locomotive cab when he broadcast his experiences on MySpace.
Civilians are not allowed to enter cabs or locomotives. The infractions occurred on the Milwaukee District and Southwest lines.
"The individual did not touch equipment or operate equipment," Metra Executive Director Phil Pagano said.
The ruling was arrived at jointly by Metra and members of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen.
"The Brotherhood of Engineers has been as concerned as we have," Pagano said. "They've gone to all employees and said this is highly unacceptable."
The incident shouldn't reflect on the majority of engineers "who do a tremendous job," he added.
The employees were informed of the decision Wednesday. They will be credited for days already spent on suspension.
<div class="infoBox"> <h1>More Coverage</h1> <div class="infoBoxContent"> <div class="infoArea"> <h2>Stories</h2> <ul class="links"> <li><a href="/story/?id=247853">Metra engineer quits after letting teen drive <span class="date">[11/03/07]</span></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=245405">Metra says suspensions aren't overreacting <span class="date">[10/25/08]</span></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=245133">Metra first learned teen drove train from MySpace page photos <span class="date">[10/24/08]</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div>