Incident raises questions of having defibrillators on Metra trains

Metra provides millions of rides each year. Most of the time, they conclude without incident.

That wasn't the case Thursday morning when a 63-year-old Barrington Hills man suffered a fatal heart attack aboard a Metra train that was heading into Chicago.

Palatine Fire Department paramedics met the train around 7:40 a.m. at the Palatine station and took the passenger to Northwest Community Hospital in Arlington Heights. The victim had boarded the train at the Barrington stop, police said. Both police and the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office declined to give out the victim's name.

Such medical emergencies are rare, said Metra spokesman Michael Gillis. When they do occur, Metra employees are instructed to contact emergency medical personnel at the nearest station, which is what took place Thursday, Gillis said.

The incident has raised the question of whether automated external defibrillators, or AEDs, should be installed on trains. An AED corrects an erratic heartbeat by delivering an electric charge that may help revive a heart attack victim. Many public facilities include AEDs, which are also required on all airplanes.

Metra has installed AEDs at some suburban stations and at its downtown hubs, but no trains have them, Gillis said. The public transportation service has considered installing the devices on its trains, but has not reached a decision yet, he said.

"One of the things we'd have to figure out is how many we'd need and where we'd put them," Gillis said.