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rsd212

Me on the train: "stop pushing, you filthy animals, they just said there's another train coming". Me on the platform: "outta my way you filthy animals, that next train is either also full or will decide now is the perfect time for mechanical issues"


crowbar_k

Or decides to run express


xtheredberetx

This is Lake. Doors open on the left at Lake. šŸšØthis train is running express to Howard šŸšØ


miraravenflys

Iā€™m triggered right now, ex cta userā€¦..šŸ˜«šŸ˜­šŸ’€šŸ’€


vlsdo

This. They didnā€™t say the follower is going to stop!


Electrical-Ask847

this is my biggest cta fear :)


UXProCh

Lol, every time a packed brown line train gets to Merch Mart. I wait for the next one while everyone else crams in. 90% of the time, that next train is empty because no one had any patience and they all needed to cram in on top of each other.


AlsoBort742

Bad move. Youā€™ve just revealed your secret to every brown line rider across the sub. We all know the trick now. Prepare to be crowded.


sd51223

If you're at Merchandise Mart and going toward Kimball in the afternoon, the real trick is to get on a loop bound train. Then you're on it before everyone from downtown.


21Sweetness

If youā€™re in a position to light 15 minutes on fire, sure.


Acrobatic_Age6078

15 minutes is not wasted time when the alternative is cosplaying a sardine


Impressive-Door8025

Everyone has productive and/or fun stuff they can do from their phones for 15 minutes


Impressive-Door8025

Base human nature will win over being adequately informed 9/10 times


UXProCh

Lol, people won't change their nature. I'm not worried.


[deleted]

That too


[deleted]

[уŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]


rsd212

Uh. What?


Weekly_Trainer_5455

Please do not question the RAT HOLE.


rsd212

I do. I do question rat hole. In fact, I question the entire premise. Team SQUIRREL HOLE 4eva


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justinizer

That has to be the busiest Wellington has ever been. Even during the rush its one of the quieter stations.


dillybop614

I was there this morning. They emptied an entire train and said it was faulty. Hence the giant herd of people. Then the next three trains behind were packed. Twas a fun morning!


40ozkiller

All the more reason to avoid peak hours if your job allows any flexibility. Easier on yourself and the system.


And_Now_we_Chi

THATS WELLINGTON!!!! CTA needs to get it together.


Lone_Bone06

They kicked everyone off the train with no explanation thatā€™s why it was packed


supdoggs21

Today was absolutely crazy during rush hour in the loop


[deleted]

[уŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]


kg631

I was on the Purple line at this time today. The photo is real, all of the Brown Line stops Belmont & South were packed like this. Wilson was also more crowded than a normal Tuesday


angrylibertariandude

Okay. Wow if even Brown Line L train frequency, is getting as bad as this! Another reason Dorval should be fired. If I saw the wait get this bad at Wellington for the L, I'd just walk to nearby CTA bus routes and ride those instead.


fricken_flower_power

I was on the brown line and this is exactly what it looked like this morning.


snowstormmongrel

So wtf is going on?


Roboticpoultry

Incompetent leadership at its finest


BroDudeBruhMan

A morning train malfunctioned, so everyone on the train had to get off at Wellington. The following trains were already packed so very few people who got stuck at Wellington got on and had to wait. All while more people started going up the the platform. Source: me this morning unfortunately


angrylibertariandude

Thank you for this info. I was obviously wrong, and this really occurred then. If I saw this occurring, I would just exit the station(at the Wellington entrance/exit) and walk east to Clark, and take the 22 bus(or 8 bus on Halsted) instead. But that is just me. Pardon my earlier comment, it's just I've almost never seen Wellington be that crowded of passengers. Certainly not as much, as say how busy I've seen Addison(Red) get after Cubs baseball games end. I won't even begin to state all the reasons Dorval should resign as CTA president(this incident further adding fuel to that fire), and further proof how VERY bad the CTA is mismanged.


BroDudeBruhMan

Yeah it was a pretty fucked situation. I got on at Belmont and they told us the train was stopped at Wellington and that they were working to get it out of the way. When our Belmont brown line finally started moving I watched us pass a platform full of people at Wellington. I think only 2 people were able to squeeze onto our car. The backup at Wellington meant every stop before also got backed up. I had to squeeze even to get onto my Belmont train, much less let people from Wellington get on.


hardolaf

The problem with the 22 bus is that it is never on time because of cars. Private vehicles outside of delivery trucks and ambulances need to be banned on Clark from South Loop to the northern border of the city.


angrylibertariandude

Of course this is an issue on a lot of other streets, too. I.e. Broadway, Michigan, to name a few of manyĀ  examples. And the only flaw about taking the 147 bus(as great as the LSD views you get going north or south on that bus), is that Michigan traffic can get bad at times. You're right about Clark, too.


annafelloff

what gives it away as AI? your anecdotal experience that youā€™ve never seen this station that crowded? Iā€™m trying to see the signs of AI (weird faces, too many fingers, text illegible) but there are none


camelCaseCoffeeTable

Yeah I donā€™t think this is AI. And if it is, itā€™s extremely impressive. Words are there, I can even make out the blurred Wellington sign with the correct line colors there. Those are the kinds of details AI messes up


kander77

I've seen a stop full like this but it was due to an entire train deboarding due to door issues.


angrylibertariandude

Yeah, I think you're right that this is an actual picture, and not AI. It makes me very disappointed and upset, that CTA L service is getting asĀ  bad as this.


hardolaf

This happened on the entire Red-Brown-Purple line every time CPD did anything pre-pandemic. Our system is anything but robust.


Ok-Drawing5486

It looks like AI because all of the people are pretty.


loosed-moose

I witnessed this IRL this morning


1002003004005006007

Why would someone create / post an AI image of this? Yā€™all redditors are on something.


[deleted]

My thoughts. The situation is bad enough as it is we don't need AI lmao


angrylibertariandude

I've almost never seen Wellington be this crowded of passengers. Hence why I was skeptical seeing this picture, and worrying this was AI. My apologies, as learning this is an actual picture makes me very disappointed and more upset. And all the times I've seen L service screw up, is why I prefer to take buses instead. At least CTA buses and Metra(heck even Pace buses too), haven't let me down as much as the L too often does. Further proof(although I thought there was enough already?) that Dorval needs to be fired as CTA president.


BroDudeBruhMan

A train malfunctioned at Wellington so everyone had to get off. The trains that followed were already full so everyone who was forced to get off at Wellington couldnā€™t get on so the platform just kept piling up.


commschamp

All to go sit on zoom calls and get sneezed on in the office


AmyKlobushart

Yikes, what a mess. Seems like CTA should run enough trains that one single train malfunctioning isn't catastrophic to the system.


sexisdivine

Wait this is Wellington heading to Kimbal?!? Maybe itā€™s a problem at Belmont? *Edit: Never mind read up on the delay issues, yikes!


hascogrande

Funny, that's the exact station that caused the backup


colonelnebulous

The problem train at the station was having door-issues.


Zealousideal_Row_322

The real problem is a decrease in the number of trains, which means that a small problem disrupts the entire commute.


cabezagrande37

The real problem is Dorval Carter needs to be fired.


QuesaritoOutOfBed

Out of a cannon


Ell15

In to the sun


khoshekhglowoud

I wish I could up vote this into the stratosphere. Fuck that guy


attention_pleas

Every time I think Iā€™m getting tired of fully remote work I remember things like this


[deleted]

Right - I romanticize taking a train downtown and working face to face with people in an office as I've never experienced it before but... I'm good if the commute would be like this.


MettaWorldWarTwo

I lived a block from the Logan blue line for 14 years, 7 of them without a car so I've ridden the CTA probably close to 10,000 or more times in my life. Commuted downtown every day for those years. Different stops, same train. The CTA is 95% of the time, a rolling tire fire 4% of the time and a magic place of wonderful experiences 1% of the time. My best moments: 1. Meeting Sharkula while playing my PSP. He was fascinated by it. He's a Chicago legend and I had no idea who he was. I've got a bunch of his CDs and smoked with him a few times at the Double Door. 2. Those days when the train was mysteriously empty and it wasn't because someone shit all over a seat or the AC was broken. 3. Getting to the platform right after a massive delay has cleared up. 4. A mentally ill person does something and the entire car just kind of deals with it and then laughs about it afterwards. 5. Handing out a bunch of leftover beer on the train because it felt like the right thing to do and then having a beer with about 15 strangers at 11:00 at night. There are a ton more if I sat down and thought about it. We moved to Portage Park and bought a house during the pandemic. The first time I waited for the blue line at Logan after the pandemic had slowed down, I stood on the platform and cried. It was the end of an era and a world that was hard and also beautiful. I don't recommend in office or commutes every day. It's a grind. I do recommend it every once in a while. It creates negative space in your life that can be filled with reading, audio books, music, and the shared joys and frustrations of being human.


itslaur

My route is the 135 bus and that can be a hellscape too in the morning, itā€™s literally sardines every time by the time it gets to Belmont even with the extended buses.


tsundae_

I gotta start going in 2x a month. I can't complain too much cuz others have it worse but man idk how folks deal with this daily or weekly.


OpportunityWise3866

Literalllly same. Iā€™d love if my company had an office space, then i try to meet my friends at happy hour up north at 5 pm and remember why I love not commuting.


StarWarsTrey

Yep


whattodoie

Look at that beautiful blue sky in February and everyone's crammed on a CTA platform going to work. I hate this for us!


eurekareelblast22

This was my thought the entire time. (I was on the train looking out and so, so sad for all of us.)


Leading_Complex2753

You hate work? no wonder so many of you want communism. geesh


No-Assistance-9102

The trains were SO bad this morning!!!!


altsveyser

Yea the Red Line didn't come for almost 20 minutes at peak rush hour this morning :(


SquirrelWilling3585

I was there. In my train there was a collective ā€œyou have to be fucking kidding meā€ when they announced we had to de-board


Savage_XRDS

Off topic, but holy cow, that's my building on the left! I designed the massing and exterior of that physical therapy/parking garage building back when I was an architect!


[deleted]

Thatā€™s pretty cool, the Wellington stop is instantly recognizable because of you.


Savage_XRDS

Cheers! I'm glad to hear that it is. Had to fight the contractors to avoid getting much of the fin facade value-engineered out of the project!


WarmSlime666

mind if I DM you with some architecture questions?


Savage_XRDS

Sure! I'm not a design principal or anything (it's a long story as to why I ended up leading exterior design on this one), but I'd be happy to answer to my best ability.


TasmanianTortoise

I hope you know your building was part of my commute for many years, and made it a super neat spot :)


[deleted]

[уŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]


Savage_XRDS

Yeah, that unfortunately wasn't up to us. All we could do is try our best to stitch together the visual language of the hospital campus and the surrounding neighborhood while providing the required number of parking spaces.


shartytarties

This subreddit is dumb. Everyone lives in some fantasy world where nobody needs to drive, and nobody needs to park once they get where they're going. I don't know what post you think you're on, but the topic at hand is how the cta is fundamentally broken and nobody's getting where they need to be on time.


csx348

This sub is largely a cross section of r/fuckcars Unless the CTA's service issues are fixed and it is expanded via bus rapid transit or additional train lines, it simply isn't viable to use for many


hardolaf

Banning cars on major north side streets would actually make the bus system amazing. The only reason my wife and I rarely use the buses here is because they get 30+ minute delays from assholes who won't let them move.


shartytarties

This is the single dumbest fucking comment I've ever read.


DevilDogJohnny

Itā€™s full of utopian communist cosplayers


kian_

> Everyone lives in some fantasy world where nobody needs to drive, and nobody needs to park once they get where they're going. you've never been to a major city in europe before, have you? i lived in london for a year and never met a single person who owned a car. somehow they all seemed to be fine. kinda wild what can happen when you focus infrastructure investment on public transit and opposed to highways as parking. edit: lil typo


shartytarties

I've been to London, and their public transportation is top notch. Chicago's public transit has been awful for quite a long time and it's actually getting worse. If you can't tell the difference between Chicago and London, you're too stupid to make this conversation worthwhile. You're also a condescending dick.


[deleted]

[уŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]


Slanted_words

PSA take your fucking 90liter backpack off and either put it on the ground between your feet or wear it in front of you. I will keep pushing that bitch out my way.


the_zodiac_pillar

Pretty sure I was on this exact train! Really normal morning rush until we pulled into Wellington and it was like a concert had just gotten out. A friend of mine happened to get on at the same time and he explained the train before (which I had skipped cause I wanted a seat) had been evacuated because it was defective.


mrmalort69

ā€œWeā€™re experiencing lower ridership so we should cut the cta budgetā€ -someone probably thought this looking at the numbers


juggdish

Hey, Iā€™m in this photo! One of the blurs at the other end. What an adventure the CTA is


jeninchicago

Me too! Truly a delight going from having a seat to being kicked off the train and squished on that platform for 30 minutes.


libginger73

We are asking people to go to work earlier and stay later! -CTA probably.


eejizzings

People will complain about a mechanical delay that forces them off the train and then turn around and complain about drivers not stopping the train to kick off smokers.


Smurfiette

What time was this? Uh. I hate crowds. Iā€™d absolutely turn around if I see this. Iā€™m more appreciative of my work schedule after seeing this. Leave for work ~10 pm. Leave work ~7:30 am. No crowd. No traffic. No noise.


out-of-order-EMF

See, this why I'm one of those psychos on a bicycle.


Claque-2

Is there anything worse than waiting on the elevated platform in subzero weather with your eyelashes and nose hairs stuck together, and not one inch of room available to board the car?


m_k_h

Is this the brown line?


chuuch_choo

Yes. This morning we had to detrain at Wellington due to a door malfunction.


confusedstudent4321

sighā€¦ the one day i transferred from the red line to brown line at belmont because it was nice out and i wanted to see the view from the brown line. then the very next station it breaks down and they unload the already packed train. i had to wait for 2 other trains to go by and my regular 45 minute commute turned into >1 hour. we were packed like sardines on a warm day with no AC. lovely.


MichaelScarn2024

Just seeing this gives me anxiety!


ImplosiveTech

I was on this train, there were actually two right behind us, but yeah I definitely get it. Fuck dorval carter


parlami

Nice photo!


BoomhauerArlen

Off topic, but man, everyone looks the fucking same. šŸ¤£


eejizzings

Lol no they don't. Not even all wearing the same style of clothing. Just say what you mean -- no Black people in sight. No need to dance around it.


BoomhauerArlen

Most of da dudes have da same haircut. And everyone has ear buds in. And I know everyone is going to work at their white collar jobs but everyone just looks bland as hell. But that's a lotta people nowadays, they lack social skills and personality.


Ok-Caregiver-1476

Investing in fun work close is so 2019. In this era, they are lucky if folks dress work casual at all. I know Iā€™m done trying to look extra stylish for work. Iā€™m barely in the office so itā€™s a waste of my money.


BoomhauerArlen

That's not what I'm trying to say at all. I'm saying this as a blue collar dude, I think it's absurd that ANY job still expects people to wear suits or something they don't wanna wear in 2024.


squats_and_bac0n

What's with the "da"


BoomhauerArlen

Da is easier to type than the.


squats_and_bac0n

That's one of the dumber things I've read on reddit today


BoomhauerArlen

Maybe get some friends that actually grew up here and you'll realize that many people say da and type da.


squats_and_bac0n

I have plenty of friends and colleagues that grew up here. No one does that. Literally no one.


BoomhauerArlen

Just by your use of the word colleague, I'ma say yeah right. Suburbs don't count guy.


squats_and_bac0n

I've lived in wicker park for 9 years. And still do. But good try.


Ok-Caregiver-1476

Itā€™s the brown line, what did you expect?


gadgetluva

Yea, everyone who says that Chicago is so diverseā€¦


Distinct-Charge-6105

Must not also know that Chicago is extremely segregated, and the Wellington stop sits smack dab in the middle of the most segregated (read, whitest) neighborhood in town.


QuesaritoOutOfBed

Iā€™m gonna go out on a limb and say just another stop or two up gets even more white. Wellington does have the purple line as well Edit: people downvoting, Iā€™m guessing you either donā€™t live in Chicago or on the brown line. Wellington is far from the whitest neighborhood


[deleted]

when I moved to chicago for school I lived off southport, I couldnā€™t wrap my head around how white it was walking down that street. Iā€™m latino and from boston and still was shocked. After graduating I moved to the west side for a bit, was way too sick of Lakeview/Lincoln park


whasa_whasa

Such a great shot.


NoneOfYourBeezKneez_

This is a cool photo! Nice shot!


Lone_Bone06

I was on this train when they kicked everyone off. Anyone know what happened?? It was the brown line today at Diversey around 8:30 am


Adorable-Finance-896

What a beautiful photo. I love the ad in the background serving as contrast to all the people with headphones looking down at their phones.


envoyxdhc

Nice shot!


chuuch_choo

I was at the complete other end of the platform


wallsarecavingin

I was on the train and it was insane how packed it was and how packed the platforms were! I donā€™t think Iā€™ve ever seen it like that.


EvenPass5380

Glad I drive....


Upper-Orange-4412

Good thing I was raised in Mexico City and used to ride the Metro, this is childā€™s play for me. But I feel you my dear chicagoans, hang in there babes.


Thugnugget4224

This platform is how I imagine most of you in this sub lol


SokkaHaikuBot

^[Sokka-Haiku](https://www.reddit.com/r/SokkaHaikuBot/comments/15kyv9r/what_is_a_sokka_haiku/) ^by ^Thugnugget4224: *This platform is how* *I imagine most of you* *In this sub lol* --- ^Remember ^that ^one ^time ^Sokka ^accidentally ^used ^an ^extra ^syllable ^in ^that ^Haiku ^Battle ^in ^Ba ^Sing ^Se? ^That ^was ^a ^Sokka ^Haiku ^and ^you ^just ^made ^one.


AirportPutrid8492

There is another train immediately behind me. No, two. LOL, ha ha ha.


knowledge84

When I used to take the L, if could clearly see another train right behind it I would just wait.Ā 


[deleted]

When was this taken and at what station? I'm so glad I haven't had to deal with this in 4 years.


furruck

99% there is another train 1-2min later and I just wait for it, get on and there's maybe 3 people in the car. Y'all can have that cramped tokyo style mess, I give myself a 20min cushion usually for a reason and if i'm a few minutes late they'll deal.


BearFan34

I will take that Tokyo mess over the CTA any day.


furruck

CTA is just fine. I travel all over the world for work and use public transit all over. What Iā€™m talking about are the fools who are too impatient to want 1-3min for another train and cram onto the CTA like theyā€™re in japan during rush hour (been there, in real Japan and donā€™t recommend it there either.. it sucks regardless)


BearFan34

Yeah, what I was referring to was Japanese trains were always on time and very clean. No one smoking, passed out or pissing in the cars. It's a totally different experience. Crowded? Of course, especially rush hour. Maybe the CTA would be also if what I just mentioned wasn't so prevalent.


MXT4L

Holy Geezus! I sometimes hate working from home and then I see this.


MK1_Scirocco

I was going in daily to downtown on the O'Hare blue line. Now I'm working from home, I don't miss these trains or the inevitable crazies screaming on them.Ā 


GWPtheTrilogy1

I almost thought this was AI it's such a great pic šŸ”„


Santana773

Same!


Leather_Victory2042

I mean could be worse. Look at Indians train system. Them train cars be more than overfilled


PreciousTater311

Another year of Dorval Carter and that could be ours.


Wrigs112

ā€œThere is plenty of space to sit on topā€.


Leather_Victory2042

Thatā€™s also very true.


Low_Employ8454

This is a great picture!


ChadVonDoom

"Not enough train operators due to COVID 19" No, you fired them all 4 years ago and never replaced or rehired them.


justliving817

Iā€™ve never seen the train this packed. But I only ride the pink and green


HIS_AFFLICTION_0079

Well, good thing I UBERā€™d home just now, thereā€™s gonna be continuous spillover and I ainā€™t about the close quarters today.


[deleted]

Until the CTA is more reliable, I will be reliably staying away from the office.


allenqb1

JESUS


matiwan16

Such a beautiful city, with such a big budget but not enough to modernize the public transport, or at least make the stations not smell like piss


Fantastic_Ebb2390

Oh, I just thought this was in China


Tatanka007

Whyyy did they built it in open air in such a cold city makes no frkkn sense


Da-Bears-

Isolated incident, CTA is a well oiled machine.


letseditthesadparts

Never been to South Korea but my sister in law lived there two years. She couldnā€™t tolerate major cities in the states, chose Alaska. But would happily move back to south Korea if she could.


FreshOutBrah

That is a massive herd of whites


Nodap00

Lol I want to see the inside I bet itā€™s people in there sleep


elementofpee

This is a feature not a bug for urbanists demanding more density.


vlsdo

Iā€™m pretty sure people demanding more density also demand better train service, to accommodate the increased density


zcashrazorback

Nah, this is what happens when they run half as many trains as they should.


Prodigy195

Plenty of cities have higher density than Chicago with much better train service and less congestion. This is a failure of CTA leadership. But also we can't allow ourselves to escape blame. Far too many folks want to live in a city but be completely disengaged from anything when it comes to working to make the city better. Cities require an engaged populace and far too many of us have sat back and just let things happen.


elementofpee

Sounds like a fragile ecosystem thatā€™s always on the brink of chaos when a service erode even a little šŸ¤·šŸ»ā€ā™‚ļø


Prodigy195

I don't see how that is any different than our road/highway system? We have dozens of crashes daily that cause delays all across our road/highways system in the city.


dcm510

Thatā€™s not how anything works


BeatsAlot_33

If Chicagoians knew how to ride public transportation, it wouldn't be as bad.


[deleted]

[уŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]


BeatsAlot_33

It's a major contributing factor


[deleted]

[уŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]


BeatsAlot_33

>How exactly are the riders a contributing factor?!? The fact you have to ask is a sign you probably don't know how to ride public transportation. I feel it's safe to assume you never lived in NYC or Tokyo. They actually know how to ride public transportation


[deleted]

[уŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]


HIS_AFFLICTION_0079

He is expurt, has many XP in metropolitan areas šŸ’Ŗ


LordSwitchblade

For sure! Explain to this guy what CTA riders do wrong so he can fix the behavior.


HIS_AFFLICTION_0079

Ohhhh shit we got a transplant here thatā€™s traveled to NYC AND TOKYOā€¦.Irma Gerd! A fucking public transportation celebrity, heā€™s an expert! Just look at the beard on his Aviā€¦.he has the Noledge


BoomhauerArlen

At least spell Chicagoans correctly. C'mon.


hevnztrash

I'm so glad I don't depend on the CTA to go to work anymore. This is pathetic.


sundeigh

Yeah, thereā€™s an immediate follower for the 20 people standing in front of you to get on. Have fun being 20min late to work


Zebracorn42

Maybe right after lollapalooza ended.


Kaylie11

welcome to new york


kraziej82

I'm glad the orange line is never really like this


DropDead85

Who would have thought that a city with 2.6 million people would have busy public transit.


fizggig

You all wanted to go back to the offices. This is why I refused to go back at my job. Work from home and you don't have to deal with that crap.


Forsythia77

I live relatively close to the Damen Brown line, but pictures like this are why I take the 92 bus east to pick up an express bus. I get on the 136 far enough north to always get a seat.


processoriented

Reminds me of that time I spent a few weeks in Tokyo commuting on Chuo-Sobu Line daily


lolkatiekat

The red line was crazy this morning. I get on at Morse to the loop and it's normally next to empty. This morning, all the seats were already taken by the time it hit Morse. Opted to go to Jarvis or Howard and try my luck with the red line there (or just catch the purple line). Northbound pulled into Jarvis right as a southbound did - southbound was empty so I went ahead and hopped on. By the time we got to Morse, the platform had already filled out at least double what I normally see (less than 5 min between trains).