GO Train Crews Calling In Sick Caused Summer Cancellations & Delays
Posted September 8, 2006 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Some of the frustrating GO train delays you may have experienced on your Friday rides home from work this summer were reportedly caused by train operators who decided to start their weekends early.
According to a published report, officials with GO Transit say some crewmembers are taking the TGIF mentality a little too seriously.
GO brass says the reason some of their passengers experienced Friday delays and cancellations this summer was because employees weren’t showing up for work, claiming they were too tired to operate the trains.
Officials say the last-minute book-offs only happened on Fridays. GO officials claim this summer has been the worst for train delays and crew shortages reportedly caused holdups or cancellations on four separate dates from June through August.
“Definitely delays. It happens a lot. For some reason it happens on my trains all the time,” student Jen Behrends said.
Most crews that work on GO trains aren’t employed by GO, but work for CN, which the commuter system contracts out to operate its locomotives. CN says GO is making a mountain out of a molehill over these summer shortages.
“If you look at this, CN is performing at 96.4 percent on-time performance and employees will book rest and they are entitled to do so under the collective agreements,” CN spokesman Mark Hallman said.
But GO officials want 100 percent and they’re apparently thinking about severing ties with CN and taking the contracts elsewhere.
There are no figures available on how many days GO train crews call in sick, but their TTC counterparts call in sick an average of 13.1 days per year – five more days than the national average.
