Metra Rail
reviews and complaints

I have been a rider on Metra for the past 18 years I get a monthly pass and the Pace Bus Plus (now known as the Regional Connect Pass). You can only get the Connect Pass at the time of purchase with your monthly pass. I like my paper passes for both as I am sure alot of riders do. Now with your new way of doing things they are telling me I have to do everything on the Ventra app when we all know that isn't reliable from day to day. Not only that I could forget my phone one day and you mean to tell me I have to now pay for my Metra ride and my bus ride because I don't have my phone. I don't even carry cash with me to work because I don't need it. I keep the paper passes in my work purse so if I ever forget my phone I still have my passes I need to get to & from work.

First 2:35 train consistantly opens doors at 2:30 at OTC. This is a safety issue as well as inconvenience for riders of this line. Secondly, there is construction during the day on this line, They are stating a 30 minute wait after Barrington. Why is not being done during off hours after 8 pm or even later.

The opening of doors in OTC is a safety issue and will have to be reported to NTSB.

The train conductors on the Metra Electric line have twice been dismissive, unhelpful or downright scary to my teenage daughters who use the line to get downtown from Hyde Park and to friends who live further south.

On my thirteen year old's first solo ride she had her ticket folded in a wallet to keep it safe. The conductor in a authoritative voice that made my daughter feel she had broken a rule asked "why is your ticket folded?" The answer: to fit it in my wallet. "Don't fold it." My kid was then nervous and anxious, scared of the conductor.

What is up with this? You can fold your ticket any which way you want. She had the ticket. The ride is paid for. Chill out.

My older daughter took the wrong train south that did not stop at 63rd but was express all the way to Homewood, a south suburb almost an hour ride from home. She was panicked and distressed and the conductor was not helpful at all. She asked if they could make a stop for her and instead of explaining why this isn't possible to a kid who is sobbing, he responded, "No can do." What is the point of having unkind unsympathetic conductors? Especially when trains are habitually late and arrival and departure times don't stick to the schedule resulting in a fifteen year old getting on the wrong train!

The train is a great resource. The conductors should not take out their frustrations on young people. These kids are just learning to ride and respect the trains.

THIS IS PRIVATE AND NOT TO HAVE MY NAME, EMAIL OR PHONE NUMBER PRINTED PUBLICALLY.

This is yet ANOTHER complaint I am emailing about regarding “the quiet car policy” and a conductor on the Southwest Service named “David S.” who I encountered on the 5:12pm evening train departing Union Station and going to my stop, Oak Lawn on JUNE 7, 2023.

I QUOTE the quiet car rules that are ALSO posted in the quiet cars:

“The rules are simple: No cell phone calls. If passengers must answer their phones, they should make it brief or move to the vestibule or another car. Conversations are discouraged; if they must be held they should be short and in subdued voices.”

On tonight’s train ride there were TWO groups sitting next to each other with the seats facing each other (creating 4 seats together per group) and before the train even left the station they were talking loudly, laughing, playing loud videos on their phone etc.

I do not believe “I” am the only person that this bothers immensely! People have ZERO respect for the quiet car rules and the conductors DO NOT MAKE ANNOUNCEMENTS ANY MORE REGARDING THE QUIET CARS AND THAT SHOULD BE MANDATORY! Especially as we move into the summer months.

Obviously, with all the unrest going on throughout the Chicagoland area I do NOT believe it is the COMMUTER’s responsibility to “police” the quiet cars. THAT IS ONE OF THE JOBS OF THE CONDUCTORS.

Tonight I simply asked Conductor David S. to ask the two groups to be quiet due to this being the quiet car. His DISRESPECTFUL and UNPROFESSIONAL comments were as follows:

“They are with “us” … (and by “us” im assuming he was referring to “Metra employees? And if that was the case they should KNOW the rules) - so I pointed out that it did not matter who they were with the RULES are the RULES. His next response was “it’s the quiet car NOT the silent car …” - This response is 100% rude and disrespectful. What if EVERY passenger on the quiet car decided NOT to be quiet? Made cell phone calls and held “conversations” that were NOT subdued and NOT short. It would no longer be the quiet car now would it? Finally, he snapped at me to “let him do his job” and continued to walk away from me to go into another car to which I replied “this IS part of his job !”

I should not have to be the one to subject myself to an altercation with passengers that have 5-6 other cars to sit in that are NOT DESIGNATED QUIET CARS. This is something the conductors should make announcements about and when asked to intervene they should instruct the NON COMPLIANT passengers to switch to another car or FOLLOW THE RULES AND BE QUIET.

There is NOTHING quiet or subdued about conversations and laughing between passengers sitting across the aisles from each other - and there is certainly nothing consisting of “short” when they continue the entire train ride.

I would like this conductor addressed. I would like confirmation that that has taken place and finally, I would like METRA to have their conductors instructed to enforce the rules on the train line.

Denise

Email: [protected]@gmail.com

Phone: [protected]

I experienced a situation with a conductor on the UP West line today while arriving at Ogilvie Center. I was standing in the vestibule on the steps near the door waiting for the train to stop and allow us off the train. Suddenly I hear a loud metallic rapping on the metal rail post above my head. It was very rapid and disconcerting and caught my attention. As I looked up and behind me the conductor, an African American man about 60-65 years of age (he was not wearing a name tag-hence the description) very loudly said to me, “Get outta there, I gotta get in there!” As he was rapping his metal keys on the metal support post-that was also very abrupt.He seemed very angry as if I was trying to block his way, which I was not. Also to note I was not wearing headphones or ear buds so I could hear him very clearly. After the banging of the keys and yelling stopped. I said, “All you had to do was ask.” This angered him further and he retorted, “I did ask” while mocking the motion of rapping his keys against the post. I said “Well doing what you did wasn’t asking and was very rude.” Further angered the conductor said, “If I really wanted your attention I would have whacked you in the back of the head!” I calmly asked, “Are you threatening me with violence?” He responded, “if I was you’d know!” Now I was fearful of my safety as this guy is pretty large. I tried to gather myself and just wait to get off. Finally the doors opened and I decided to try and make a peace offering even though I was clearly not at fault. I approached the conductor who had moved aside and was talking yo someone. I very lightly tapped his shoulder and offered my right hand to shake and say “hey, no hard feelings” this did not work! He yelled at the top of his lungs, “don’t you [censored]ing touch me! Don’t [censored]ing touch me! And I said, “all I wanted to do was shake hands” he continued, “hey the [censored] away from me! I don’t need to shake your god damned hand!” Surprised and dismayed I walked away! Like I said I see this guy all the time on the UP west line and I’m not looking forward to seeing him again! There seems to be something else bothering him. Riders on Trina should never feel threatened by train conductors but today I truly was and I did not feed into this behavior! I’d like someone to talk to him regarding his unacceptable behavior. I can’t believe it really happened.

My Name is Mr. Jasir Zibusiso. I use the Metra Train every day from Calumet Station to Millennium Station at 4:34 am #100. On Wednesday 25, 2023 I was boarding the train and was berated, belittled, and insulted by Conductor Mr. Pat Corley. The leaves the Calumet Station at 4:34 am and I am usually the less person to board the train on time. Mr. Corley told me to move my butt and close the train door on my left arm (I could have been injured) because of his bad unprofessional behavior. His behavior was totally unacceptable and out of control. He needs more Customer Service and Diversity training. I believe he was part of the January 6 insurrection at the Capital in Washington D.C. because of the language he was using at me. You meant want to check into it for the betterment of Metra. Thank you,

[protected]@gmail.com

Leah red hair with tattoos who was collecting tickets let a white gentleman not show a ticket for the ride bc he said he would buy the monthly pass the next day.

I a woman of color, said the same thing and she responded “you’ll have to pay now”.

I was taking this train everyday but now I feel unsafe and discriminated against. Please do better Metra. Allowing someone who picks and chooses who she believes can pay “$100” demonstrates a lack of integrity and is quite frankly disgusting.

The train pulled off 4 minutes early and I was late for work. This is purely unacceptable. This train was scheduled for 7:42 a.m. and it left at 7:39 a.m. there are no excuses. The train is ahead of schedule that is obligated to wait at that station until it's proper departure time. This is the fourth time within a year that this is occurred and this will be the last time this isn't occurrence. If you care about the people that fund your company then make sure the people that you pay are doing their job.

Line - UP-W

During Covid, Metra has relaxed "bikes on trains" policy. This is still the case today, May 18, 2022, per Metra's website and an email I received from their customer service.

However, it appears that conductors are completely unaware of this, as I have been told twice that bicycles are not allowed on rush hour trains. In one of this occasions, I was denied boarding. The only message the conductor repeated is "no bikes on trains during rush hour".

I wrote Metra's customer service again and they argued that accepting bikes is at the conductor's discretion because the train may be full or more passengers may board along the road. While this may be true (highly unlikely) on one of my incidents, this does not apply to the other case as the train was a non-stop to downtown Chicago (and nearly empty).

Facts:

1) conductors are misinformed about current Metra policies (the argument "no bikes during rush hour" proves it)

2) not allowing bikes on trains is not left to the better judgement of conductors, rather to their arbitrary enforcement (of a policy they don't know exists)

3) Metra will do nothing to support the rider's rights -given by their own policy (or relaxation thereof)

Here's a copy of the email I sent to the complaints department 2 days ago. I was promised a call about this yesterday, but received none.

To Whomever This May Concern,

I apologize in advance for the length of this message. A lot happened that led to the incident that I wish to be addressed. Other aspects of what happened could also be addressed, but there is one main incident that is the reason why you're receiving this email today.

For the record, I've already had a conversation with a very helpful gentleman by the name of J. C. Manning and one of your other staff (a woman by the name of Holly who was also very nice) along with a couple of other members of your staff regarding this incident. I think you have some good people there who understand how to respond to a concern and others who do not.

I began by barely missing the 2:30 BNSF express train. Your digital clocks had me entering the track area with about :15 seconds to spare, but by then I was being flagged down by your Metra Police telling me that I couldn't board. When I explained that your clocks had me with :15 seconds to spare, he told me that the clocks were wrong and that they literally depart at 2:30 (which I know not to be the case since I'm a monthly pass holder) and so they have to close the doors early and power up, etc. He was not very sympathetic. If I had to describe him, he was dismissive and talked down to me. That is NOT what I'm writing about. The simple solution for Metra would be to either fix your clocks (or set them a little early since they're not on time as it is) or put 2:29 as the departure time thus avoiding all potential complaints about cars leaving or closing early. Again, this is NOT the reason for this email.

As I'm deciding what to do next, I see two conductors and someone in plain-ish clothes in a conversation. I approach one of the conductors and started with "Excuse me. So if you're saying the train leaves at 2:30..." and there were a couple of other sentences following that - all said calmly, civilly, not overly loudly. He chose to pretend that I wasn't there. Literally. He looked right past me.

I followed with "Are you seriously going to pretend that I'm not standing in front of you right now (I was less than arms length) and pretend that I'm not here trying to have a conversation with you? You're kidding me - right?" THIS is the reason for my email. There's more, so keep reading.

At that point, I heard a voice behind me. There were two Amtrak police behind me - one younger, one older. The older gentleman was, again, dismissive, and tried to tell me that I was at fault for not getting there earlier. He made the comparison to the airport and flying on a plane, followed by security reasons and regulations. The younger gentleman was actually okay. He was a little bit more conciliatory and not dismissive and did not talk down to me like the first two Metra/Amtrak Policemen. These two gentlemen are NOT the reason for my email. They directed me to where I could file a complaint or recommendation.

As I started to walk towards the ticket area, I decided that I refused to be treated with such disrespect as was shown by your Conductor, so I went over to him calmly and asked for his name. Again, he refused to acknowledge me. He had no tag on that I could see. Then, he turned to the other conductor and the gentleman in the plain clothes, said something to them, and they all started laughing out loud about it. THIS is also what I'm writing you about.

From there, I turned to have a conversation with Holly. She was dealing with a power outage, and, despite that was still extremely courteous and tried to be helpful. She wasn't able to give me the names of the conductors and I'm not sure if the request made her uncomfortable or if she really didn't know their names. Either way, she was really good in this situation. Again, she ultimately directed me to the ticket area to file my complaint and through various other agents and staff, I finally came across Mr. Manning.

At first he thought I was harassing his staff over a train I missed. I explained to him that at this point, although the Metra/Amtrak officers weren't exactly nice in their response, I understood it. Holly definitely helped. I even told J. C. that had the conductor been professional, I wouldn't have any reason to escalate this to him.

What I find unacceptable is the conduct of your conductor and his two colleagues. Even if he didn't feel comfortable or at liberty to have a conversation with me, the least he could have done would have been to direct me to the complaints area. He took a situation that he could have helped and decided that he had the power to make me feel small.

At the end of the day, all of your staff - be it a ticket agent, to a track officer, to management, to your conductors are part of the customer service experience. I understand that they deal with crabby, and, I imagine, impolite people all day long, but the service you provide is based in customer service and satisfaction. There is no other successful company that I can think of where, if I have a question or complaint, and I go to a representative of that company - whether it be a employee or a manager, that it would be acceptable to disrespect me, literally look through me and act like I wasn't there, and then ridicule me with co-workers. Not only is this unprofessional, but it is uncivil and this is NOT acceptable in any way, shape, or form from any organization that relies on the patronage of their clients. My goal with this letter is to make sure that this does NOT happen again from this or ANY of your staff, but specifically the conductor in question. If you disagree that this form of behavior is unacceptable, then please direct me to someone else that takes this stuff seriously.

No one was willing or able to provide me with a name. That said, I am more than willing and motivated and likely to go back and get a photo, and I'll happily send that to you as well as post it on my social media feeds if that helps to get this resolved satisfactorily.

There is an old saying that you should take very seriously in your business model: "Make someone happy, they'll tell their friends. Make someone angry, and they'll tell everyone." My point is that I will not be letting this rest until you've provided me a reasonable resolution and follow-up.

Best Regards,
Jason

Car Number 7303, used on the Milwaukee District West line this past week needs attention.

One, the restroom has a smoke detector that needs it's battery changed, as it's beeping.

Two, one half section of the coach - the air conditioning is not working at all and it's a hot house in there.

This is written on July 29, 2016

Metra train is always delayed and it seems like that they do not care for customer satisfaction as there is no competition.They should be fined heavily per delay.

They will simply apologize for any kind of failure, but apology should only be accepted once and not every time. Today, 03/23/2015, Metra West line delayed for more an hour and if you count number of working hours lost due to this delay than it will be enormous. Also that is only for one how about all the trains that got delayed because of this. They should give 10% discount in all the fairs in April month.

Period..or else fire incompetent engineers..

The conductor on Train #626 (7:40 out of A.Park), 65+ years old, grey hair, grey goatee, skinny, glasses has a very bad reputation among passengers, everyone knows who he is (even on other trains when his "name" comes up). Even when you are NOT crossing in front of a train and simply running up to the train, and tons of people are still getting on the train (which thousands of people must do at a hectic pace EVERY A.M.) he will "catch" people running when lights are flashing. He then stands there and yells while pointing to people: "You can't get on, and you can't get on, and you can't get on!" OR, as he did to me, will lecture you when you board, raising his voice, hold an orange card in your face, and disrespectfully lecture you about how you have to be on the platform before the train is pulling in, "You don't have to watch people get splattered!". NO ONE GETS "SPLATTERED" WHEN NO ONE IS CROSSING IN FRONT OF A TRAIN, THE PLATFORM IS RIGHT THERE. Hey Metra...WE PAY YOU, WE ARE NOT INMATES. If we are on the side of the platform that the train is loading on, that is NOT running in front of a train and is completely safe. This ### is a wanna be cop who couldn't pass the Police Academy, is very angry about it, and exerts the little power he has on a train.
METRA, BOTTOM LINE: WE PAY YOUR PAYCHECK. IF NOT FOR US, YOU WOULD NOT HAVE A JOB, YOU WOULD NOT GET A PAYCHECK. Conductors need to stop bullying, "policing" passengers and being RUDE. 95% of us during rush hour are PROFESSIONALS going to work, or students. Metra has no right to speak to us like inmates and discrespect us...we do not need policing, just shut up and take us to work...I pay $150/month for this! SOME conductors are very polite and nice. Too many however, are like this idiot I just described. These conductors are way out of control and something must be done. This conductor threatened to make me get off the train at the next stop because I "wouldn't LISTEN TO HIM." I don't have to LISTEN to him. He's not my boss, he's not a law enforcement officer. When I told this conductor I was going to report him, he said "Go ahead...they won't care!" Unbelieveably this is probably true. Metra seems to do whatever they want, and don't give a damn about anyone but their egos and pockets.