The train slated to leave the airport at 10:27 p.m. on July 10 was canceled because not enough staffers were available to operate it. According to an on-scene source, this situation caused enormous agitation among the throng gathered on the platform, particularly since trains only run about once an hour at that time of night. And the situation deteriorated further when the next train that arrived had only two cars — far too few to accommodate everyone waiting for a ride. As a result, the cars were quickly packed to overflowing, but other returning airline passengers, as well as airport employees eager to head home after a long day on the job, kept trying to squeeze in rather than be left lingering for sixty more minutes. Chaos quickly reigned, and the only thing that prevented the anger and frustration from boiling over entirely was an announcement that another train would roll up in ten minutes.
RTD spokesperson Pauline Haberman acknowledges that the trip cancellation "was not an isolated incident" — and as a result, this volatile scenario could happen again.
According to Haberman, "Approximately 3 percent of the monthly scheduled trains over each of the past six months have been canceled due to the lack of a second qualified crew member" — a requirement of the Federal Railroad Administration. "The second crew member is provided, per our agreement with RTD, by RTD’s security contractor, Allied Universal," she adds. "As other businesses have experienced, hiring personnel is more difficult than it was before the pandemic."
The A Line has been controversial from the get-go. Prior to its debut in April 2016, critics complained that it was "convenient to nothing." In the years that followed, breakdowns and delays led to lousy PR, and ridership declines following the rise of COVID-19 resulted in nearly empty trains during many parts of the day — although ridership has since gone up. Sometimes way up.
The A Line is most popular during morning and evening rush hours. But as the events of July 10 demonstrate, late-night trains can fill up rapidly since they operate less frequently and have fewer cars.
"The train that arrived in ten minutes was a regularly scheduled trip that had the required second qualified crewmember," Haberman notes, but it was not possible to add cars to deal with the overflow caused by the previous train's cancellation. "The A Line has a prescribed number of rail cars available in service at any given time," she adds. "The A Line trains all have the maximum number of cars, four, limited by the shortest platform served on the A Line. However, during this period in the service day, train runs consist of only two-car sets. The remainder of the fleet is scheduled for either other revenue service or in maintenance, under regulatory requirements."
Between January and June, Haberman notes that about 3 percent of monthly scheduled trips were canceled on the three lines overseen by Denver Transit Operators — the A, B and G lines. But those numbers add up: "Due to no second crew members available, 1,655 trips were canceled in that same time frame," she says.
Such cancellations aren't more common late at night, Haberman insists. And she notes that "RTD and the concessionaire have worked out an agreement to implement a new program developed by RTD’s security contractor, which provides the second crew member. This program utilizes Transit Security Specialist (TSS) to perform the duties of a second crew member to help fill in when a Transit Security Officer (TSO) calls out and will fully implement TSSs as the second crew member as TSSs are hired and have gone through the required Passenger Train Emergency Preparedness training."
The new program has led to a gradual decrease in A Line cancellations, as seen in the following figures provided by Haberman:
May 2022 (31 days)More classes have been added to "help address the second crew member issue," Haberman emphasizes. "RTD and the security contractor that provides staff for the second crew member post are making every effort to resolve the issue. RTD’s security contractor has indicated they have seen an uptick in interest of applicants."
275 of the 4,480 trips cancelled for various reasons plus 2nd crew (93.8 percent trips ran)
232 of the 4,480 trips cancelled just related to 2nd crew (5.2 percent)
June 2022 (30 days)
242 of the 4,336 trips cancelled for various reasons plus 2nd crew (94.4 percent trips ran)
216 of the 4,336 trips cancelled just related to 2nd crew (5.0 percent)
July 2022 thru July 10 (10 days)
51 of the 1,448 trips cancelled for various reasons plus 2nd crew (96.5 percent trips ran)
47 of the 1,448 trips cancelled just related to 2nd crew (3.2 percent)
In the meantime, "RTD fines Allied Universal $500 for every missed shift for the commuter rail trains," she points out. "Each Allied Universal shift consists of four round trips between Union Station and Denver International Airport, for a total of eight trips for every missed shift."
