How come on off peak and weekend Metra trains some of the cars are closed off?

Question

How come on off peak and weekend Metra trains some of the cars are closed off?

Answer 1

some cars are closed of so that there need only be one conductor on the train and the company needs less staff/money

Answer 2

Here in Austria a conductor is allowed to supervise a maximum of 6 cars, if the train has more there must be two conductor on the train.

So during off-peak-hours - if there have to be additional cars moved to other locations (e.g. for the next peak-hour trains) - some cars are closed of so that there need only be one conductor on the train and the company needs less staff/money.

Answer 3

Both Randy and Famous are correct. Also, management may be moving empty equipment around for maintenance, the next peak period, etc.

Answer 4

it comes down to union agreement, less crew members the mor the pay. if only 2 taking the fares on a 8 car train they would make about 1 to 2 dollars more an hour. plus now metra tell's you it's for safety. so on weekend and off peak times

it smaller crews. did that help any.

Answer 5

Randy and Famous both point out some good reasons, but another reason is that Metra seems to feel it's cheaper to waste fuel and wear on the cars to just leave a rush-hour consist intact, than to pay a yard crew to split the consist, and rejoin it later. This does give them the ability to turn equipment around a bit faster (no yard stop), and for holiday weekends it could also allow for fast easing if a train gets overcrowded, but it seems it's mostly just to avoid the yards and their crews.

Answer 6

It not only Metra trains.

In NY, both Metro-North and Long Island Railroad can have first two cars closed because less ridership on that time.