RTA riders sound off on social media about delays after Browns game

CLEVELAND — Several riders taking RTA trains home from Sunday night's Browns game at FirstEnergy Stadium sounded off on social media about delays they experienced, with some saying they were stuck on trains for hours early Monday morning.

In a statement released Monday afternoon, the Greater Cleveland RTA explained that a train stopped at a section of track without power, causing a delay of upwards of 45 minutes. They also acknowledged that they let their customers down, and said operators will receive additional training, and they will evaluate and adjust operations procedures so this issue doesn't happen in the future.

Reddit user “kidfromCLE” posted a photo of a crowded train car full of Browns fans who were apparently upset at more than just the team’s close loss to the Rams.

“RTA’s leadership should be ashamed. It’s 2:37 AM, and according to our train conductor there are STILL Browns fans stuck at the waterfront,” the photo is captioned. “We are finally on the train to the suburbs.”

Twitter was littered with dissatisfied RTA riders voicing their complaints about delays overnight.

“I’m still standing on the platform for the redline after 45 minutes after Browns game. This is really pathetic that you can’t get this right! How do you not do this properly? #Turrible” tweeted John Barno.

Jeremy from DawgsGottaEat.com tweeted: “Finally back from the Browns game... at 2:45 am. Thanks @GCRTA What a mess."

Mark Marcinowski tweeted: “what’s going on. Train is not moving. Very bad first experience with rta rapid.”

The Greater Cleveland RTA responded to him with an explanation for at least one delay: “Good morning, our apologies for your experience. this morning there was a train that lost power at the west 3rd rapid station. Two other trains tried to move that train and they also lost power which led to the delays you experienced.”

But many more on Twitter voiced dissatisfaction not just about the delays, but about the slow reaction and lack of communication from RTA officials.

“Customer service was lacking on the stalled lakefront trains after Sunday’s Browns game. The cars were claustrophobic, hot and stifling for the 30 or so minutes before we exited and walked back to the stadium station,” tweeted Brian Burke. “Also, no one gave us info to advise what was happening.”

In response to one of Marcinowski’s tweets, mglennie chimed in: “Was this at the Browns stadium after the game? My wife & bro-in-law were stranded down there. I heard there was zero communication by RTA. No speaker announcement, nothing. People eventually left as they saw others leave. No plan B put in place. RTA workers just bailed I guess?”

On Monday afternoon, the GCRTA provided this statement:

At approximately 12:15 a.m. on Monday, Sept 23 after the Browns football game, a Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority (RTA) light rail Waterfront Line train picked up an ADA customer per procedure at the W. 3rd St. station platform. Instead of stopping at the other end of the platform to pick up the remaining passengers, the operator mistakenly drove past the platform. The operator was then instructed by the control center to reverse direction.

While reversing, the train traveled a section of track where there is a gap between the power source and the train. The gap is designed to accommodate taller freight trains which need a higher clearance level when they cross the RTA track there.

A train moving at regular speed would ordinarily coast through that gap and then regain connection with the overhead power. Because the train stopped in that gap, it didn’t have the speed to coast through that section and then reconnect. As a result, the RTA train was unable to make the contact to the power source and lost power.

An attempt was made to troubleshoot the issue by assigning a rescue train, but a power connection could not be made.

Unfortunately, customers experienced a delay on the train for upwards of 45 minutes. With the assistance of Transit Police, customers were escorted back to the W 3rd Street station platform. Passengers were picked up by another train about an hour later.

In reviewing the incident, RTA let its customers down. Our expectation and that of our customers was that they would have the transportation they depended upon to take them from First Energy Stadium to their destination. They waited an unacceptable amount of time in crowded conditions without power to the train.

Despite efforts by staff to communicate to customers waiting on the platform, RTA failed to adequately update onboard passengers. As a result, operators will receive additional training so that they communicate with customers frequently and with real time information. RTA rail operations procedures will be evaluated and adjusted accordingly so that this issue will not be repeated in the future.

RTA sincerely apologizes for its failure in delivering reliable transportation, and in communicating with our customers in a timely, acceptable manner.

The next game at FirstEnergy Stadium is against the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday, October 13 at 1 p.m. The next home night game is on November 14 at 8:20 p.m. aginst the Pittsburgh Steelers.