Metra apologizes for Polar Express goof; says Santa will ride Saturday

Travelers left in the cold by a botched Polar Express train ride Saturday in Glen Ellyn will get their holiday trip after all.

Metra and Glen Ellyn Park District officials said Monday they will refund money to those left stranded after the conductor of a train meant to take them on a Christmas-themed journey told them they had the wrong one.

"We are very sorry for what happened," Metra spokesman Michael Gillis said. "We're going through the chain of command to see where this went wrong and how we can avoid it in the future."

A different train, set for 11:25 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 19, will take parents and children with tickets for last week's event on a ride that will include chocolate milk and cookies, caroling and a visit from Santa Claus.

Last week's ordeal left 135 people on the platform in downtown Glen Ellyn as they waited for the ill-fated train.

"We know how exciting it is for a kid," Gillis said. "There's something romantic about the train and the Polar Express. We couldn't be any sorrier for it."

Glen Ellyn resident Barbara Laing waited on the platform for nearly an hour with her three grandchildren, 7-year-old Jack Dellutri, 7-year-old Ali Buccola and 4-year-old Lia Dellutri. She said the children know the story of the Polar Express by heart and were excited to see the train come through.

"It sounded like such a great idea," Laing said. "I can't believe an organization that is organized enough to carry thousands of passengers a day can't do something as simple as board a bunch of kids and take them out to Elburn. It just boggles my mind."

She said she told her grandchildren of Saturday's replacement ride and they were still excited.

"They better be on time and they better make it good because I'm very upset with Metra," Laing said. "It was just very disappointing."

Recreation supervisor Sarah Sandquist spoke to the conductor when the train pulled into the station on Saturday and he told her another train would be by to pick up the holiday revelers. After waiting about 20 minutes, she started making phone calls and discovered the mistake.

"It was just really disappointing and shocking," she said. "Just seeing the faces of all of the kids was so hard. They were so disappointed and sad."

The park district has offered the trip for 13 years. Metra generally requires park districts and other groups to sign up well in advance and Glen Ellyn did so in March.

Gillis said Metra had been in contact with Union Pacific, the company that runs the train line. He said the conductor was wrong in telling Sandquist his train was not the correct one.

"For some reason, the crew didn't know they were supposed to be on that train," he said. "It was supposed to be the one."

Sandquist said it was the first time in her four years with Glen Ellyn she's had such a problem and she hopes never to face it again.

"There are concerns that communication from the supervisor is not trickling down to the conductors," she said. "It's important enough that the information can be passed down. It's definitely something in high demand, popular and it's bringing them business."

And Laing hopes it will erase the children's experiences of last weekend.

"We try to do a lot of fun things with the grandchildren," she said. "These are the memories they are going to go away with of us. You want those to be memories for them. But not in a bad way."

<div class="infoBox"> <h1>More Coverage</h1> <div class="infoBoxContent"> <div class="infoArea"> <h2>Stories</h2> <ul class="links"> <li><a href="/story/?id=343880">'Polar Express' leaves riders out in the cold at Glen Ellyn stop <span class="date">[12/14/09]</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div>