Friends of the Rail Forum

CHICAGO PASSENGERS ATTACKED
Friday, 30 January 2009

A series of incidents has been reported at Chicago’s Metra station in South Dorchester, all apparently involving the same man. He targets unaccompanied women, threatening them with a large kitchen knife and demanding they hand over their belongings. To get to the platform, commuters have to walk up a set of stairs under a dark viaduct. The suspect is described as having crooked teeth and was last seen wearing a black ski cap and white gym shoes, according to the police.

The Church of God, which is located near the station, has put its 18,000 members on alert. "We have a lot of activity and a lot of individuals that come back when they get off work in the evening. We're concerned about their safety," Donnelly Miles, Apostolic Church of God, was quoted saying.

The church has an elaborate security system, but the cameras were not sufficiently close to the station to be useful to the detectives.

TRAIN BURGLAR ARRESTED
Friday, 30 January 2009

Police arrested a 39-year-old man from New Bedford, Massachusetts, after several railway freight wagons were broken into and goods stolen. He was charged with breaking and entering into a railroad car, larceny from a railroad car, breaking and entering into a motor vehicle and a building, and possession of railway burglary tools.

The police responded to a burglar alarm at about 03:30 on 24 January. A number of wagons and a delivery van owned by the Colonial Beverage company had been broken into and ransacked.

During the search, police observed the suspect coming from behind a building carrying several tools and wearing clothes apparently stolen from the railway company. Footprints in the snow matched the soles of his shoes and being the only prints in the area, he was arrested.