Red rag to a train

Despite my somewhat unpleasant ride on America's rail network before Christmas, today I decided to throw caution to the wind and get a train to San Francisco to visit the Java One trade show and have lunch with a friend.

Just after Millbrae the train ground to halt. The conductor announced that they had to stop because of a red flag. I looked out of the front of the train. The red flag was in fact a red square of cloth that had wrapped itself around a bush growing at the side of the track. However to the train driver this was enough to stop the train and wonder what to do next. Eventually the trains conductor managed to request that a maintenance crew come out and remove the piece of red cloth. A team of two people with hard hats and orange vests arrived in a truck and proceeded to remove the red handkerchief from the side of the track. They then refused to say that is was ok for the train to proceed. When pushed by the conductor to get approval from their management that the train could proceed the maintenance crew ran back to their truck and drove off, leaving the conductor and the train driver to argue as to whose job is was to say it was ok to proceed. After another 15 minutes one of them decided it was their job and the train continued to San Francisco.