( CNN ) -- The man credited with making Chicago 's Metra commuter train line one of the best in the country is an apparent suicide , killed Friday by the train he himself rode five days a week for more than two decades . Shortly before 8 a.m. , Phil Pagano drove to a parking lot about two miles from his home in unincorporated Crystal Lake in suburban Chicago , walked onto a track where someone had committed suicide three years ago and stepped in front of an oncoming Metra train , McHenry County Sheriff Keith Nygren told reporters . The train 's lone engineer `` saw a man standing on the tracks turning and looking at the train , '' Nygren said . `` There was eye contact , he felt , between himself and the victim . '' Pagano , Metra 's executive director , made no attempt to step off the tracks , and the train , which was traveling between 45 mph and 55 mph , could not stop in time , Nygren said . None of the 27 people on the train was hurt . They included 24 passengers , two Metra employees , and the engineer , a Union Pacific employee . The passengers completed their trips in taxis ; no other trains were delayed as a result of this incident , Nygren said . `` We have secured evidence at the scene and at the victim 's residence that would indicate that this was an intentional act on his part , '' he said . A deputy on routine patrol came across the body within a minute of the incident , Nygren said . He described the scene as `` very gruesome . '' Pagano 's death came a week after Metra announced it was investigating whether the 60-year-old married father of two daughters got an unauthorized vacation payout last year of $ 56,000 , said Metra spokeswoman Judy Pardonnet . It also came two hours before the Metra board was to have met to hear from an independent investigator about the allegation against Pagano , who was on paid administrative leave from his $ 269,000-per-year job . The meeting was delayed , Pardonnet said . She said the apparent suicide was out of character for a man who cared deeply for his job and his co-workers -- so much that he made sure train personnel received counseling after witnessing similar incidents . She credited her former boss with having transformed the Chicago rail system from one that in the 1980s was `` dilapidated and rundown '' to one that is now `` the top among commuter railroads . '' `` This is a man who had an absolutely impeccable record and , honestly , was viewed as probably the premiere leader of commuter rail in the country . '' Metra , for which Pagano had worked since its formation in 1984 , moves 300,000 passengers per day along 11 lines over 550 miles of track serving six suburban communities in an area the size of Connecticut , she said . Before that , he held several positions at the Regional Transportation Authority in Illinois . On-time performance , according to Pardonnet , is routinely at or above 97 percent , the best of any major city in the country and a record that area residents have grown to count on . `` We literally get e-mails from people who say , 'My train was four minutes late twice this week , and I find that unacceptable , ' `` Pardonnet said . `` He 's had a fabulous and unprecedented career and that makes it even more tragic . '' `` Phil served this agency with distinction for many years , '' Metra said in a written statement . `` Today , we shall remember the good work he achieved with our board of directors and the men and women of Metra . He was dedicated to our passengers and he always considered the men and women of Metra his family and there is a tremendous sense of loss within the agency . '' Deputy Executive Director Bill Tupper was named appointed acting executive director of Metra , which after New York is the nation 's second-largest commuter rail system , said Meg Reile , another Metra spokeswoman . The investigation was initiated after Metra officials received a tip from Greg Hinz , a reporter for Crain 's Chicago Business , about the claim , Pardonnet said . `` Phil Pagano surely did n't go to work for Metra to grab money he was n't entitled to , '' Hinz wrote Friday on his blog . `` Nor do reporters get into the news business to provoke suicides . '' He added , `` I and others I 've talked to who were involved in the matter are , frankly , rattled . Writing about this is part of my job , and the job needs to be done . But that does n't mean you do n't feel bad . I do . I am sorry it had to end this way . ''
Phil Pagano made Chicago 's Metra commuter train line one of best in country , many say . Pagano apparently killed himself by stepping in front of a Metra train . Pagano , Metra 's executive director , made no attempt to step off the tracks . `` He 's had a fabulous and unprecedented career , '' says Metra spokesperson .