Trains Are Awesome: Metra has a holiday train

 

[VIDEO] YouTube channel Trains Are Awesome shows the Holiday Train that runs on the Metra Electric line. We know about the CTA Holiday Train which is currently running through Christmas, but I never knew about a Metra Holiday Train which is chronicled here as Thom boards that train from Homewood to come into the Randolph Street station for gift bags and a hot chocolate from Starbuck's.

Here are some more details from Metra however note tickets are sold out, however, there's always next year now that you know. The train itself runs on three Saturdays this month and sadly today Dec. 17th is the last day it will run this month. So there's always next year if you want to check it out.

Happy holidays.

State ends mask mandate on public transit

 I didn't update this when it happened, however, worth sharing for those of you who ride public transportation especially. CTA was still putting up tweets saying mask up until restrictions are lifted and then Gov. Pritzker lifted them on Tuesday the same two as the last two posts.

Governor Pritzker Issues Updated Mask Guidelines to Align with Federal Court Ruling #twill https://t.co/7F6lPi8Pmi

— Gov. Pritzker's Press Office (@ILGovernorPress) April 19, 2022

From the recent press release 

To align with the ending of the enforcement of the federal mask mandate on public transportation following a federal court ruling, Governor Pritzker today announced he will revise Illinois' executive order executive order lifting those requirements for the State of Illinois. As a result, masks will no longer be required on public transit, in public transit hubs, or in airports. Executive Order 2022-06 will be amended to reflect these changes. Local municipalities retain the right to establish their own mitigations, including masking requirements on public transportation.

I also want to add the most recent tweet from CTA on this subject 

In order to align with State guidance, CTA will no longer be requiring masks on public transit. Those who wish to continue masking are encouraged to do so. Please be kind and courteous to fellow riders as we continue to welcome folks back to the CTA.

— cta (@cta) April 19, 2022

From the NBC Chicago article you see where Midway and O'Hare stands with masks, Uber if you use that service, and for those of you who ride Metra & Pace masks are now optional there as well.

Chicago Tribune: Authorities investigating ‘suspicious package’ at Far South Side Metra facility

I'm checking the Metra website and see no mention of any service updates with regards to this. Trains were stopped during rush hour, however, nothing that shows definitively that service has been continued.

This was the story from the Tribune as of 4:30 Friday evening.

A Far South Side Metra facility was evacuated and Metra Electric District trains were halted Friday afternoon after an employee noticed a suspicious package, Metra officials said.

The package was reported at a maintenance facility at 12301 S. Indiana Ave. in the West Pullman neighborhood, Metra spokesman Michael Gillis said. As of about 4 p.m., Metra Electric trains were still stopped, and authorities continued to investigate the threat.

The trains were halted around 3:20 p.m. “out of an abundance of caution” because the line passes near the facility, Gillis said.

Metra Electric station at 111th Street #tbt

 

[VIDEO] The train station right at the Pullman National Monument was uploaded to YouTube by the channel M K on November 16, 2015 - basically over five years ago. Showing passengers getting off of a train at night from Randolph Street.

Surely it might be different by now even little by little however it would be nice if there were some improvements. Especially if this could become a future tourist attraction with the national monument nearby.

Metra Electric delays during last nite's PM rush

[VIDEO] If you were traveling on the old IC line aka Metra Electric District you experienced some delays especially if you left from any station between Randolph Street to 51st Street. The video you see above aired on CBS 2's 6 PM broadcast.

Per  a tweet from a dedicated twitter page for the Metra Electic District electical power had been restored though trains would operate with residual delays

Metra Alert ME - Electrical power has been restored. Inbound and outbound train movement has been cleared to proceed. Trains will be operating with extensive delays - UPDATE #2

— Metra Electric (@metraMED) July 3, 2019

Sun-Times: Man fatally hit by Metra Electric train, service resumes with ‘extensive delays #Ward09

Well it's a bit interesting I post that Metra Electric ride along video this morning and there was an incident on that same line this morning near Kensington or 115th Street. Here's a tweet with a link to the Sun-Times story

The CTA will honor Metra tickets for affected riders on the Red Line from 95th to Lake and on the 1, 2, 6, J14, 28, 71, 115 and 119 buses. https://t.co/lyRUkPKgHH

— Chicago Sun-Times (@Suntimes) February 22, 2019

From the twitter page for the Metra Electric line a new update.

Metra Alert ME - CTA will no longer honor Metra tickets on the Red Line (95th to Lake) and bus route 1, 2, 6, J14, 28, 71, 115 and 119

— Metra Electric (@metraMED) February 22, 2019

Metra Electric ride-along #fbf

[VIDEO] Remember a few years ago that I had shared a video of the CTA Red Line where you would see the whole journey from 95th Street to Howard Street on the north side. What you see above was published on Metra's YouTube channel in May 2017.

In this case you will see the journey of the Metra Electric train from University Park in Will County through the south suburbs and into the city to the Millenium Park station in downtown Chicago just under Randolph Street.

If you want to see it's journey through the south side of Chicago just skip to about 30 mins into this one hour video. Basically you'll see the communities of Ward 9 from about 130th to 95th roughly on it's journey. Of course if you continue watching until it goes into downtown Chicago you will see Hyde Park and Bronzeville along the way.

And it's also interesting to note that this line which also has branches west into Blue Island and east to the South Chicago neighborhood has been part of proposals to become part of the CTA as the grey line. It was also cited as an alternative to building the Red Line extension by a candidate for mayor of Chicago.

Metra Electric Map

Chicago Reporter: Instead of extending the Red Line, some see promise in the Metra Electric

Red Line Extension

The future of the greater Roseland area will be affected by the future CTA red line extension. It's something that I'm very excited for and evidently the debate continues over whether or not this is the transit project the far south side of Chicago needs right now.

Another part of this debate - especially with the uncertainty of funding for this project which is only expected to be built during the course of the next decade - includes improvement of the Metra Electric line. Better yet should the Metra Electric (or IC for you old timers) be converted to a rapid transit line operated instead by CTA.

In January, the city announced the final alignment for the 5.3 mile extension to 130th Street. That’s key for the CTA to secure $1 billion in federal funding needed for the project that wouldn’t see construction start until 2022. Though the city has proposed using transit TIFs (tax increment financing) to fund part of the extension, some transit advocates contend that wouldn’t be nearly enough to make a dent in the cost. And others question whether the Trump administration would give the city $1 billion for a project of this scope.

Some transit advocates say there is a quicker and less costly way to improve transit on the South Side by converting the Metra Electric District (MED) main line into rapid transit. Retrofitting Metra’s existing rail infrastructure to accommodate rapid transit, they say, could be completed in less time than it would take to build the extension and without displacing privately owned properties, as the Red Line extension would.

But putting the Red Line extension on the backburner where it has sat for decades would be a disservice to the Far South Side, community members say. Mayor Richard J. Daley promised to extend it beyond its 95th Street terminus when he cut the ribbon on the transit line nearly 50 years ago.

A former candidate for 9th ward alderman - well not identified as such in the article - was quoted in this piece:

South Side resident Michael LaFargue says extending the Red Line south is all about equity – transit equity, economic equity and environmental equity. The loss of manufacturing jobs, he said has devastated the Roseland community economically while lack of rapid transit has made access to jobs and opportunities even more difficult.

The 111th Street station, LaFargue added, could be branded as Greater Roseland Hospital Medical District similar to the Blue Line’s Illinois Medical District. The Michigan Avenue station could reinvigorate that mile-long business corridor, making it the ‘Magnificent Mile South,’ he said.

“This is a catalyst for economic development and branding,” said LaFargue, president of the Red Line Extension Coalition, a community-based group.

And what's the difference in cost?

Policy analyst Daniel Kay Hertz of the Center for Tax and Budget Accountability says both projects are important and would have significant impact. He estimated a cost of $27 million per mile to convert the Metra Electric’s South Chicago branch into rapid transit. Hertz based that figure off a 2012 Chicago Department of Transportation report  which puts the cost of converting MED’s South Chicago branch to Millennium Station — not the entire line — at $350 million. Hertz said there’s no reason the per-mile costs would differ substantially to convert the entire MED line. In comparison, the Red Line extension would cost about $434 million a mile.

“It is basically logistical stuff that they need to do as opposed to the physical engineering and  construction of several miles worth of new rail lines and stations,” Hertz said.

Finally a brief history of the Metra Electric and the advocacy for it's conversion to a CTA rapid transit line:

The MED originally ran as rapid transit and the line’s South Chicago branch ran every 10 minutes during the 1940s under its then-operator, Illinois Central. That frequency reduced when it became part of the Regional Transit Authority. Now the line has frequent service during peak evening and morning hours but runs every one to two hours during the mid-day.

The idea to convert the commuter-rail into CTA-style “L” service resurfaced again when transit advocate Mike Payne touted the plan as the Gray Line in the 1990s. It has gained traction in recent years thanks to advocacy groups like Coalition for a Modern Metra Electric and Active Transportation Alliance who want the MED to run every 10-15 minutes. Last year Metra increased mid-day frequency on the line to every 20 minutes between Hyde Park and Millennium Station.

But Metra’s fare structure could create a burden for low-income riders. Metra’s fares are distance-based where CTA charges a flat fee. And since there is no fare integration between Metra and CTA, riders would have to pay two full fares. There’s no fare discount to transfer from one transit system to the other.

What do you all think? Metra Electric (especially serving segments within the city) converted to the "grey line" operated by CTA  or the red line extension which certainly could benefit residents south of 95th through to Altgeld Gardens or perhaps there is a way to make both happen?

Found this article via Chicago-L.org.

Discussions on converting Metra Electric to a rapid transit line

Found this article via Sloopin that was published on June 24. There is official interest in turning the Metra Electric Line into a rapid transit service with more frequent trains.

A proposal to convert the Metra Electric District Line into a rapid-transit line with more frequent stops to serve the South Side and suburbs has drawn the interest of Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who has asked the head of the Regional Transportation Authority to facilitate discussion on the issue, RTA officials said.

During the transit agency's monthly board meeting Thursday, Chairman Kirk Dillard told a representative of a coalition of South Side and south suburban groups that Emanuel had reached out to him about the rapid-transit idea last month, and that talks had begun.

Dillard said he spoke with Metra Chairman Martin Oberman about the proposal Wednesday.

"The RTA is working with the CTA and Metra," Dillard said after the meeting. "We need to get a handle obviously on the finances, as well as ridership numbers historically in that area. We're in the preliminary fact-finding stages."

We've been hearing about grassroots proposals to turn the Metric Electric (aka IC line) into a rapid transit service as opposed to a commuter rail service. It even has two different color designations such as the Gray or Gold Line.

Question to ask here is how this could benefit the many communities on the far south side if there was more frequent service on the Metra Electric line if CTA institutes more frequent service? This could very much benefit the neighborhoods of Pullman, Roseland, West Pullman, South Shore, South Chicago and perhaps even the near suburbs of Riverdale. And hopefully wouldn't take as much time to institute as finally building the CTA Red Line extension from 95th to 130th Streets.

BTW, part of me wishes that instead of using those double decker Metra coaches prevalent on all Metra lines if only it was possible to turn this into a typical third rail service instead of overhead traction. Perhaps find a way to connect this to the L system at some point. Perhaps more express service for Metra Electric & South Shore riders coming from the south suburbs and Indiana

Better yet if only such service could exist along the Metra Electric's South Shore and South Chicago branch and it could be converted to a third rail service. I realize these are all questions of later study and probably won't be instituted immediately. Even the Yellow Line aka Skokie Swift had been in service years before it was converted to a third rail traction line.