Can the CTA and Metra Learn to Play Nice?
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Benefits of increased cooperation could include fare integration and an alternative to the costly Red Line extension.
Recent Streetsblog CHICAGO posts about Metra
We Need Better Obama Center Transit Access, Not Wider Roads
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It's great that the design calls for pedestrianizing Cornell Drive, but the city plans to create more capacity than ever, which will only encourage more driving.
A Tale of Two Shuttles: New Commuter Routes Planned for Oak Brook and Naperville
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One shuttle will take Chicagoans from Hinsdale or Elmhurst to Oak Brook job centers. The other will squire Napervillians to their Loop offices.
Metra’s Underwhelming Strategic Plan Reflects the System’s Funding Shortfall
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It's tempting to call out Metra for the fact that the plan doesn't include expanding service, but insufficient funding for the system is to blame.
The Chicago Region’s Bike-Friendly Rail Service Makes Car-Free Camping a Breeze
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Our wide-ranging and bicycle-friendly rail system offers multiple options for taking a train out to the exurbs and then pedaling a few miles to a forest preserve, natural area, or state park.
Check Out Steven’s Trippy Aerial Footage of Tracks and Neighborhoods West of The 606
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Here’s some mind-bending drone footage of Metra trains passing by the west end of the Bloomingdale Trail, aka The 606.
Blood on the Tracks: Trump’s Budget Would Be Disastrous for Chicago Transit
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Local leaders say many planned improvements would be almost impossible to pay for without help from the feds, so we're going to have to fight this anti-urban budget with everything we've got.
Metra Will Build 68 Parking Spaces at Grayland Stop for About $17K a Pop
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When you think about appropriate uses for federal Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement dollars, pouring asphalt to make more room for warehousing automobiles is not the first thing that comes to mind.
Chicago Transit Needs an Upgrade: 5 Universal Features of European City Transit
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This isn't a wish list. These are five standard features of most bus networks in Europe.
Change to UP-West Schedule Left Some Customers Stranded on the Platform
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Streetsblog Reader and former Transport Notes blogger Alan Robinson contacted us on Monday, concerned that a poorly publicized change to Metra’s Union Pacific West Line schedule that started that day would lead to riders missing their trains. The line runs from the Ogilvie Center to the small town of Elburn, stopping at suburbs like Oak […]
Metra Studying Replacement for Old Switch Machine to Improve Reliability
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Commuter trains rumble by every few minutes while four Metra workers tell me inside a control tower how they keep 370 trains moving every day. The machine that controls switches between tracks has been operating since 1937. There needs to be more reliable and resilient equipment in place, but it’s not a cheap or easy job to […]
Coalition for a Modern Metra Electric Wants More Service, Fare Integration
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Transportation advocacy organizations and community groups have joined forces as the Coalition for a Modern Metra Electric, pushing for improvements to the commuter rail line that could lead to better job access and more economic development on the South Side. They want to see rapid transit-style train frequency, fare and schedule integration with the CTA […]