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In addition to all the above, as of now the CTA still plans on starting a rehab project on the Brown Line (or Ravenswood) branch as well. So on any given weekend this summer the Blue Line will be closed toward OHare, minimum one of the two Red Line subway tubes will be closed, Lake/Wabash branch of the loop will be closed, numerous Brownline stations will be closed (ongoing), and Brownline will be single tracked or closed.
Huberman has done more to overhaul the rail infrastructure since he started than the previous administration did in its entireity. And it badly needs it. |
Not that I disapprove of Huberman's Herculean efforts to get the system back into proper working order, but all I can say is that I'm glad the work will be mostly occurring during the summer, when more people have the option of biking/walking to work, and many students will not be making the commute to school.
Now for a better question - where is the funding for the slow zone work coming from? Is CTA simply borrowing the money? Or are they shifting it from the New Starts projects? That seems likely, since I haven't heard a peep about any of the line extensions, the Circle Line, Mid-City, or Carroll Street since Huberman took office. The only expansion that's been mentioned is the BRT upgrade, which is federally-funded in full. |
^ i think with the Transit bailout the CTA has xcess rev ( for now) to cover capital needs....
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I'm not sure if I've ever experienced the CTA slowzones. How bad were they?
The last time I rode the Blue line (OHare branch) was Fall 2005. The last time I rode the north side Red Line was Spring 2006. Were there slow zones back then? I just don't recall the system being all that slow at that time. |
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There is a reason the previous administration didn't go this route in putting the entire system under construction at the same time... it's at least a highly debatable point as to the correct course of action, but the "conspiracy"-minded would surely see this as a Daley imperative to get the system tip-top ASAP for the Olympic bid. Of course, our local media are completely ignorant of public finance, so no one needs to worry about any questions like ardec's being asked... |
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(but I'll never believe the day will come when the L cars are clean enough to eat off of as Huberman suggested they would be) :P |
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Slow zones on the Red Line, both on the Northside Main and State Street subay had been on the rise for the last several years. Nearly 50% of the route north of Roosevelt was slow zoned due to track deterioration. However Huberman is paying for this it needed to be done. I don't blame him for new slow zones popping up (brown line), they are only being found because track inspections have been stepped up and are using new equipment to locate unsafe trackage. |
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I suspect that some train operators knew this and intentionally slowed their trains in unlabeled, but obviously defective portions of track, which led to some areas being slower than expected. But when the full identification of slow zones was finally established, a huge portion of the routes became official slow zones. Coupled with the Red Line Dan Ryan rehab and the Brown Line station expansion work, the track rebilitation has created long portions of slower service. However, the Dan Ryan Red Line has completed, and the Brown Line is ever-closer to being completed. The majority of the non-Brown Line slow zones will be eliminated by the end of this year, so 2009 will be a lot faster for many trips, and when they go back to 4 tracks at Belmont and Fullerton, and all the slow-zone elimination work is completed, riding CTA rail in 2010 promises to be a miraculously faster experience compared to 2007. Then maybe they can return their focus on expansion plans, like the Clinton Street Subway or the Circle Line. |
Am I correct in remembering that the track rehabs in both subways include replacing wood ties with concrete ties? Shouldn't that help prevent tracks from deteriorating to slowzones again too quickly?
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http://www.chicago-l.org/articles/ClintonSubway.html I would love for such a thing to happen. It would really help tie in Olgilvie and Union Station to the rest of the transit system. That means better access to Metra and Amtrak. |
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Am having a little problem understanding your "tense". We on the brownline have been dealing with construction, what for two years now? We are over a year into 3 tracks being used....we just completly opened the 2 northbown tracks at Belmont and Fullerton. Huberman had little to do with that...and the brown line has run so much better since brownline construction started...I am a little worried of going back to all tracks and stations being open. |
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Instead of a simple Blue Line loop, it recommends a new subway branching off of the Red Line in the Cabrini-Green area, running south down Larrabee Street, crossing the river and the Fulton River District, and then running down Clinton all the way to somewhere south of Roosevelt, where it would cross the river again and rejoin the Red Line north of Chinatown. Ideally, this would be done in conjunction with the Circle Line; Circle Line trains would take the State Street Subway and Red Line trains the new subway, with the idea being that the Red Line is serving the office district on the West Loop, while the Circle Line is serving the entertainment and shopping in the East Loop. |
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I don't know if this has been pointed out before, but it looks like Google maps updates on the weekends to remove the red line subway stops. I just noticed this. There is nothing showing up between Fullerton & 35th.
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^ Halsted is the perfect north side option. Not too familiar with the others.
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^Well, 79th is the busiest route in the city. This would be like adding an extra layer of service.
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