Plus St Louis-Chicago and Madison-Milwaukee both have one thing in common: they involve connecting their State's capital with its largest city. Especially for Illinois, I'm sure a lot of legislators would love the idea of having an alternative to driving or flying when traveling to Chicago.

In the interest of keeping things tidy, can we move the HSR discussion over to the Midwest Regional Rail thread? Other than the Englewood Flyover, most of the money will be spent outside of Chicagoland. Currently, we have three redundant discussions here, in the national HSR thread, and the Midwest thread.

Could be a "General Developments" topic, but anyone got any idea how to transport several hundred thousand people to Montrose and 63rd Street beaches at the same time? By the time a remote parking and shuttle bus regime is set up, will there actually be any cost savings to ending the Grant Park fireworks?

Leave it to politicians who get driven everywhere to think that downtown crowds are even possible absent rail lines to get people there.

^Yeah, I don't think we've heard the real reason for cancelling the downtown fireworks.

This is also the reason I've been dubious of the plan to eventually move the fests further south in Grant Park. I think the further they get from transit—especially Union and Ogilvie—the more problematic for the city and the less attractive to suburbanites.

Union and Ogilvie yes, but CTA provides hundreds of thousands of additional (above baseline) roundtrip rides on July 3, too - only feasible with the capacity of a rail system and calling in tons of extra buses for overtime duty. I suppose there is -some- precedent for determining how people are accessing Montrose and 63rd Beaches by analyzing past summer utilization trends, but the magnitude of telling hundreds of thousands of people to go there means some major planning is required for bus service and directing people to parking (since many will drive anyway).

...agreed we haven't heard the real reason, I find it nearly impossible to believe that the additional marginal tax revenue created by these events (sales, hospitality, parking taxes in and near downtown) don't far and away overcome the costs of security. There's something else we don't know, and it's probably a horrible reason.

^ I was just going to say, I kind of wonder if, due to crime issues in the past, they're not trying to create a separate celebration for north and south siders?

If that's the reason, it's an unfortunate one, because continuing to create racial divisions is NOT the answer to Chicago's problems...

Another curious thing is that July 4 is a huge day for Mexican families to come to Montrose; in fact, many years the park vehicular entrances have to be closed off in early afternoon. So now they'll be told that the only people welcome in the park that day are young adults who can walk from the L or bicycle over.

Same thing in Jackson Park, where there's a longstanding holiday weekend tradition of big African-American extended families or groups holding barbecues complete with tents and (maybe) overnight camping. How much of that will be chased away because vehicles can't enter the park on the 4th?

I'm amazed this isn't talked about much. In just over a week bus service is going to be cut back 20% and train service 10%. The CTA will be a rush hour service essentailly and outside of rush hour the waits especially for bus service will be long and will be packed.

All this talk about rebuilding downtown and building urban neighborhoods will be moot soon.

Is Metra planning on Electrifying anymore Routes in the Chicago Metro?

^No. We'll be lucky if they don't unelectrify the Electric District the next time the catenary needs serious work. If it weren't for the downtown terminal being underground, this might already be under way in lieu of buying the ugly new Nippon Sharyo cars.

Metra only operates the suburban trains, not the metro.

Oh what I would do with Metra if I was in charge...

How could electrification expansion happen, though? All the commuter lines are shared (more specifically, owned) by freight companies.

Are you aware that BNSF is exploring the benefits of electrification?

I think BSNF plans to electrify at least 10 corridors and a total of 1000 + miles , i think they operate a few of Metra lines.

The fools in Springfield are too busy with their elections to worry about their constituents.

Not all. Metra actually owns the Metra Electric District, Rock Island District, and the two Milwaukee Districts.

CTA chief: We'll take union's furlough days offer
CUTS LOOM | But he says it hasn't come up during talks

January 31, 2010
BY MARY WISNIEWSKI Transportation Reporter

The head of the CTA said Saturday he would "gladly" accept a union offer of unpaid furlough days and deferred 2011 wage increases to help avoid service cuts but hasn't heard that offer yet at the negotiating table.

CTA President Richard Rodriguez was responding to comments made Friday by Darrell Jefferson, president of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 241, representing bus drivers. Jefferson had said the union's offer would cut $80 million from the CTA's budget, through furlough days and a pay deferment, but that the CTA walked away from the offer.

Not entirely, though? I thought that at some point along the line, ownership reverts to CN/CSX/CP, respectively.

in other words its a game right now to who is going to back down first. This is our annual scare then.

Except that 'management' (a.k.a. 'the taxpayer' and his representation) has nothing to offer other than adjusting the number of layoffs proportional to whatever wage/benefit concessions the union makes.