Metra's SouthWest line begins Saturday runs

Metra's SouthWest Service will begin operating on Saturdays this weekend -- with three round-trips a day. Three trains will leave Manhattan for Union Station at 6:15 a.m., 11 a.m. and 3:15 p.m. Saturdays, with return trips at 1:30 p.m., 5 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. It will be the first Saturday service on the line since Metra took over operations in 1993.

Metra also will expand weekday service next Monday, allowing an early afternoon train to stop at the last two stops on the line. Commuters from New Lenox and Manhattan who come downtown in the morning can leave downtown at 12:35 p.m., instead of waiting until 5 p.m.

http://www.suntimes.com/news/transpo...ide16b.article

Wrong thread.http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/images/smilies/wink.gif

^^Wallstreet blew up that myth of "financial responsibility".

The problem is not enough spending is happening....and that is killing us.

Your points are great about why we didn't spend the money when things were better.....and we need to remember that when things do get better and start supporting our infrastructure through good and bad times.

.

Why? We've been talking transit funding for YEARS on this forum - and how the CTA/PACE/Metra always get bread crumbs thrown at them.

Now we're suddenly being given billions of dollars falling from the sky, and we need to find the best use. I think people really need to focus on how we're going to be sitting operationally when the dust has settled. Most of the work seems to be on updating the infrastructure and patching back together parts of the system. I would hope this would save on operational funds in the future. If the stimulus money is being spent expansions or new projects, do they have something in place that will fund those projects two...four...ten years from now? I don't want to see doomsdays become more and more frequent because we have a nice new system and new options, but still can't get funding for day to day operations worked out.

In the end it's still unsettling that we finally get all this funding for transit, but we seem to be jumping off the debt cliff to get it.

I think the main problem with the stimulus funding for CTA is that it was passed before the RTA discovered its catastrophic budget shortfall--you know, the one nobody seems to be talking about even though it's the biggest one yet by far. Now the RTA should have seen it coming when they're funded by probably the most procyclical taxes that exist, but oh well, they didn't, the stimulus funding that we have is for new projects and not maintaining operations, and we're going to have to get another injection of cash to keep the CTA running with its current service levels and fares.

It was sarcastic dude, relax.

http://www.chicagobusiness.com/cgi-b...gobusiness.com

Another Illinoisan gets top Obama transit gig
Posted by Greg H. at 3/18/2009 4:50 PM CDT

...The president on Thursday announced his intent to nominate former Riverdale mayor Joe Szabo to be administrator of the Federal Railroad Administration.

FRA is one of the operating units within the U.S. Department of Transportation. It supervises and funds surface railroads and related activities, including Amtrak. Mr. Szabo, now state director for the United Transportation Union, would rule on local funding requests for the Create freight-railroad bypass sytem and to develop high-speed rail passenger service here.

"Joe Szabo is uniquely qualified," Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Il., said in a statement. "Five generations of his family have worked on the railroad, and he has worked as a yard switchman, road trainman and commuter passenger conductor."

:previous: Good news about the funding prospects for CREATE






http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/c...,5818031.story


Quinn supports 3rd Chicago airport

Associated Press

4:12 PM CDT, March 18, 2009

SPRINGFIELD, Ill.

Gov. Pat Quinn's renewed commitment to building a third airport near Chicago earned praise Wednesday from lawmakers in Illinois and Washington.

"We will build a third airport in the south suburbs of Chicago and we will build it as fast as humanly possible," Quinn said during his budget address at the state Capitol.

Quinn said the airport -- talked about for years -- is part of much-needed economic development efforts around the state. .

The proposed Will County airport has been a pet project of U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., who created the Abraham Lincoln National Airport Commission to bring the airport to an area near Peotone. Chicago's two other airports are Midway and O'Hare.

"This is a promising step forward for the Illinois economy. ... It would create thousands of jobs and generate billions of dollars for our state," Jackson said in a statement.

Last year, state officials submitted updated plans to the Federal Aviation Administration for the airport. The state has been buying land for the project, but it's unclear when it will be built.

The Illinois Department of Transportation has said the airport would create 9,700 jobs within five years after it opens.

This is huge, a guy who understands the importance of the CREATE program in Chicago, and that the program goals will benefit the entire natiion for freight and passenger rail movement.

Will all the indirect references to the CREATE projects lately I almost would be shocked if it didn't get a major attention by the feds in the next few years also given the Illinoisan's in high positions are assuredly familiar with it. It would benefit too many regions, communities, and transportation types not to go through I would think.

........As for Peotone, ugghh. If the ME were extended I guess it wouldn't be that bad but man I wish Gary and Indiana had a spur under the arse to beat our state to the punch. Why Indiana officials don't seem more inclined to recognize the best and perhaps last chance to uplift the most draining part of their state I don't understand.

More great news from the CTA..
 

Ahhh, it never ends. Great job, Daley. Just keep blaming the cold weather and the age of the system. Mayor for life, right? :rolleyes:

CTA slow zones: More CTA trains are going slower than last year
Old tracks and rough winter weather are blamed for slow zones

By Jon Hilkevitch | Tribune reporter
March 19, 2009
CTA trains are again operating at lower speeds over more track because of an increase in potentially unsafe conditions, a discouraging about-face for a transit agency that has worked hard for more than a year redirecting limited funds to reduce slow zones.

About 19 miles of track are under slow-zone orders, according to the latest CTA Rail Customer Impact Map. That's up from 15 miles systemwide in December. It marks the first setback since an effort to get rid of slow zones began in late 2007.

The CTA operates 224 miles of track over eight rail lines. A project to replace rotted rail ties and rusty tracks reduced slow zones from 23 percent of total trackage in October 2007 to 7 percent in December 2008. Since then, slow zones have crept up to more than 8 percent today.

CTA officials said it remains their goal to eliminate slow zones, which rank as the No. 1 complaint among train customers. Although the total cost for the budgeted slow zone repairs is $321.5 million, money is not available for additional work, officials said. And if state and federal capital funding is not approved soon, slow zones would inevitably increase.

The Purple Line/Evanston Express currently has the highest percentage of slow zones, almost one-fourth of the total trackage on the line, while the stretch of the Blue Line between O'Hare International Airport and Logan Square has seen the largest reduction in slow zones, from 35 percent in late 2007 to about 6 percent now.

Transit agency officials said there is no lack of commitment to wipe out slow zones. Rather, the work was put mostly on hold over the winter because of tough weather conditions, they said.

The erosion of ballast that helps secure the track was responsible for a spike in slow zones this year on the Congress branch of the Blue Line to Forest Park and the Dan Ryan branch of the Red Line to 95th Street, officials said.

Slow zones more than doubled to 13 percent this month from 5 percent in November on the Congress branch, according to CTA records. On the Dan Ryan Red Line, slow zones grew to 14 percent this month from 9 percent in November. The CTA is using money from the federal stimulus to cut slow zones over about 36,000 feet of track in the Blue Line Dearborn subway.

Maybe if the trains get slow enough everyone can just walk alongside them and push. Think how much we could save on electricity if we could just shut it off. Then could have drawings every week for who can yell out "This is Fullerton. Transfer for Purple and Brown Line trains at Fullerton. This is a Red Line train to 95th. Doors closing."

My favorite would be "This is Clark and Lake. Transfer for Orange, Green, Brown, Pink and Purple Line trains....the Thompson Center...and City Hall at Clark and Lake. This is a Party Train to Yo Mamma's House"......" "Yo Mamma's House is next....doors open on the right at Yo Mamma's House. Transfer for Gonorrhea, Clymedia and Crabs at Yo Mamma's House".

then do a "BEEP BEEP BEEP.....Your attention please. We are being delayed because crews are workin Yo Mamma ahead. We regret this inconvenience, and expect to be moving shortly."

And how long where those line extensions planned? 2nd Avenue subway in NYC has been on a construction hold since the 1970's. Wilshire Blvd Red Line was put on hold in the '90s. Right now Chicago has 4 heavy rail studies active: Circle, Red Extension, Yellow Extension and the Orange Extension. These studies to actual construction take about 8-10 years, should we even secure the funds after the studies are completed. The Carrol Avenue transitway is also under study in-house by CDOT. If we want federal money to help build something, then we have to play ball with the alternative analysis program. It takes time, and then we have to fight for the funds. The Bush administration has not been very helpful to this process, even downgrading two significant transit projects in DC and Miami which had put them on hold. The state recently with Blago has been unable to fund any sort of transportation project with the lack of a capitol spending bill. We also, as Viva mentioned, have received a disproportionate amount of New Starts money in recent years as a result of successful lobbying under Kuresi, despite him being as bad as he was at managing the system. So, if we we are to build a new transit line on the spot, then we would have to fund it internally. So if the city has .5-1 billion just lying around, then sure. I suppose one of the privatization leases could take care of that; that is if we didn't have other city needs which have to be funded. Can't you imagine the political outrage that would spout from having low-income programs cut, while a subway is tunneled to Navy Pier through a very wealthy neighborhood? Then again, Daley is good at doing things that generate political outrage.

Age of the system is a factor we must deal with. That alone sucks up a lot of money. It may not be sexy like building a brand new LRT system as the cities down south or out west are doing, but we are spending just as much money, if not more than they are on capitol improvements. On the cold weather, well most of this track work occurs over night, and it was VERY cold here this winter, some nights approaching -20F, not including windchill. This also takes a toll on the system which is outdoors and exposed to the elements. Subways have the advantage of being naturally "climate controlled" by way of being subterranean.

I do believe Daley is pretty passionate about CTA funding here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ashM23pslk

I am not saying more couldn't be done from the Mayor's office. I am just saying that public transit is a complicated issue, and that we really have received a good amount of capitol funding for the system in recent years. I don't think its accurate to say Daley just doesn't care about it. The stars are aligning right now in Washington, so lets be patient. If we loose the Olympics and there is no further push to receive more money for transit, then yes I will be on the bull horn as well. You know how I can blow my top, I have vented on this forum quite often in the past. But for now, lets save the fiscal poker chips for the best hand. The Olympics would be a royal flush.

On Peotone, wow that is bad news. With the state as broke as it is right now, one would think this expensive project would be shelved, especially since the state will be shouldering the cost.

OK, i know it is becoming increasingly popular to blame Daley for every little thing, but are you really saying this is unreasonable? It would make sense to me that replacing ties and ballasts on open-air tracks would at the very least slow down considerably during the winter. And if the agency is looking at this from a cost savings perspective, it would seem smart to wait for better weather to maximize the benefits of paying for track repair work.

I think everyone needs to take a step back and wait to see how the money coming into the system is spent. We've got stimulus money coming in which will mostly be dedicated to maintaining the existing system. We've got a capital bill at the state level being pushed for hard by Gov. Quinn which will hopefully ensure that basic track maintenance doesn't go unfunded. And the local transit leaders are obviously making maintenance a very high priority right now.

That is awesome news. I know some folks in Palos Park who must be ecstatic over this announcement. I might take a trip on it this weekend just for the occasion. Perhaps I'll take a bike ride through the Will County countryside, the weather is supposed to be pretty nice Saturday afternoon.

Exactly. I'm not sure why anyone would get overly upset about a slight increase in slow zones after a rough winter. From the Tib article:
a 1% increase over the winter isn't a big deal, especially after 16% reduction in the previous year.

It went from a low of 6.8% to 8.4%, so it was more than 1 percentage point, although I concede your point that it doesn't seem that big.

But that's over all. Taking a closer look, the Blue Line jumped from 3.5% to 8.1%, again not horrible compared to past states, but I'm still surprised that even 3.5% is considered "good." Imagine the uproar if the highway between downtown and Schaumburg, when things were really good, had over a mile and a half (3% of the round trip distance) of roadway spread across patches where there were "Road Work - Slow Zone" signs up, strictly enforced. If that was the standard state for that highway, heads would roll. But at the CTA, we're like, "Oh, 3.5%, that's so much better I can't complain." Even the 6.8% (that'd be like 3 miles of constant roadwork on the way to Schaumburg) is hard to accept when compared to other modes of transport. The two trunk lines - the Red and Blue - are averaging 10% slow. That's just absurd. I think a good system-wide average max would be 5%, with any branch exceeding 10% constituting a maintenance emergency.

Right now, even if we ignore the Purple Line as just being ridiculously ignored, the rest of the system still averages 6.6% slow - and that's with three lines being essentially 15 or fewer years old (Green rebuilt, Pink rebuilt, Orange new just over 15 years ago), and the Dan Ryan, State Street subway and O'Hare branches having significant recent track work. It astounds me how far it's gone and how accepting we are of that.

^ Yeah, that's a classic piece of Daley at his best, no denying it.

Shawn, I remember a while back you said you met Daley and spoke to him about transit issues in person. While I have nothing else but to take your word for it, I'm still having some major doubts.

We'll see..

I haven't heard anybody ask yet why the Dan Ryan Red Line is 14% slow when the line was just redone. It crawls all the way from Cermak to 35th. Same with the Dearborn Subway, I thought they had just gotten done fixing things down there. Is there a good explanation?

Also remember that 8.4% of the system being slow zoned means you spend a lot more than 8.4% of your time in a slow zone.