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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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^yeah, wouldn't that kind of overlap with the red/brown line?
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^ Wow, I didn't realize how little 10.2 miles was until I saw that graffic. A better east-west connection into Streeterville looks good, esp in light of all the health-care/research related jobs there as well as Mag Mile shopping
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I also like the fact that I can exit the Blue Line at Chicago and take a fast bus line into Streeterville - that's quite a luxury, compared to the complicated transfer I would need to make in the Loop. The Halsted line is also nice, but I would really have preferred if they had extended it all the way through Greektown and across the Eisenhower to the edge of UIC - this would only add an extra 1/2 mile, but it would make the Halsted bus go SO much faster. |
Sun-Times take
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Metra adding trains to deal with rush-hour crunch
Weekend service will also get more trains, officials say By Richard Wronski | Tribune reporter May 11, 2008 Article tools Metra riders who find themselves caught amid standing-room-only crowds on Union Pacific North line trains will get some relief this month when additional cars are added to rush-hour trains, officials said Friday. Facing record high ridership, Metra also will add weekend trains to fill hours-long gaps on the UP North and Milwaukee District North lines. |
It's too bad no BRT is being implemented on North Michigan Avenue. Riding buses down that stretch in the morning or afternoon is awful. It's too bad we can't build a bus tunnel under Michigan Avenue like Seattle has. Removing buses from that awfully busy street would really speed things up!
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2076/...125accc4_b.jpg (photo posted on Flickr by PWylde) |
WTTW Ch.11 Will air a special in-depth look at the STAR Line on Tuesday @ 7:00pm. I think the show is called 'Chicago Matters'... Whether you like this proposal or not it should provide an interesting look.
http://www.chicagomatters.org/calendar.asp |
Regarding questions about the Brownline rehab - I'm fully aware that for riders purposes the brownline has been under construction for a couple years now, with associated delays, etc. However, the vast majority of that work has been related to replacing stations, not rails and ties. There are some exceptions to this in the North Main area between Belmont and Fullerton, but generally speaking you have new stations on the Brownline with old rotting ties on the tracks. Replacing those ties and rails is what will begin shortly.
And to go with what others were mentioning before, a couple years ago the system was not covered with slow zones - however, it should have been. The condition of the system in places was terrible. The worst spots have been tackled or are being worked on now. CTA basis its bonding on the fact that if they do not upgrade the system, ridership will dimensish, farebox receipts will drop, and so on. |
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Will the Bus lanes have their own private ROW?
Or will it be something "shitty" http://www.chelmsford.gov.uk/media/i..._(o)_large.jpg |
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^ So true.
Chicago area newspapers slam the CTA on a regular basis, while you almost hear almost nothing negative about Metra. Is it a racism thing? Perhaps CTA is viewed as some sort of charity service for minorities, who knows? No different here in NYC either. Everybody grips about the MTA (me included), but you usually hear little about the LIRR, etc |
I think it's because it's foreign to them. Trib reporters and editors generally don't live in the city. If they do (trying to give RedEye some cred), it's in one of three North Side neighborhoods. Any hiccup with the Brown Line is serious, while the south end of the Red Line could be closed for months before they noticed.
And then there's mere laziness. If Metra puts that spin in the press release, the Trib will think it's doing a good job by merely summarizing and shortening. Questioning the premise never occurs to them. |
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The trains aren't slowing down at rush. The trains aren't waiting for the redline on the southbound track anymore at Fullerton and Belmont. I want the purple line to be reversed in the loop though!!! |
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^ Plus, I've heard many people who live in the city & ride the CTA gripe about it
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Because if ridership keeps increasing, the extra service should pay for itself. |
No, because the cost of all transit services comes partially from ticket sales and partially from sales tax subsidy. The subsidy isn't increasing, and I'm pretty sure the extra ticket sales aren't enough to cover a whole set of additional trains.
If Metra stopped diverting operating funds into capital, perhaps extra trains could be added. But on the other hand, new locomotives, cars, and maybe even yard space are required for additional service, and these are capital expenses (which require funding from the state). |
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If the public would educate themselves about transit funding and how the existing structure is hobbling the system, you'd hear a lot less griping, methinks. Taft |
I just hate how the tribune (and everyone else) refers to transit funding as a "bail-out".
that's like saying buying a pack of gum is a wrigley "bail-out" sometimes things cost money, from now on, anytime i pay for something i am going to say i am "bailing-out" whoever is selling pardon me... i have to go "bail-out" the bar down the street |
How do we make sure that what ever restrictions through price increase we do are fair? I think we should base downtown parking on the make and model of a car. So people who own more expensive cars pay more for parking. If we don't do that then the roads we all built will only be used by those driving Mercades to get to work...the rest will economically be forced into public transportation. I have no issue with across the board forcing of people into public transportation.
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As far as bailouts - stop government funding of the trains the day after government funding is stopped for the roads. |
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