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Originally Posted by emathias
Unrelated to State Street, but they've also been sending some Rush Hour Red Line trains to/from the Green Line South of Roosevelt. Helpful when I'm visiting a friend's place in Bronzeville from River North.
Also, just out of curiosity, and speaking of Metra electrification, is there such a thing as powering electric passenger units from a locomotive instead of using all the electricity within the locomotive? It wouldn't solve the issue of the excess weight of the locomotive, but it would solve the problem of only having traction in one part of the train. And if the cars were convertible to overhead, it would help pay for electrification in pieces - at least for the rolling stock - if Metra ever decided to electrify BNSF or UP-North or something else.
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Better just to convert and buy EMUs like Caltrain is to replace their diesel service. The much improved acceleration allows for shorter time runs which in turn boosts line capacity.
I think that Metra is again going to angle for electrifying the Rock Island instead however since they own it. Given that Nippon Sharyo is closing up here would be interesting to see if they'd buy something a little less primitive than the Highliners.