[nomarandlee]

Originally Posted by ardecila

What kind of headways are we looking for out of a airport express line? If it's any greater than 15 or 20 minutes, it cancels out the time savings over taking a cab or taking the Blue Line. .

I'm not sure if I'm buying that logic. I agree that every 15/20 minutes is ideal but even if it were every half hour during periods I think an express line could compete.

During much of the day the ride to Ohare from downtown is upwards of over an hour often in mind numbering traffic. Then you have 40 minutes (if it isn't riddled by slow zones at the time) on the Blue Line with numerous stopping and minimal comfort.

Just having a relatively comfy train ride that doesn't make you feel like you are stopping every 3 minutes or doing rolling stops like your cab on the Kennedy I think would be a big sell.

It would royally screw up the massive A2 Interlocking at Western Ave, for example. I guess you could avoid this somewhat by sending the airport trains to Ogilvie, where airport-bound pax would find a more spacious, welcoming terminal.

Is Olgivie really less congested then the north terminal of Union?

Originally Posted by Mr Downtown

^An expensive solution to a problem that need not arise in the first place.

More expensive then trying to retrofit the blue line to also carry express trains with minimal disturbance?

Originally Posted by Mr Downtown

The problem with letting the office core continue to migrate westward is that it renders irrelevant the existing rapid transit facilities, as well as Millennium Station. It's a huge waste of resources, plus there are social justice issues of making office jobs easier for west and north suburbanites to reach, but harder for city and south suburban residents.

London offices are already widely distributed, plus Paddington has easy Underground connections to the City and Westminster.

Are you saying that London doesn't attend to social justice or rasing all boats as much as Chicago should aim to? I don't know but I would rather take London's economic and poverty issues over Chicago's.

Not every CBD need be Midtown Manhattan to properly and efficiently utilize infrastructure and provide reasonably transportation to all the regions residents. In fact Midtown already could be considered less concentrated (and will continue to be if future developments go through) then the Loop is.

Acting as if building just west of the Chicago River is akin to moving jobs and wealth to the far off suburbs is a bit silly. The West Loop will still be be MUCH more well located from a transit standpoint then Streeterville, Illinois Center, or much of River North is for many regional residents. If East-West bus connections are realized and a Clinton Blue Line built it will easily be the best connected transit quadrant of downtown outside of the Loop if it isn't already.

What is a bigger waste of resources to me would be to spend x10 the money to retrofit the Blue Line or build whole new train spurs when the infrastructure is largely ready right now for minimal cost and time. Money and savings that could be used for other direct social programs and improvements just by mindfully using the most practical and financially sound alternatives utilizing current infrastructure instead of going for the more costly (and contract heavy) options.