Quote:
Originally Posted by Baronvonellis
There was supposed to be a metra station at Peterson Ave built for the last 5 years, but from what I can see Metra hasn't been able to secure funding for it yet.
They spent about 6 years it seems to rebuilt the Lawerence Ave station, and they are only halfway finished. It's hard to image them electrifying the line in our lifetime. At the pace they are going at Lawerence it seems like they must be hand carving the station out of marble blocks, lol!
Just doing more frequent trains would help alot, and getting some newer trains that don't belch diesel fumes.
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Metra is heavily reliant on state funding for capital projects, and the state is not interested in investing in transit systems right now. CTA is a different story, it's tightly linked to Chicago as a single political body so Emanuel can do things like use TIF funding for stations in many parts of the city, or propose (and get approved!) a TIF district that covers the entire North Red Line corridor. If CTA did not enjoy the unwavering support of the mayor, it too would be crumbling like Metra is.
As a regional bureaucracy covering hundreds of small municipalities, Metra can only dream of such fundraising ability. Instead it has to rely on the state government, and all its inadequacies, as the only body of government with the power to raise money across Metra's entire territory.