[Mister Uptempo]

From metrarail.com -

Metra plans service enhancements as ridership returns from pandemic
(June 9, 2021) -

With ridership steadily increasing from pandemic lows, Metra will be adding service to all of its lines starting in July and will introduce enhanced pilot schedules on four lines with more off-peak options to meet the post-COVID needs of riders. The new pilot schedules can be viewed here.

From a pandemic low of 3 percent of normal ridership in April 2020 and a plateau of around 10 percent for much of 2020, Metra ridership has been steadily rising since January 2021 and this week reached 17 percent of pre-pandemic levels.

New pilot schedules will start July 12 on the UP North, BNSF and Metra Electric lines and July 19 on the Rock Island Line. In response to riders’ evolving needs and global best practices, the pilot schedules step away from pre-pandemic schedules that prioritized peak rush-hour service in favor of a more balanced approach that spreads out the service to offer better off-peak options. The schedules also have been reimagined with more memorable timetables and service patterns.

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The pilot schedules for the four lines can be viewed here. On the remaining seven lines, Metra will be enhancing rush-hour service; those schedules will be posted over the next several weeks. On some of those lines – where the infrastructure allows it – Metra may introduce similar pilot schedules in the future.