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garmon757

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Its currently 3:14pm at summit. Waiting for my 330 bus route. I heard a train horn that metrolinks f125 uses. And then i had a thought. At this hour is when metras heritage corridor arrives at summit. I may be wrong but i think that one of the ex metrolink f59's entered service. Now im curious if it did and if it has the horn i heard. Because if it does I'll be surprised and disappointed at the same time because i don't like the horns metrolink uses.

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1 hour ago, NewFlyerMCI said:

How does BNSF feel about this?  Will Metra have to build a third (or fourth) track?  Will BNSF approval  of the extension be tied to Metra (and not BNSF) operating the entire BNSF?

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Yes, it had a black roof. I think the locomotive you're referring to is one of the first F59PHIs that were painted in the Metra livery. They waited to paint the roof black to let the primer dry. I think the number was 79. 401-427 is reserved for the MP36s and I think 70-99 is reserved for the F59s that Metra acquired from GO Transit and from Amtrak. Here's a picture of the completed paintjob for the F59PHI:

48770762957_2897080cb1_b.jpg

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5 minutes ago, planefan001 said:

Yes, it had a black roof. I think the locomotive you're referring to is one of the first F59PHIs that were painted in the Metra livery. They waited to paint the roof black to let the primer dry. I think the number was 79. 401-427 is reserved for the MP36s and I think 70-99 is reserved for the F59s that Metra acquired from GO Transit and from Amtrak. Here's a picture of the completed paintjob for the F59PHI:

48770762957_2897080cb1_b.jpg

No, there's an MP36 that was recently repainted with a black roof. I can't make out the number but it looks like either 416 or 418. Also, F59PHIs are 73-93, F59PHs 94-99.

download_20200205_220636.jpg

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4 minutes ago, WCR said:

No, there's an MP36 that was recently repainted with a black roof. I can't make out the number but it looks like either 416 or 418. Also, F59PHIs are 73-93, F59PHs 94-99.

download_20200205_220636.jpg

I think thats 418. I've seen it twice on the Rock Island and the paint looks deeper and brand new, especially the stripes on the front. I wish they would repaint 407 and 415. 415 is among the worst MP36s in terms of paint issues. Paint's cracking everywhere, rust is showing, and there's metal visible along the body.

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5 hours ago, strictures said:

I something last week when I rode for the first time in months.  But they have set up all the seats as pairs facing each other & one person per seat section, unless they are together.

Are there any signs inside Trains?

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9 hours ago, BusHunter said:

Is there any ridership on the ME? The parking lots out in the western suburbs are dead empty. Dont know how Metra can stick around with no riders. Are there that many downtown workers working from home

I’m a fairly irregular rider (1-2 a week) to either 75th Main Line or occasionally Kensington from Millennium and no matter what day or time I’ve rode, it’s always been about an below average Sunday midday crowd. There have been times where they could replace the entire train with an artic and do just fine though. I see the south shore branch trains occasionally when I take the J14 or 75, and I never see anyone on those or waiting on the platform (although to be fair, I didn’t see that before the pandemic, so). As I type from a EB 75, a train just passed 75th Main Line headed inbound and I saw maybe 1-2 people in the windows

Also, it’s a toss up if the conductors wear masks ??‍♂️

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9 minutes ago, NewFlyerMCI said:

I’m a fairly irregular rider (1-2 a week) to either 75th Main Line or occasionally Kensington from Millennium and no matter what day or time I’ve rode, it’s always been about an below average Sunday midday crowd. There have been times where they could replace the entire train with an artic and do just fine though. I see the south shore branch trains occasionally when I take the J14 or 75, and I never see anyone on those or waiting on the platform (although to be fair, I didn’t see that before the pandemic, so). As I type from a EB 75, a train just passed 75th Main Line headed inbound and I saw maybe 1-2 people in the windows

Also, it’s a toss up if the conductors wear masks ??‍♂️

ME ridership in the city was abysmal pre pandemic.   ME gas the greatest loss of ridership if any Metra line.  That is why Toni Preckwinkle proposed lowering ME and RI fares in the city to match CTA farws and lower the suburban fares on those lines by a minimum of two fare zones.  As expected  Mayor Lori Lightfoot opposed that plan.  My only concern was where Preckwinkle's money to prop up the increasing service and lower fares would come from?  Consider that ME is already running increased service to comply with federally mandated PTC.  I think ME should give up the SC and BI branches and eliminate all city stops from 63rd to 111th with the possible exception of 95th Chicago State.

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According to recent Metra board meeting ridership info, the ME has the highest ridership of any line right now. 

The last I heard about 95th St is that it is supposed to be rebuilt to accommodate longer trains and add a park and ride. 

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I think they should lower the prices too. I was doing some uber over around 71st and the  south shore area and I only saw 4 riders as well. When I drive the bus through the harvey transportation center I never see anyone on the electric. It just too expensive especially in the lower income areas. But Metra has been pushing this 10 dollar unlimited pass on TV. It's a good deal and might get customers to use the service. It will open up transportation options they might not have had before. I see the pass continuing until the riders find Metra again. 

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41 minutes ago, Tcmetro said:

According to recent Metra board meeting ridership info, the ME has the highest ridership of any line right now. 

The last I heard about 95th St is that it is supposed to be rebuilt to accommodate longer trains and add a park and ride. 

If true, I think that speaks more to the pandemic related drop in ridership on the other lines Lines more than anything.  Ridership on these lines may be working from home.   Considering U of C, ME may have more Essential eorker ridership than any other Line.   Based on others observations, ME has list ridership even due to the pandemic.   Other Lines were more impacted 

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7 hours ago, artthouwill said:

ME ridership in the city was abysmal pre pandemic.   ME gas the greatest loss of ridership if any Metra line.  That is why Toni Preckwinkle proposed lowering ME and RI fares in the city to match CTA farws and lower the suburban fares on those lines by a minimum of two fare zones.  As expected  Mayor Lori Lightfoot opposed that plan.  My only concern was where Preckwinkle's money to prop up the increasing service and lower fares would come from?  Consider that ME is already running increased service to comply with federally mandated PTC.  I think ME should give up the SC and BI branches and eliminate all city stops from 63rd to 111th with the possible exception of 95th Chicago State.

I wouldn’t consider that schedule change to be increased service. If anything, it got reduced since the turnaround time for trains at Millennium got reduced.

Blue Island branch could honestly be replaced with 95th bound Pace service along the branch, but SC and the flag stops should definitely be reduced to $2.50. Should be easier to do now since you can use value on your Ventra card to pay for a ticket in the app. Eliminating those stops does more harm than keeping them as it though. They’re already flag stops (for the ML) and it’s not like all ML trains even allow for them to be flagged.

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