Random Metra

[WCR]

Per Metra Facebook:

Metra on Saturday, Nov. 7, will introduce its first Bike Car, answering the call from bike enthusiasts to have more room for bicycles on its trains. It will be deployed on the Milwaukee District North Line as part of a pilot program that will last into the spring of 2021. Read the news release here: https://bit.ly/3p18KGV

[strictures]

3 hours ago, WCR said:

Per Metra Facebook:

Metra on Saturday, Nov. 7, will introduce its first Bike Car, answering the call from bike enthusiasts to have more room for bicycles on its trains. It will be deployed on the Milwaukee District North Line as part of a pilot program that will last into the spring of 2021. Read the news release here: https://bit.ly/3p18KGV

It would work a lot better if Metra bought one of the cars that Toronto or Los Angeles uses.  Those have a low floor boarding system.

[ajay]

4 hours ago, WCR said:

Per Metra Facebook:

Metra on Saturday, Nov. 7, will introduce its first Bike Car, answering the call from bike enthusiasts to have more room for bicycles on its trains. It will be deployed on the Milwaukee District North Line as part of a pilot program that will last into the spring of 2021. Read the news release here: https://bit.ly/3p18KGV

These look nice. Can't wait to see one.

[MTRSP1900-CTA3200]

18 hours ago, WCR said:

Per Metra Facebook:

Metra on Saturday, Nov. 7, will introduce its first Bike Car, answering the call from bike enthusiasts to have more room for bicycles on its trains. It will be deployed on the Milwaukee District North Line as part of a pilot program that will last into the spring of 2021. Read the news release here: https://bit.ly/3p18KGV

It’s like an older version of CalTrain!

[MetroShadow]

On 11/6/2020 at 9:12 AM, MTRSP1900-CTA3200 said:

It’s like an older version of CalTrain!

The hill that I will die on is that Metra needs to stop ordering gallery cars and start messing around with the Bombardier bi level approaches. 

After riding Caltrain on and off for five years since I moved here, the gallery cars aren't functional at all. Especially with the bike cars.

[Sam92]

On 11/5/2020 at 4:27 PM, WCR said:

Per Metra Facebook:

Metra on Saturday, Nov. 7, will introduce its first Bike Car, answering the call from bike enthusiasts to have more room for bicycles on its trains. It will be deployed on the Milwaukee District North Line as part of a pilot program that will last into the spring of 2021. Read the news release here: https://bit.ly/3p18KGV

I’ll pass. My bike is $450 1985 vintage from japan I’ll tear the whole yard apart looking for it if I forgot to go back to the bike card and grab it lmao

[NewFlyerMCI]

8 hours ago, MetroShadow said:

The hill that I will die on is that Metra needs to stop ordering gallery cars and start messing around with the Bombardier bi level approaches. 

After riding Caltrain on and off for five years since I moved here, the gallery cars aren't functional at all. Especially with the bike cars.

They've could've done like MARC and lined them all up on one side at an angle and fit vastly more bikes

[John7]

I heard that they started collecting fares onboard UP trains. can anyone confirm this?

[strictures]

On 11/17/2020 at 12:33 AM, MetroShadow said:

The hill that I will die on is that Metra needs to stop ordering gallery cars and start messing around with the Bombardier bi level approaches. 

After riding Caltrain on and off for five years since I moved here, the gallery cars aren't functional at all. Especially with the bike cars.

I totally agree, I rode the LA Metrolink trains & the low floor boarding is great!

[Pace831]

Metra adds second bike car on MDN

[artthouwill]

Looks like 2021 will bring lower fares to Metra Electric and Rock Island Lines.   Metra board approved Preckwinkle Pilot.  Somewhere in Rogers Park, Lightfoot is steaming. 

[chitowndude84]

On 12/25/2020 at 8:02 PM, artthouwill said:

Looks like 2021 will bring lower fares to Metra Electric and Rock Island Lines.   Metra board approved Preckwinkle Pilot.  Somewhere in Rogers Park, Lightfoot is steaming. 

 

I think Lightfoot has more on her "Plate" at the moment than Metra fares

 

Dave

[strictures]

1 hour ago, chitowndude84 said:

 

I think Lightfoot has more on her "Plate" at the moment than Metra fares

 

Dave

Lightfoot is toast!  She has shown that she is totally incompetent as mayor, as she has no idea of how to be a good manager.

[geneking7320]

Hi All;

Does anyone know when the UPN Ravenswood station is scheduled to be completed?

Trains have been running right handed at Rogers Park because of the inbound platform work.

 

[chitowndude84]

4 hours ago, strictures said:

Lightfoot is toast!  She has shown that she is totally incompetent as mayor, as she has no idea of how to be a good manager.

And she got caught on a lie in front of nationwide media also !!! Hope leaves VERY soon and goes out to hand with Rahmy boy 

[BusHunter]

On 12/25/2020 at 8:02 PM, artthouwill said:

Looks like 2021 will bring lower fares to Metra Electric and Rock Island Lines.   Metra board approved Preckwinkle Pilot.  Somewhere in Rogers Park, Lightfoot is steaming. 

You know Metra electric ridership is not that bad on the mainline. I was working over by harvey pace bus terminal and the train had quite a few riders on it even though it's only serving a few more stops. Metra could stand to gain more ridership reducing its city fares and immediate suburban fares cta serves.

[Tcmetro]

Metra has awarded a contract for the design of new Metra Electric stations at 79th, 87th, 95th, 103rd, and 111th. New stations will include elevators and the rendering shows a stationhouse at street level. Design work will be complete in December 2021, after which construction will begin with separate contracts for each station.

Page 19 of the Dec 2020 RTA Project Management Oversight update: https://rtachicago.org/sites/default/files/documents/businessandfinance/Project-Management-Oversight-Dec-2020.pdf

[artthouwill]

2 hours ago, Tcmetro said:

Metra has awarded a contract for the design of new Metra Electric stations at 79th, 87th, 95th, 103rd, and 111th. New stations will include elevators and the rendering shows a stationhouse at street level. Design work will be complete in December 2021, after which construction will begin with separate contracts for each station.

Page 19 of the Dec 2020 RTA Project Management Oversight update: https://rtachicago.org/sites/default/files/documents/businessandfinance/Project-Management-Oversight-Dec-2020.pdf

Long overdue.  Not the safest of locations, hence low ridershop.

[trainman8119]

On 1/2/2021 at 12:12 PM, artthouwill said:

Long overdue.  Not the safest of locations, hence low ridershop.

So true. New stations won't change that one bit.

[NewFlyerMCI]

On 1/2/2021 at 1:12 PM, artthouwill said:

Long overdue.  Not the safest of locations, hence low ridershop.

 

On 1/7/2021 at 12:17 PM, trainman8119 said:

So true. New stations won't change that one bit.

When taking the Metra Electric from downtown, my grandmother only used it when she was going to eta or if the 75 was coming right as the train stopped, otherwise she would take the J14. She said long ago people used to wait for the train to stop and they'd spot people on the platform and wait for them to come down the steps so they could mug them. Part of the reason I only take the ME inbound and not outbound.

[artthouwill]

10 hours ago, NewFlyerMCI said:

 

When taking the Metra Electric from downtown, my grandmother only used it when she was going to eta or if the 75 was coming right as the train stopped, otherwise she would take the J14. She said long ago people used to wait for the train to stop and they'd spot people on the platform and wait for them to come down the steps so they could mug them. Part of the reason I only take the ME inbound and not outbound.

That might be the reason they said the  new.station houses would be built on ground level. Instead of the current platform level

.   Halsted and Western on the  BNSF, Gresham on the RI, Jedzie on the UP-W. Clybourn on the UP N and NW don't inspire as safe havens either.

[Tcmetro]

Halsted and Western don't seem to have any safety problems but they look absolutely terrible. I really hope the city and the railroads can come to an agreement because a lot of these bridges are in bad shape. Metra has done so much more than the railroads have with the UPN and RI rebuilds. 

[NewFlyerMCI]

2 hours ago, artthouwill said:

That might be the reason they said the  new.station houses would be built on ground level. Instead of the current platform level

.   Halsted and Western on the  BNSF, Gresham on the RI, Jedzie on the UP-W. Clybourn on the UP N and NW don't inspire as safe havens either.

That wouldn't compromise the integrity of the bridge & tracks?

59 minutes ago, Tcmetro said:

Halsted and Western don't seem to have any safety problems but they look absolutely terrible. I really hope the city and the railroads can come to an agreement because a lot of these bridges are in bad shape. Metra has done so much more than the railroads have with the UPN and RI rebuilds. 

I'm inclined to agree with @Tcmetro that these stations aren't inherently unsafe, but just look really bad (and Kedzie as well). Clybourn otoh seems perfectly fine, and also has the advantage of people on the platform not really being visible from street level (except for the parking lot entrance) unlike those ME stations.

[artthouwill]

4 hours ago, NewFlyerMCI said:

That wouldn't compromise the integrity of the bridge & tracks?

@Tcmetro 

The original Kensington station had two island platforms and the station house wS a street level underneath the viaduct on 115th.   Now the station house is in Front St north of 115th under the tracks. Those tracks were both originally SB but now one is SB and one is NB.  The old NB island platform is gone and the original station house closed .  Seemingly building the current station house didn't compromise the integrity of the tracks, though i imagine they used the other island platform until the current one was completed. .

[MTRSP1900-CTA3200]

Metra board approves the purchase of up to 500 new railcars. They are Alstom Coradia Multilevels, and most notably they don’t use the gallery car setup.

 

https://metrarail.com/about-metra/newsroom/metra-board-approves-purchase-500-modern-railcars?fbclid=IwAR1ywYXF20Eh779jrzwZyy9mClUiNW5XGex5T1UJH7vBB2mITVHYjzAy2sQ