ednorton1 Posted April 1, 2015 Report Share Posted April 1, 2015 This train system in my opinion is a class act,This is my first time visiting Chicago. Although this train system is a lot smaller than the MTA in NYC, it seems much cleaner and more efficient! I was impressed how fast it was getting to O'hare airport. During my visit all the lines that I took, seemed to operate like a transit system should, although I was only in area for 4 days. The only problem I encountered was on a train leaving Midway airport. Seemed at low speeds, this car vibrated and made noise excessively ( maybe a bearing issue?), but all in all very impressed!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Busjack Posted April 2, 2015 Report Share Posted April 2, 2015 This train system in my opinion is a class act,This is my first time visiting Chicago. Although this train system is a lot smaller than the MTA in NYC, it seems much cleaner and more efficient! I was impressed how fast it was getting to O'hare airport. During my visit all the lines that I took, seemed to operate like a transit system should, although I was only in area for 4 days. The only problem I encountered was on a train leaving Midway airport. Seemed at low speeds, this car vibrated and made noise excessively ( maybe a bearing issue?), but all in all very impressed!! Since the O'Hare trip has gone up from about 25 minutes to 45*, and they are just doing minimal repairs to the line, the locals aren't impressed. Also, if you read the 5000s thread, they aren't too happy that the oldest cars are on the line, and of course about the accidents on that line. _________ *Apparently some of the repairs did some good, as the scheduled rush hour time is 34 minutes. But some trips now don't go to O'Hare. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewFlyerMCI Posted April 2, 2015 Report Share Posted April 2, 2015 This train system in my opinion is a class act,This is my first time visiting Chicago. Although this train system is a lot smaller than the MTA in NYC, it seems much cleaner and more efficient! I was impressed how fast it was getting to O'hare airport. During my visit all the lines that I took, seemed to operate like a transit system should, although I was only in area for 4 days. The only problem I encountered was on a train leaving Midway airport. Seemed at low speeds, this car vibrated and made noise excessively ( maybe a bearing issue?), but all in all very impressed!! Seems like CTA put on its class act for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ednorton1 Posted April 2, 2015 Author Report Share Posted April 2, 2015 How reliable is the system? Maybe i just lucked out when i used it. It must be hard to keep an elevated system reliable with all the bad weather you have here. What is reason Blue Line has not recieved any new cars? The ones i were on were quite old. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Busjack Posted April 2, 2015 Report Share Posted April 2, 2015 How reliable is the system? Maybe i just lucked out when i used it. It must be hard to keep an elevated system reliable with all the bad weather you have here. What is reason Blue Line has not recieved any new cars? The ones i were on were quite old. That's the mystery of the past 3 years. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewFlyerMCI Posted April 2, 2015 Report Share Posted April 2, 2015 How reliable is the system? Maybe i just lucked out when i used it. It must be hard to keep an elevated system reliable with all the bad weather you have here. What is reason Blue Line has not recieved any new cars? The ones i were on were quite old. Read this forum, especially the 6400's thread and 7900's thread and them spend your next vacation on the NW side of Chicago, then you will understand what some people on here are saying. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
strictures Posted April 2, 2015 Report Share Posted April 2, 2015 How reliable is the system? Maybe i just lucked out when i used it. It must be hard to keep an elevated system reliable with all the bad weather you have here. What is reason Blue Line has not received any new cars? The ones i were on were quite old. Every Red, Purple, Pink & Green Line rider will trade those old cars with a decent & civilized seating arrangement for those 5000 series cars, where you're packed in like sardines. The same with the 4000 series articulated buses with those narrow, sideways seats! My only problem with a 6400 bus was the one where the wheelchair ramp flipped open with a crash is about 3 seconds & then took 2 minutes to close. When I called CTA to complain, the phone rep didn't believe me until I told him I actually timed it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ednorton1 Posted April 2, 2015 Author Report Share Posted April 2, 2015 During my 4 day visit, i also used the bus system. I was very impressed with your bus system as well, i tended to use the 146 for most of my visit (I stayed at hotel near Michigan). My experience with the 3 Day Ventra card was positive except when my sons card did not work , coming back from a Pace bus ride from a Chicago Fire game. He had 2 days left on it. The bus driver didn't want to hear about our problem, she just said contact web site! Turns out the card worked again for the train trip from Midway!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MetroShadow Posted April 2, 2015 Report Share Posted April 2, 2015 During my 4 day visit, i also used the bus system. I was very impressed with your bus system as well, i tended to use the 146 for most of my visit (I stayed at hotel near Michigan). My experience with the 3 Day Ventra card was positive except when my sons card did not work , coming back from a Pace bus ride from a Chicago Fire game. He had 2 days left on it. The bus driver didn't want to hear about our problem, she just said contact web site! Turns out the card worked again for the train trip from Midway!! Yeah, the part where the CTA passes won't operate on Pace (and vice versa) has existed for almost 6 or 7 years (since CTA transfers were eliminated). How reliable is the system? Maybe i just lucked out when i used it. It must be hard to keep an elevated system reliable with all the bad weather you have here. What is reason Blue Line has not recieved any new cars? The ones i were on were quite old. The Blue Line (after 8pm) works as effective as the F or G trains in NYC...yet not half as annoying. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Busjack Posted April 2, 2015 Report Share Posted April 2, 2015 ... My experience with the 3 Day Ventra card was positive except when my sons card did not work , coming back from a Pace bus ride from a Chicago Fire game. He had 2 days left on it. The bus driver didn't want to hear about our problem, she just said contact web site! Turns out the card worked again for the train trip from Midway!! Yeah, the part where the CTA passes won't operate on Pace (and vice versa) has existed for almost 6 or 7 years (since CTA transfers were eliminated). ... I had thought that the problem was something else, until MetroShadow pointed out the pass issue. From Pace: "Pace does not accept CTA's 1-Day (Visitor Fun Pass), 3-Day, 7-Day or U-Pass." Sounds like your son owes $.85 or $1.75 to Pace. So much for universal fare media being mandated by Jan. 1, 2015. Heck, the CTA site used to say that service to Toyota Park from Midway was "by a different carrier." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ednorton1 Posted April 2, 2015 Author Report Share Posted April 2, 2015 We ended up paying, no way was this bus driver going to let him go for free!! She was very demanding. The funny thing was that my 3 day card worked, and my sons card did work on the way there only !! No big deal, but since we had same driver going there as coming back , i thought she would let my son go through realizing that card was screwed up! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Busjack Posted April 2, 2015 Report Share Posted April 2, 2015 ...The funny thing was that my 3 day card worked, and my sons card did work on the way there only !! No big deal, but since we had same driver going there as coming back , i thought she would let my son go through realizing that card was screwed up! It might have been something else screwed up, such as is reflected in comments that the reader is not always in contact with the cell phone data link. However, unless you had a different form of transit value also on the card in addition to the 3 day pass, theoretically Pace shouldn't have taken any of them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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