Rail Pick 2023

[Sam92]

Just to relocate everything into the right thread now that we have more info that @Tcmetrohelped find. Also since @Busjackis PARTIALLY RIGHT but referenced a construction thread for a pick related topic ?. You know I had to yank yer chain at least once ??

[Sam92]

14 hours ago, artthouwill said:

 

Based on your first post, the statement " the west side IS hnderserved'" means presently and not a few years ago.   Even if was a few years ago,  the Forest Park branch ridership was never close to the O'Hare branch ridership.  Back in the day the Blue Line had alternating trains serving Forest Park and 54/Cermak and even then there were some UIC Short Turns sprinkled in.  Forest Park trains weren't full and 54/Cermak trains were virtually empty    That's why the 54/Cermak branch was separated and became the Pink Line. Notice they only run four car consists. CTA realized that they needed higher frequencies on the Blue Line after the Pink Line split, but there weren't enough riders on the Forest Park branch to support the higher frequency along the entire line.  This is why the short turns increased.  It was like running the 54/Cermak branch trains without running the full route. And this was when the FP branch was in good condition.  

Brandon Johnson can do what he wants but he won't be re-elected   He can't run enough Forest Park branch trains for that to happen  

 

 

21 hours ago, Tcmetro said:

One of the other big issues with the Blue Line is that it seems to have more police & ambulance calls than the other lines. When someone is overdosing they have to stop the trains and wait for the paramedics to come give narcan which delays service by 20-30 minutes. Taking a proactive approach to getting the drug users off the trains would be a immense benefit.

They also need to get going on the rest of the Forest Park rebuild. They've been talking about it for a decade now and the construction only actually takes a few months.

 

23 hours ago, Sam92 said:

Yeah Roosevelt would need some type of signal work to make that happen. But it's worth the investment. I'd say transponders would work like on orange and pink lines so you wouldn't have to rebuild the tower for line of sight issues. But again if purple line were to get sent that way you'd have to send the reds to 63rd but again transponders would work. Apparently unlike the old days where you'd have to pick up an identracoil; all 5000s (and I'm assuming all future cars) have the transponders built in and activate based on the run so all you really need to pay for are signal updates, no wasting time picking up transponders in the clerks office etc. I feel it's worth the investment. The imbalance gets worse when Dan Ryan gets extended to 130th without short turns due to efficiency issues. You could use those service hours somewhere else. You could have Howard/Argyle-Garfield Reds if you turn some trains out of 98th at Winnona middle.

 

On 9/30/2023 at 12:14 PM, artthouwill said:

To your point about the Blue Line,  I promise you they will..  I'm on board with all of the adjustments except for the elimination of the UIC  short turns.  I believe that was a political decision as Brandon Johnson  made it a political issue while running for mayor.  Funny that he never spoke about the peak direction Red Line service imbalance that favors the North Side .  Bur we all know that the Dan Ryan branch has less riders than the Howard branch . CTA would short turn Reds at Roosevelt if it could.  Evidently they felt that 63rd middle on the Red line and 37th Middle on the Green Line weren't viable options for turning back Red Line trains.  So the south side gets a lit if empty trains in the nonpeak direction.   But Brandon Johnson only cares about his own neighborhood.   Off topic for a quick second  but has anyone else noticed that NONE of these migrant shelters are on the West side  (* Garfield Park,  Lawndale,  Austin )?

 

On 9/30/2023 at 11:55 AM, artthouwill said:

I have to disagree with you fam.  Tho O'Hare branch of the Blue Line is the 2nd busiest branch in the CTA system behind the Howard branch of the Red Line.   Why shouldn't that branch have increased frequencies when that branch clearly has way more riders?  It's bad enough the Forest Park branch is a slow zone, but now you want a lit if people to suffer so the west side can have more empty trains?  Also, the Northwest side doesn't have alternative rail options.   The west side has two with the Green Line and the Pink Line.   Therefore the West side is NOT undeserved.  Add to that the parallel bus routes that also serve downtown like the 7, 126, and the 20.  Add to this the fact that the O'Hare branch of the Blue Line is busy during the day, especially in the rush, in BOTH DIRECTIONS.   The turning of half the trains at UIC provides better service  for the mist riders, and by extension the whole line. 

There are probably two issues going on and I think Brandon Johnson has his hand in both.  The first is political.   He's fanning fires by insinuating that White citizens are getting better service than Black citizens .  He doesn't realize that many Blacks that use the O'Hare branch of the Blue Line for work live on the SOUTH SIDE.  This affects them too 

The second issue is a union issue.   Obviously with more short turns,  it's likely that more runs would originate from Rosemont/O'Hare.   Union reps probably cried foul and wanted more runs to originate from Forest Park because they live closer there and didn't want to travel to the airport to work. 

People only care about what benefits them immediately without considering the big picture.  The moment their circumstances change in the moment they want everything else to adapt.  

I

 

On 9/30/2023 at 10:48 AM, Tcmetro said:

I noticed that Red is going from 7-8 to 10 mins weekday middays; Orange weekday midday going from 12 to 15 mins; Orange Saturday midday going from 10 to 12 mins. Also seems like they are cutting back the peak service a bit by transitioning to midday or evening frequencies earlier.

It will be interesting to see how well the Blue Line holds up to the new schedule. The tracks are still in really bad condition from IMD to Forest Park so I wouldn't be surprised if the delays from before the line split come up again.

 

On 9/30/2023 at 9:20 AM, Shannoncvpi said:

Tbh the Westside is undersevred long wait times etc if you don't do it on one end do it for the whole line cause it's people who ride from FP to downtown up north & ohare which I don't see why people ride from FP to ohare when they can just take the 303 pace from FP to Rosemont then get the blue line it a be much quicker

 

On 9/30/2023 at 9:23 AM, Sam92 said:

I think the long waits are staff related more so underserved. I remember people saying barely enough people to fit a train car were riding on the FP side which is why we had turn backs 

 

 

 

 

On 9/30/2023 at 9:16 AM, Sam92 said:

Caught this in the advanced timetables section.... Weekend UIC turn backs go away with this new rail pick. As a result the O'Hare Branch sees a reduction from every 7-8 min to every 12 min. Forest Park recieves a slight frequency boost as a trade off. Not sure if mayor Johnson has anything to do with that but I remember him claiming west side supposedly was under served (which I think is more to secure votes cause clearly he doesn't realize that even though Douglas was separated to send more trains to FP; 2012 adjustments proved that just like the Dan Ryan/Howard imbalance, you don't need so many trains out west especially with green not being too far away). Still picking through to see if I can find anything else.

 

Just now, Sam92 said:

Just to relocate everything into the right thread now that we have more info that @Tcmetrohelped find. 

 

[Sam92]

Only other reason for this cut could be that the northwest weekend ridership is hit so hard that they might as well cut the whole line in order to keep up with the labor shortage

[Tcmetro]

Even when they had the extra short turns from O'Hare to UIC they barely ran because of single tracking or lack of operators.

Although the Forest Park branch has low ridership, 15-20 minute frequencies are pretty awful. CTAs really needs to figure out the operator shortage because it just keeps getting worse.

[artthouwill]

On 10/1/2023 at 4:25 PM, Tcmetro said:

Even when they had the extra short turns from O'Hare to UIC they barely ran because of single tracking or lack of operators.

Although the Forest Park branch has low ridership, 15-20 minute frequencies are pretty awful. CTAs really needs to figure out the operator shortage because it just keeps getting worse.

From my experience to this point 

 

▪︎Green Line trains run every 8 to 10 minutes during the rush periods and 12 minutes midday.  Branch service  is 16 to 20 minutes during rush hour and 24 minutes off peak.  Let night service is every 15 minutes and 30 minutes in the branches.

● Pink Line service is about 10 to 12 minutes during rush hour and 15 minutes off peak.

Therfore 15 minute frequencies off peak on the Blue Line Forest Park branch isn't bad at all.   It would be awful in the O'Hare branch though 

[Sam92]

Welp, UIC shorts come back in the winter. Reason for the changes is Morgan Middle is still being worked on and out of service hence all the trains to FP 

[Mr.NewFlyer1279]

On 10/8/2023 at 12:14 PM, Sam92 said:

Welp, UIC shorts come back in the winter. Reason for the changes is Morgan Middle is still being worked on and out of service hence all the trains to FP 

i rode the new tracks earlier signals are yet to be programmed and more electrical work to be finished (per CTA signals and the minor work left will be completed by end of year)

[Busjack]

45 minutes ago, Busjack said:

Various media outlets reported, based on this CTA Press Release, that more service will be available at various times on CTA L lines, starting Nov. 13, "as the scheduled service reflects the available workforce."

 

32 minutes ago, artthouwill said:

Not sure but I haven't seen any short turns so far.  Maybe they will take place next pick. Or if u see any, I will post about it  

Which raises the question: was there just a rail pick? CTA is obviously not waiting to increase frequency (especially since it announced more service on most lines next week, and isn't going to wait to reinstate  UIC short trips) for some Winter 2024 pick.

[Tcmetro]

They've been getting hammered constantly in the media (mainstream and social) about this so perhaps Carter finally used some executive discretion that he's so greatly compensated for.

[Busjack]

37 minutes ago, Tcmetro said:

They've been getting hammered constantly in the media (mainstream and social) about this so perhaps Carter finally used some executive discretion that he's so greatly compensated for.

That doesn't answer the question how it was implemented.*

_______________

*OT, but CTA didn't announce more buses on 22 just because Jason Knowles had an ineffective investigation.

[Sam92]

On 11/9/2023 at 1:41 PM, Busjack said:

 

Which raises the question: was there just a rail pick? CTA is obviously not waiting to increase frequency (especially since it announced more service on most lines next week, and isn't going to wait to reinstate  UIC short trips) for some Winter 2024 pick.

Effective Nov. 13th In the press release

[Sam92]

1 minute ago, Sam92 said:

Effective Nov. 13th In the press release

That was for weekdays. Weekend schedule starts the 18th

[Sam92]

On 11/9/2023 at 3:00 PM, Busjack said:

That doesn't answer the question how it was implemented.*

_______________

*OT, but CTA didn't announce more buses on 22 just because Jason Knowles had an ineffective investigation.

I'm guessing an extra pick... Or possibly just placing a lot of new hires in the extra board and using that to fill in till fthe winter pick since as you guessed, we had a pick last month. I think the Dan Ryan rebuild involved an extra pick for the buses so maybe the same here.