renardo870 Posted April 5 Report Share Posted April 5 Metra boosting weekend service on BNSF Line Publication Date Thursday, April 04, 2024 Body Just in time for summer fun, Metra is significantly boosting weekend service on the BNSF Line, adding trains on Saturdays and even more on Sundays to create the same schedule for both weekend days. There will also be weekday changes on the new schedule, which starts on Monday, April 29. “We continue to listen to our riders and adjust our schedules to meet their needs,” said Metra CEO/Executive Director Jim Derwinski. “We’re especially excited to be able to offer more weekend service so that Metra is an even better option for anyone wanting to enjoy all the events and attractions that are part of summer in Chicago.” Metra will be adding six trains to the BNSF Line’s Saturday schedule and 16 trains to the line’s Sunday schedule. The changes will result in the same level of service on both weekend days, with inbound hourly service from 5 a.m. to noon and from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. and outbound hourly service from 10 a.m. to midnight. As part of the change, trains on the new weekend schedule will no longer stop at the LaGrange Stone Avenue Station. The current weekday off-peak schedule skips some stops, including Stone Avenue, to improve the speed and reliability of service, and Metra wants to use that same pattern on weekends. The stations that are skipped all have alternative stations nearby with full service; in the case of Stone Ave., the LaGrange Road Station is nearby. Weekday schedule changes include adjusting departure times for off-peak local trains so that each train after 9 a.m. departs Aurora at five past the hour. This change will also affect the departure times from intermediate stations along the route. The departure times of three morning outbound trains are also being adjusted. Train 1201 will now depart Chicago 2 minutes earlier at 5:33 a.m., Train 1205 will depart 4 minutes earlier at 6:16 a.m. and Train 1211 will depart 1 minute earlier at 6:46 a.m. In addition, the Fairview Avenue Station is being added as a stop on all off-peak local trains. Trains 1205, 1211, 1272 and 1276 will make stops at Westmont, and Train 1205 will also add a stop at Halsted Street. BNSF Line riders are encouraged to review the new schedule for changes that may impact them. A copy of the new schedule can be found here. A Spanish language version of this release is available here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elkmn Posted April 6 Report Share Posted April 6 If they're spoiling bnsf riders, I'd like if the up-n/nw were both hourly all day on weekends 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elkmn Posted April 6 Report Share Posted April 6 After all, if i'm going to stop using the 'l', i better have a good alternative. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Busjack Posted April 6 Report Share Posted April 6 13 minutes ago, Elkmn said: If they're spoiling bnsf riders, I'd like if the up-n/nw were both hourly all day on weekends BNSF was the only line that was profitable, and according to the Feb. ridership report, has an average of 515 passenger trips per day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smolensk Posted April 6 Report Share Posted April 6 8 hours ago, Busjack said: BNSF was the only line that was profitable, and according to the Feb. ridership report, has an average of 515 passenger trips per day. It's actually 515,000. 515 passengers would fill up a train or two. And I think it is per month, not per day. The population of DuPage County (where most of the passengers come from) is 920,000 (as of 2022). 515,000 per day would mean that over half of the residents of DuPage County rode the train every day. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Busjack Posted April 6 Report Share Posted April 6 7 hours ago, Smolensk said: It's actually 515,000. 515 passengers would fill up a train or two. And I think it is per month, not per day. The population of DuPage County (where most of the passengers come from) is 920,000 (as of 2022). 515,000 per day would mean that over half of the residents of DuPage County rode the train every day. I guess so long as the Board understands the graph, that's what counts. For our purposes the takeaway is that the BNSF has 41% more ridership than the next closest line (UP-NW). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
renardo870 Posted April 7 Author Report Share Posted April 7 15 hours ago, Smolensk said: It's actually 515,000. 515 passengers would fill up a train or two. And I think it is per month, not per day. The population of DuPage County (where most of the passengers come from) is 920,000 (as of 2022). 515,000 per day would mean that over half of the residents of DuPage County rode the train every day. Just imagine what the numbers would be like for the UP-WEST once the third track is completely done between Maywood and Geneva and service is expanded on that line with more express service like the BNSF. DuPage and Kane County is the second largest and fifth populous counties in the state of IL. A lot of lines ridership numbers probably would be better if a 3rd track were to be added on UP-N (Clybourn to Kenosha), UP-NW (Barrington to Harvard) & RI (Main Line La Salle to Joliet). Just thinking out loud but if the populations in Lake, Will and McHenry (3rd, 4th and 6th populous counties) increases, it would be make room for expanded local and express services along the routes. Again, just thinking out loud. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Busjack Posted April 7 Report Share Posted April 7 11 hours ago, renardo870 said: Just imagine what the numbers would be like for the UP-WEST once the third track is completely done between Maywood and Geneva and service is expanded on that line with more express service like the BNSF. DuPage and Kane County is the second largest and fifth populous counties in the state of IL. A lot of lines ridership numbers probably would be better if a 3rd track were to be added on UP-N (Clybourn to Kenosha), UP-NW (Barrington to Harvard) & RI (Main Line La Salle to Joliet). Just thinking out loud but if the populations in Lake, Will and McHenry (3rd, 4th and 6th populous counties) increases, it would be make room for expanded local and express services along the routes. Again, just thinking out loud. You are taking population somewhat into account, but ridership isn't going to take off on the north side routes given the loss of office traffic both in the Loop, but especially in the northern suburbs (no Baxter, Sears, AT&T; Walgreens and Allstate have cut way back). Besides, most of the lines you mentioned have express or skip stop service during the rush hour, and the UP-NW is three track. These aren't the days when the Armours and Swifts regularly commuted from Lake Forest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.