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Final Metra Electric Line schedule revision - eff. 9/11/17


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#1 CNJRoss

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Posted 26 May 2017 - 07:14 PM

Chicago Tribune, 5/24;
 

Metra Electric would boost service at Hyde Park stops under proposal

 

 

Metra wants to increase service at the Hyde Park and Pullman neighborhood stops along the Metra Electric District line, but would cut some trains on the line's Blue Island and South Chicago branches.

 

Proposed schedule changes would provide train service every 20 minutes or less between Millennium Station downtown and all three Hyde Park stations at 51st/53rd Street, 55th/56th/57th Street and 59th Street until 7 p.m. weekdays. Midday trains currently run as much as an hour apart.

 

The proposed changes were announced at the commuter rail service's monthly board meeting Wednesday. They will be discussed at public meetings in June, and Metra said it would consider public input before finalizing the schedule.

 

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#2 CNJRoss

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Posted 26 May 2017 - 07:16 PM

Metra news release:

 
Metra proposes revised Metra Electric schedule  
(May 24, 2017) - Metra has proposed a revision to its Metra Electric Line schedule that adjusts service to better reflect ridership demands and anticipated development in Chicago’s Hyde Park neighborhood, where more than 1,700 residential units have been planned or recently constructed.

 

Metra has prepared a number of documents to inform customers about the proposal, including the news release below. The information also includes:

 

The proposed new inbound weekday schedule

The proposed new outbound weekday schedule

The proposed new inbound weekend schedule

The proposed new outbound weekend schedule

The current Metra Electric Schedule

Questions and answers about the proposed new schedule

Alternative service for the South Chicago Branch Line

Alternative service for the Blue Island Branch Line

 

Copies of the proposed new schedule also are being distributed on Metra Electric trains and downtown stations. In addition, Metra will hold meetings to present the schedule changes, answer questions about alternative transportation options and gather feedback about the proposed new schedule from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. on the following schedule:

  • June 19 – South Shore Cultural Center, 7059 S. South Shore Drive
  • June 20 – Flossmoor Village Hall, 2800 Flossmoor Rd.
  • June 21 – Blue Island City Hall, 2434 Vermont St.
  • June 22 – Polsky Exchange, University of Chicago, 1452 E. 53rd St., 2nd Floor

Comments may also be sent to medschedulerevisions@metrarr.com. Metra will consider all comments before finalizing the schedule, with a goal of implementing the new schedule later this summer.

 

The proposed schedule will generally provide train service every 20 minutes or less between Millennium Station and all three Hyde Park stations (51st/53rd Street, 55th/56th/57th Street and 59th Street) until 7 p.m. on weekdays. Recent data indicates that ridership at these three Hyde Park stations has increased 7.6 percent over the past three years.

 

The goal of the proposed schedule revisions is to improve service and attract more customers without increasing Metra’s costs. Ridership on the Metra Electric Line has declined nearly 14 percent over the past six years, down 1.4 million passenger trips or 61 percent of the total decline in ridership systemwide since 2011.

 

“We need to do something to stem the loss of ridership on the Metra Electric Line, which has been declining for years despite the fact that the line has the newest cars and most scheduled trains on our system,” said Metra Executive Director/CEO Don Orseno. “This new schedule is an effort to make the best use of our existing resources by scheduling our trains in a more efficient way and enhancing service without impacting our budget.”

 

The proposed schedule maintains nearly all rush-hour train service on the Metra Electric mainline and improves midday service to hourly from every two hours at stations on the South Side of Chicago between 63rd and Kensington, including the newly rehabilitated 111th St./Pullman Station near the Pullman National Monument. Other proposed changes address gaps in service and simplify the schedule and stop patterns. The new schedule also eliminates or combines lightly used trains, mostly on the Blue Island and South Chicago branches, which have seen ridership decline 17.5 and 11.2 percent, respectively, over the past three years.

 

“My community has been advocating for increased service on the Metra Electric Line for years,” said State Rep. Barbara Flynn Currie (25th District). “This is a good first step toward increasing Metra Electric ridership. “

 

“Convenient and reliable public transportation options are critical for faculty, staff, students, and visitors traveling to our campus for work, class, and arts and culture offerings, as well as to our offices and other facilities,” said University of Chicago Vice President for Civic Engagement and External Affairs Derek Douglas. “We appreciate the consideration Metra has taken in revising and enhancing its schedule, which will help meet the need for more frequent transportation as the mid-South Side continues to grow as a destination.”

 

Some of the major changes under the proposed schedule include:

  • Improved midday service to Hyde Park – The three Hyde Park stations would now be served by 18 inbound trains (up from as few as nine trains) and 18 outbound trains (up from as few as seven trains) during the midday period between 9:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. Inbound trains would arrive at those stations every 20 minutes (down from as many as 60 minutes) and outbound trains from downtown to Hyde Park would depart every 20 minutes (down from as many as 60 minutes).
  • Improved midday service to mainline stops from 75th to 111th streets – Those stations would now see six inbound trains and six outbound trains during the midday hours, up from three. Trains would arrive every hour, instead of every two hours.
  • Elimination of a gap in inbound service on the mainline – The current schedule has a nearly one-hour gap between Train 742, which leaves University Park at 5:48 a.m., and train 700, which leaves University Park at 6:40 a.m.. Train 106, which now leaves University Park at 6:34 a.m., would be inserted between those two trains and would instead depart University Park at 6:12 a.m. Schedules of others trains would be adjusted to accommodate customers using Train 106’s current schedule.
  • Elimination of lightly used trains on the branch lines – Lightly used trains on the branch lines, mostly early morning and late evening trains, would be eliminated, including Blue Island Branch Trains 200, 244, 245, 246, 247, 248, 249, 250, and 251 and South Chicago Branch Trains 300, 330, 346, 347, 348, 349, 350, 351 and 353. Many of these trains carry only one to two customers per day. Taken together, these trains carry an average of fewer than 10 passengers per day.

Alternative public transportation options to serve the South Chicago and Blue Island branch line stations and eliminated trains include a variety of CTA and Pace buses. In addition, Metra’s Rock Island Line is an alternative for some Blue Island Branch customers.

 

Trains 331 and 604 will also be eliminated, though Trains 329 and 504 can serve those passengers seven minutes earlier and four minutes later, respectively.

  • Combining two trains on the mainline into one train – Inbound mainline Trains 738 and 758, which have similar schedules but serve different stations, would be combined into one Train 738 and serve all stations formerly served by the two trains. Similarly, outbound mainline Trains 739 and 759 would be combined into one Train 739.
  • Adjustment of Saturday service – Saturday service would be scaled back to better match demand. However, the line would continue to have more Saturday trains than any other Metra line. On the mainline, the number of trains would drop to 40 from 46, while on the South Chicago Branch, the number of trains would drop to 32 from 48. By comparison, the BNSF Line, Metra’s busiest, has 28 Saturday trains. The proposed revisions will keep the same level of Sunday service on the Metra Electric Line, though some train times may be adjusted. The Blue Island Branch currently has no Sunday service.
  • Elimination of Saturday service on the Blue Island Branch – Metra would no longer offer service on the Blue Island Branch on Saturdays. The Blue Island Branch currently operates 16 inbound trains on Saturday, accommodating fewer than 100 total passengers from Blue Island Branch stations for the entire day, or an average of about six passengers per train.

Alternative public transportation options to serve the Blue Island Branch include a variety of CTA and Pace buses. In addition, Metra’s Rock Island Line is an alternative for some Blue Island Branch customers.

 

Metra will host a series of community meetings to present the schedule changes, answer questions about alternative transportation options and gather feedback about the proposed new schedule. The meetings, which will be from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., will be held at:

  • June 19 – South Shore Cultural Center, 7059 S. South Shore Drive
  • June 20 – Flossmoor Village Hall, 2800 Flossmoor Rd.
  • June 21 – Blue Island City Hall, 2434 Vermont St.
  • June 22 – Polsky Exchange, University of Chicago, 1452 E. 53rd St., 2nd Floor
     

Comments may also be sent to medschedulerevisions@metrarr.com. Metra will consider all comments before finalizing the schedule, with a goal of implementing the new schedule later this summer. Metra will continue to refine the Metra Electric Line schedule in the years to come based on changing demand in the service area.

 

All Metra Electric Line customers are asked to review the proposal to learn if their trains would be affected.

 

 



#3 CNJRoss

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Posted 24 June 2017 - 07:21 PM

dnainfo Chicago, IL 6/23/17:
 

Hyde Parkers Worry More Metra Service Coming At Southern Neighbors Expense

 

 

HYDE PARK — Metra officials said they’re going to tweak a revised schedule that would increase trains on the Electric Line through Hyde Park after talking to the community about the trade-offs for stops farther down the line.

 

Metra officials wrapped up four days of community meetings on the changes that would increase trains in and out of Hyde Park to every 20 minutes from nearly an hour on weekdays.

 

Hyde Parkers, who would benefit the most from the changes, cheered the increased service and said it would be a boon to the neighborhood, but worried about the price those down the line might have to pay. 

 

SNIP 

 

The tweaks Metra officials said they would make did not appear to jeopardize the larger vision of increased service for Hyde Park, the busiest stops on the only Metra line that has been steadily losing ridership for 30 years.

 

The plan relies on spacing out trains headed to the three branches of the line — Blue Island, University Park and South Chicago — as well as the mid-line stops in Kensington, so they pass Hyde Park every 20 minutes. Currently, the trains to the various branches all pass through Hyde Park within five minutes of each other and with an hour gap before another pack of trains passes again.

 

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#4 CNJRoss

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Posted 17 August 2017 - 10:41 AM

Metra news release:

 

Final Metra Electric Line schedule revision released  
 
(August 16, 2017) - Metra has finalized its revision of the Metra Electric Line schedule, making several adjustments to the initial proposal in response to customer feedback at informational meetings and via email. The new schedule will start on Sept. 11. Click here to see the new schedule.

 

The most significant changes between the proposed version and the final schedule are the restoration of one late-night outbound train on the South Chicago Branch and the restoration of service on Saturdays on the Blue Island Branch, albeit reduced to four inbound and four outbound trains. Other modifications to the proposed schedule include different departure times and/or different station stops on certain trains to accommodate a variety of customer concerns.

 

“We have taken all the feedback we received from customers regarding our proposed new schedule and made adjustments where possible,” said Metra Executive Director/CEO Don Orseno. “The goal of this process was to create a schedule that uses our trains in a more efficient way and enhances service without impacting our budget. We are trying to stem the loss of ridership on the Metra Electric Line, which has been declining for years.”

 

Ridership on the Metra Electric Line has declined nearly 14 percent over the past six years, down 1.4 million passenger trips, or 61 percent of the total decline in ridership systemwide, since 2011. But recent data indicates that ridership at the three Hyde Park stations (51st/53rd Street, 55th/56th/57th Street and 59th Street) has increased 7.6 percent over the past three years.

 

Metra unveiled a proposed new schedule in May that adjusts service to better reflect ridership demands and anticipated development in Hyde Park; maintains nearly all rush-hour train service on the Metra Electric mainline; and improves midday service at stations on the South Side of Chicago between 63rd and Kensington; and made other changes to address gaps in service and simplify the schedule and stop patterns. The original revision also proposed to eliminate or combine lightly used weekday trains, mostly on the Blue Island and South Chicago branches, and eliminate all service on the Blue Island Branch on Saturdays due to low ridership.

 

After unveiling the initial proposal, Metra held four informational meetings about the proposal in June and also accepted emailed comments. Several changes were made in the final version in response to that feedback. The most significant changes include:

  • South Chicago Branch Train 349, which leaves Millennium Station at 11:10 p.m., was added to the schedule. Metra had proposed to end South Chicago Branch service after 8:50 p.m. but restored one later train in response to many customers who wanted later service.
  • Four inbound and four outbound trains were restored to the Blue Island Branch on Saturday during the most heavily used times.

Other modifications to the proposed schedule, all in response to concerns raised by customers, include different departure times and/or different station stops on certain trains. They are:

 

INBOUND WEEKDAY

  • Trains 302 and 202 will depart earlier to arrive downtown before 6 a.m. to accommodate riders making early job starts.
  • Train 204 will not stop at 47th Street or 18th Street, matching the current schedule, to speed Blue Island trips.
  • Train 106 will add a flag stop at 63rd Street to provide an option to Mount Carmel students.
  • Train 500 will not stop at 107th Street through 75th Street, 47th Street or 27th Street, similar to the current schedule, to speed the trip.
  • Train 752 will depart one minute later to facilitate transfer from Train 502, which will depart two minutes earlier, to allow 502 customers to transfer to 752 and have a quicker trip.
  • Trains 754 and 734 will add a flag stop at 63rd Street to accommodate Mount Carmel students.
  • Train 504 will not stop at 107th Street through 95th Street, 47th Street or 27th Street or to speed Blue Island trips.
  • Train 506 will depart five minutes earlier and will not stop at 91st Street through 83rd Street or 75th Street, to speed Blue Island trains. This will also facilitate the transfer to Train 706 for customers who want express service.
  • Train 508 will add flag stops at 27th Street, 47th Street and 18th Street to speed Blue Island trips.

OUTBOUND WEEKDAY

  • Train 205 will depart five minutes earlier to accommodate change to Train 506.
  • Train 125 will depart 10 minutes later and make a flag stop at 63rd Street to accommodate Mount Carmel students.
  • Train 127 will add a flag stop at 63rd Street to give an option to Mount Carmel students.

WEEKEND

  • All trains will depart and arrive 20 minutes earlier to better serve downtown events and jobs that start and end on the hour.

Metra Electric Line customers are encouraged to review the final new schedule to see if their trains have been changed.

Some of the major changes between the new schedule and the current schedule include:

  • Improved midday service to Hyde Park – Inbound trains will arrive at the three Hyde Park stations every 20 minutes and outbound trains from downtown to Hyde Park will depart about every 20 minutes. There are currently gaps of up to 60 minutes in each direction.
     
  • Improved midday service to mainline stops from 75th to 111th streets – Trains will arrive every hour, instead of every two hours.
     
  • Elimination of a gap in inbound service on the mainline – The current schedule has a nearly one-hour gap between Train 742, which leaves University Park at 5:48 a.m., and Train 700, which leaves University Park at 6:40 a.m. Train 106, which now leaves University Park at 6:34 a.m., has been inserted between those two trains and will instead depart University Park at 6:12 a.m. Schedules of other trains were adjusted to accommodate customers using Train 106’s current schedule.
     
  • Elimination of lightly used trains on the branch lines – Lightly used trains on the branch lines, mostly early morning and late evening trains, will be eliminated, including Blue Island Branch Trains 200, 244, 245, 246, 247, 248, 249, 250 and 251 and South Chicago Branch Trains 300, 330, 346, 347, 348, 350, 351 and 353. Many of these trains carry only one to two customers per day. Taken together, these trains carry an average of fewer than 10 passengers per day.
    • Alternative public transportation options to serve the branch line stations and eliminated trains include a variety of CTA and Pace buses. In addition, Metra’s Rock Island Line is an alternative for some Blue Island Branch customers.
    • Trains 331 and 604 will also be eliminated, though Trains 329 and 504 can serve passengers from those trains.
       
  • Combining two trains on the mainline into one train – Inbound mainline Trains 738 and 758, which have similar schedules but serve different stations, were combined into one Train 738 to serve all stations formerly served by the two trains. Similarly, outbound mainline Trains 739 and 759 were combined into one Train 739.
     
  • Adjustment of Saturday service – Saturday service will be scaled back to better match demand. However, the line will continue to have more Saturday trains than any other Metra line. On the mainline, the number of trains will drop to 40 from 46, while on the South Chicago Branch, the number of trains will drop to 32 from 48 and on the Blue Island Branch, the number of trains will drop to eight from 30. By comparison, the BNSF Line, Metra’s busiest, has 28 Saturday trains. The proposed revisions will keep the same level of Sunday service on the Metra Electric Line, though some train times will be adjusted. The Blue Island Branch currently has no Sunday service.

 

 



#5 CNJRoss

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Posted 06 September 2017 - 10:44 AM

Metra news release:

 
New Metra Electric, Rock Island schedules begin Monday  
(September 5, 2017) - Metra reminds its Metra Electric and Rock Island Line customers that new schedules go into effect Monday, Sept. 11.

 

The agency announced in August it had finalized its revision of the Metra Electric Line schedule, making several adjustments to the initial proposal in response to customer feedback at informational meetings and via email. Click here to see the new schedule.

 

The most significant changes between the proposed version and the final schedule are the restoration of one late-night outbound train on the South Chicago Branch and the restoration of service on Saturdays on the Blue Island Branch, albeit reduced to four inbound and four outbound trains. Other modifications to the proposed schedule include different departure times and/or different station stops on certain trains to accommodate a variety of customer concerns.

 

Also beginning Monday, the midday express service schedule on Metra’s Rock Island Line will revert to local service, ending a yearlong pilot program that offered midday express service between Blue Island and Chicago. There are other minor adjustments to the weekday schedule; there are no changes to the weekend schedule. You can view the new outbound weekday schedule here and the new inbound weekday schedule here.

 

Printed schedules for both lines are available as of this week.

 

 






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