4 replies to this topic

[CNJRoss]

Metra news release, 5/28:

 

Metra to boost weekend service on Rock Island Line

Weekend express trial schedule will shave about 20 minutes from trips

 

(May 28, 2015) – Starting June 6 and lasting through Nov. 29, Metra will launch a trial program to enhance weekend service on the Rock Island Line by adding express trains that will speed the trip between suburban stations and downtown Chicago by about 20 minutes.

 

On weekdays, the Rock Island Line has trains that use the Beverly Branch as well as express trains that use the mainline tracks to bypass Beverly. But under the current weekend schedule, all trains on Saturdays and Sundays use the Beverly Branch to and from downtown. That creates a slower trip for riders who board in Blue Island or stations further south between Blue Island and Joliet.

 

Under the new trial service – which is timed to coincide with the months of peak weekend ridership – six mainline express trains will be added to the schedule in each direction on Saturdays and Sundays, creating speedier service for suburban riders without affecting service to those along the Beverly Branch. Suburban customers going to a Beverly Branch station and branch riders heading to the suburbs will need to transfer at Blue Island. The schedule has been designed to make that transfer easy and convenient. (Customers wishing to make such a transfer should tell their conductor on the first leg of their trip so their ticket can be marked appropriately.)

 

The service improvement is being funded with a $313,000 grant from the RTA’s Innovation, Coordination and Enhancement (ICE) program. That money is being matched with $313,000 in Metra funds.

 

“We have heard from riders over the years that they’re discouraged from riding on weekends because it takes too long to get downtown,” said Metra Executive Director/CEO Don Orseno. “We’re expecting that this significant enhancement – cutting 20 minutes from the schedule – will encourage more people to come on board, where they’ll discover we have fast, reliable, comfortable and safe service. Many thanks to the RTA for helping us fund this project.”

 

New timetables will be available shortly on Rock Island trains and stations. The new schedule also can be found here.

 

[KevinKorell]

Good, it's about time.  That trip via the Beverly branch is tedious. The station stops are SEPTA-like, that is one could almost throw a rock from one to the next.  As long as that express bypass exists, they should be using it.

[CNJRoss]

Chicago Tribune, posted 5/28:
 

Weekend express trains starting on Rock Island Line

 

Starting June 6, weekend trains on Metra's Rock Island Line will run on different schedules as part of a trial program to provide express service to the nine southernmost stations on the line.

 

The Saturday-Sunday schedule will continue the regular stops between Blue Island and downtown Chicago on 20 trains those days, but 12 express trains will be added — six inbound and six outbound — that will bypass the line's Beverly branch stops, saving riders south of Blue Island almost 20 minutes per trip, according to Metra.

 

Continue here.

[KevinKorell]

Chicago, IL Sun-Times, 11/11/15:

 

Metra makes Rock Island Line weekend express trains permanent

 

Six weekend express trains in each direction are being added permanently to Metra’s Rock Island Line, officials said Wednesday.

Test successful.  Good news.

[CNJRoss]

Metra news release:

 

Metra makes Rock Island weekend express service permanent

Metra to add weekday express train to Tinley Park/80^th Ave. beginning Nov. 30 

 

 

(Nov. 11, 2015) – Metra today announced that its experiment with weekend express trains on the Rock Island Line will be made permanent and a new weekday outbound express train will make its debut starting Nov. 30.

 

“We received very positive feedback from customers who liked the new weekend express trains on the Rock Island and wanted us to continue operating them.” said Metra Executive Director/CEO Don Orseno. “Moving forward, we plan to review adjustments to our other train schedules to see where new or expanded express service might make sense.”

 

Last June, six express trains were added to the Rock Island schedule in each direction on Saturdays and Sundays. The express trains bypass the Beverly Branch, which is served by separate trains, prompting a 20-minute reduction in travel time between suburban stations and downtown Chicago. About 870 additional customers per Saturday and about 300 per Sunday were estimated to have taken advantage of this new express service.  

 

The weekend express service was set to end on Nov. 29, but is now being made part of the permanent weekend schedule. However, their departure and arrival times are being slightly adjusted: Inbound express trains will leave Joliet 5 minutes earlier; outbound express trains will leave LaSalle Street 10 minutes later. In addition, the outbound express time to Joliet will be reduced by 5 minutes.

 

In addition, Metra is adding an outbound express train to the weekday schedule. Train No. 413, which now departs at 4:57 p.m. and stops at all stations south of Blue Island except Joliet, will still depart at 4:57 p.m. but will now stop at 35^th Street, express to Tinley Park/80^th Ave., the busiest stop on the line, and then make all remaining stops with the addition of Joliet. This change should relieve overcrowding issues on No. 415, which departs LaSalle Street at 5:15 p.m., expresses to Midlothian and makes all remaining stops to Joliet.

 

“I’m extremely excited at these new additions to the Metra schedule,” Tinley Park Mayor Dave Seaman said. “Weekday commuters will now be able to get from Chicago to Tinley Park in just 33 minutes, and hundreds of weekend travelers looking to get to the city more quickly will have a wide array of options to do so.”

 

Customers who now take train No. 413 to stations before 80^th Ave. will be able to take No. 303, which will now depart at 5 p.m. and serve all mainline stations to Tinley Park/Oak Park Ave. And customers who now take No. 303 can take No. 617 or No. 419.

 

Also starting Nov. 30, Metra is making schedule changes to a handful of other trains to reflect actual operating conditions, improve connections and enhance operational efficiency. Metra customers are strongly urged to check the new schedule to determine if there are changes to their trains.

 

To view the new Rock Island schedule, please click here.