Streetsblog Chicago, 3/30:
Why Hong Kong Got an Express Train to the Airport and Why Chicago Shouldn’t Get One
Mayor Rahm Emanuel has noted that Hong Kong is a world class city with an express train to its airport, and O’Hare should have one like it to attract more business travelers to Chicago. There’s a good backstory about how Hong Kong got an airport express, but it doesn’t support Emanuel’s push for one.
I spent last weekend in Hong Kong and rode the express train roundtrip, and I experienced first hand what a premium airport train looks and feels like. I also learned how it was funded. The Hong Kong Airport Express is unique in that it’s the only train to the airport and it was privately funded by real estate revenues. Emanuel has repeatedly said the goal of the O’Hare Express project “is to ensure that no taxpayer money is used.”
SNIP
Even though the Hong Kong Airport Express the only train service to its airport, less than a quarter of Hong Kong airport passengers use it. However, the airport express won’t necessarily have any funding problems due to low ridership because MTR subsidizes all its lines with its real estate operation. . . .
Continue here.