Faster Trains? We'll Believe It When We See It

Well you're basically looking at two different capital improvement projects, both of which will extend operating expenses though the express service will involve more, I think. And since the CTA is already crying poverty on operating expenses (which is why they're saying they can't fix the slow zones), the express service seems like it's going to pull money away from both budgets and not doing much of anything for the folks who us the system the most.

I agree that basic services should get top priority, but I can see some definite advantages to this for Chicagoans as well as out-of-towners. The traffic on I-90 and feeding into and out of I-94 is terrible. A lot of that traffic is for O'Hare, and there is no way to widen the road at the I-90/94 junction. With car commutes getting longer and longer, a train could reduce traffic, reduce fuel consumption, and improve air quality. It would also be a step in the right direction for embracing more mass transit. However, the cab drivers would probably be losers in this scheme.

The whole entire plan is just a mess. Talk about wasting money where it's not needed.

Never mind that most of the Red Line underground stations are filthy, dimly lit, frightening corridors of disgust. It amazes me that nothing has ever been done. The Grand stop, obviously highly used by tourists due to restaurants and stores near Michigan Ave. is one of the worst. As a citizen of Chicago I'm sick of it, I can't imagine the disdain for public transportation felt by tourists using these services.

The Washington Red Line stop and ones before and after also are just horrible. So much could be done to improve the look and feel of them. We have a mayor who is so influenced by the flowers of Paris or Rome or wherever that the city spends a fortune on them across downtown - but my one wish is that Daley would just once visit Paris and use the subway there, and hopefully return to Chicago and demand that the CTA clean up it's act below ground.

There are good points to all of these CTA plans and money definitely does talk. i definitely think that all of the subway stations in the system need to be rehabbed to look like the Lake/Jackson/Chicago stations. those are really nice stations, well-lit, well-appointed with maps and tv screens and most importantly very clean. i'm not a transportation expert by any means, but it seems to me that the easiest and cheapest way to improve the CTA is to rehab these stations. even when they were rehabbing the Lake St. station there were no closures that I could recall. From there, move on to everything else.

I have noticed recently, signs at CTA stations for community forums about the circle line, but that seems more for show than anything else.

I could see this service making allot of money. The city should make it allot easier to get to the train platform from O’Hare though. As it is now you have to walk about a mile just to get the from the termini.

Anyone been to Tokyo?

I was there this summer and just blown away at how well run the subway and train system was. It's 100X the size of the CTA, it's efficient, the trains arrive on time all the time, it's clean, the trains are clean, well lit, safe, etc.

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I also don't understand the need to get to the airport faster. A better solution is for people to just stop being so damn lazy and allow enough time to get there.

I'm sick of the city doing all it can to please tourists and visitors. Who the f*ck needs to get to the airports faster!

This wouldn't be a bad idea if there is the potential for it to earn money for the CTA in the long term. Valuewise, if it were relatively fast (The CTA would absolutely have to eliminate ALL of the slow zones on the blue line) and cost less than half the price of a cab, it'd definitely be an attractive option for anyone (not only tourists travel to and from the airports) using the airports who begins, ends or connects downtown.

As much as I think the CTA is often grossly incompetent, I'm not sure I can get on board with handing this service over to a private contractor though. Considering Daley's record with this sort of thing, it's unlikely a private firm would be any more efficient or skilled than the CTA, and the public would have even less oversight.

Marilyn makes a good point regarding lessening congestion stemming from all the shuttles and cabs running from the airports to the loop. She's also right to mention the cabbies who'd undoubtedly be affected by this. What would be the net job gain or loss?

I hadn't thought of the question of integrating the Orange Line with the block 37 station. Would orange express trains just be routed through the old Englewood branch subway connection to the orange line tracks near Cermak?

Right now, if the Blue line were fixed, the profit potential for this could be proven and the service were to remain under CTA control (Assuming the current management could be replaced first), I think I'd support this idea before I'd support an Ashland corridor Circle line.

A group of us called Neighbors Project is fed up with the painfully slow train and bus service, and we're doing something about it.

We're flyering at CTA train stops through the November 7 election to get people to call their legislators and ask them to make improving the CTA a top priority. E-mail info@neighborsproject.org to volunteer to flyer (or get custom flyers for your stop); it's pretty fun and you wouldn't believe the number of people who are really grateful to get the information we're handing out. We're at neighborsproject.blogspot.com

Improve what we already have before these grand plans for the airports.

How about a helicopter shuttle to the airports from the loop.

Tourism is important but lets take care of the people that live and work here first.

bravo, navin! exactly. people who would rather *die!* than take the train. i don't get AT ALL how the cta has NO money, yet keeps coming up with these projects to enact (circle line, express trains??).

and then the FIRST thing they'll do is say they have to raise fares and/or cut service and cut benefits and cut jobs. all while leaving huge bloated management salaries and pensions.

i'm all for pensions, but for people who earn and deserve them. like people *running* the trains, and *driving* the buses.

After reading the Trib article and Scott's post, I have to doubt that this could possibly be profitable. If backers can't show a certain potential for the service to produce a net profit (and it needs to be in the black a lot sooner than 2030) that can be utilized to fund improvements elsewhere in the system, there is no doubt that it's a monumental mistake to even consider funding it.

The last couple times I took a cab to or from O'Hare, it cost about $40 including the tip. Unless things have changed, each additional passenger only costs an additional $1. Meaning that the per person cost of a cab ride becomes about $21 for two passengers, $15 for three and $11 for four. This fact would probably eliminate virtually all families and businesspeople travelling together as potential users of this service. After all, why trade fast point to point transport in a cab for a service that only gets one NEAR their destination and costs about the same or even more?

I also have to question any analysis of ridership based on current numbers because no one can say how many el riders starting trips at the airports actually ride all the way downtown. Likewise, no one can say how many trips originating downtown end up at the airports. Without some kind of exit tracking system, I don't really see how the CTA can reliably gauge train usage anywhere. (Carole Brown loves to make oblique references to "ridership data" when commenting on the possibility of changing service, but knowing where people are getting on only tells part of the story.) Further, unless they get an analysis of how many passengers use competing services like cabs and shuttles, they have no idea what sort of potential there is for this.

Navin - I agree. Ever try getting "ANYWHERE" from the newark airport? You can take the shuttle train to the Amtrak, then take it one stop to the PATH station, and then transfer that into manhattan... ick. Or pay a $75 cab ride to get into the city.

O'Hare is amazing compared to the NYC airports and LAX. People just don't realize how good that they have it.

Jon,

Lawrence bus to the Jefferson Park stop to Ohare in an hour is excellent. Sounds like you must have waited 30 seconds for that Lawrence bus. How much did you save over cab fare? How much would you have spent parking a car overnight at the airport? Many times the CTA is NOT faster than driving a car, especially if a bus is involved. I've waited up to a half hour for the Lawrence bus ... and I'd never go west on the Lawrence bus through Albany Park on a Friday or Saturday evening. Walking is faster.

Forget the Super Station. Forget the express trains. What we need are more train/subway lines. Not only that, but new lines that actually CONNECT to the existing lines. People don’t only live along the lake in this town – there is not enough public transportation for the entire Western part of the city except what goes through Garfield Park and such. Both Northwest and Southwest sides need more.

The Circle Line is a step in the right direction, but there are other proposals too which should be worked on:
1) The Mid-City Transit Way - which would use existing track from Lawrence or Montrose and connect the Blue Line to Midway, and hence, O’Hare to Midway running along Cicero.
2) The Electric or Silver Line – following the Metra line which goes South and, eventually, South and West. It could even connect up with an extended Red line to the South.

And beyond these, what about two u-shaped lines: one on the North side and one on the South side that connect the three new proposals with the existing system and connect the West side to the rest of the city. Then we would have a public transportation system which would rival European or Asian cities.

OK, I’ll get off my soapbox now…

i'd do a boycott to show how many people faithfully use the L every day.

For those complaining about aging subway stations, remember that it is the responsibility of the city, not the CTA, to rehab these particular stations. If you're fed up with old subway stations, contact the city and Mayor's Office instead.

Grand is scheduled to be the next Red Line subway station to be renovated, but so far the city has been taking their sweet time. Read the "Grand To Be Renovated... Eventually" section of Chicago-L.org's profile page for more history on the renovation delays.

Re: M

Indeed, I had less than a 5 minute wait for the Lawrence bus. The Lawrence ride west would have been faster, but the chronic construction on the road has been slowing it down for the last couple of years. Not to mention the albany park "everyone slows down their car to shout at their neighbors as they walk by" effect.

It was quite a cost savings - $1.75 for the bus/train combo, as opposed to $35 (at least) to taxi there, or $30 to park my car for 2 nights. So, for what amounted to perhaps an extra 20-30 minutes (at most), I saved myself upwards of $25. A fair trade off to me!