Results tagged “blueline”

We got some tips from readers of major delays on the Blue Line. The Trib is reporting a person was struck by a train and killed this afternoon at the Monroe station, leading to trains operating on a single track between Grand and Racine while bypassing the Monroe stop altogether.

The weekend is upon us which means it's time to get ready for the disruption of Blue Line service from the Loop to the Division stop, right? Not so fast! According to the CTA Tattler, work on that part of the Blue Line is done. The work now shifts to the Loop and South/West as the CTA continues to replace tracks to eliminate slow zones. The CTA claims that the work on this segment of the Blue Line should be completed by the end of the year and shuttle buses will connect passengers between the Clark & Lake and UIC/Halsted stop, which means no Blue Line in the Loop on weekends, starting tonight at 10:00 p.m.

Service on the Blue Line has been suspended until Monday between the Western/Milwaukee station and downtown’s Washington stop. Shuttles are running to move passengers until Monday at 4 a.m. when the route will open again.

A man accused of two rapes in the Bucktown neighborhood has been arrested. Damario McNeil, 31, of Lawndale, was arrested and charged with one count of attempt first-degree murder, two counts of aggravated criminal assault and two counts of aggravated kidnapping and one count of armed robbery. The first rape occurred in February in the 2300 block of W. Moffat, very close to the Western/Milwaukee Blue Line stop. The second assault happened just a few weeks ago, a bit further from the same Blue Line stop but still in the vicinity, in the 2000 block of W. Charleston. Police think McNeil could be linked to at least two other assaults, another in February close to the Western/Milwaukee Blue Line stop and one last September close to the Damen/North Blue Line stop. [Chicago Breaking News]

Nine people were hurt, none seriously, early this morning after a multiple car accident on the Eisenhower Expressway included one car jumping a barrier and colliding with a CTA Blue Line train. The accident happened after 4 a.m. this morning near Central Avenue. Seven passengers on the train were transported to a hospital in good-to-fair condition and two people from one of the cars involved were also treated for minor injuries. Full service to the Blue Line was restored around 7:30 a.m. this morning. [Sun-Times]

• As the Tribune Company works at reorganizing in the wake of their bankruptcy filing, Sam Zell could find himself now longer in control.
• An interesting Chicago-centric take on Obama's speech in Cairo.
• Beware the Blue Line: delays and boarding changes have now made the move to mid-week.

By now, you should be used to this, Blue Line riders. But just in case you're not, yes, the Blue Line between Western/Milwaukee and Clark/Lake will be shut down from 10 p.m. tonight until 4 a.m. Monday. Hope you like shuttle buses.

Another beautiful spring weekend, another weekend of CTA work. Not only will the Blue Line be shut down between Clark/Lake and Western/Milwaukee (again) and served by shuttle buses, but the Red Line will be rerouted along elevated tracks for the stretch between Fullerton and Cermak/Chinatown. Well, that makes sense, because there's nothing going on this weekend. Check out the CTA's Alerts page for full details. [via CTA Tattler]

Talk about inconvenience. With the holiday weekend meaning lots of travelers in and out of O'Hare, it seems like the perfect time to shut down a stretch of the Blue Line. Work on the slow zones - you know, the ones the CTA allegedly eliminated - continues this weekend. The segment of the Blue Line from Western/Milwaukee to Clark/Lake will be shut down and, instead, shuttle buses will be used to transport happy travelers to their destination. The work starts at 10 p.m. tonight and continues through 4 a.m. Monday morning.

• There was a delay on the Blue Line this afternoon when a woman fell on the tracks. Service and power were restored at around 2:30 p.m
• The CTA Tattler takes a look at how the CTA avoided additional fare hikes...for now.
• The Supreme Court has agreed to consider reviewing the case of former Sun-Times owner Conrad Black.

Another weekend, another Blue Line shut down. All this talk of slow zones and construction has those of us who use the Blue Line irritated, especially for those trips to O'Hare. And, besides, didn't they just spend two years working on the slow zones? Lucky for us, CTA Tattler took questions straight to the CTA.

Hey, just a friendly reminder that the Blue Line is shut down between Western and Clark/Lake this weekend. So build about an extra three hours into any travel plans you have this weekend. Also, didn't they announce that slow zones were gone on the Blue Line a couple months ago? If that's the case why has our previously 20 minute commute expanded to an hour on weekdays?

A man’s body was discovered inside a CTA Blue Line train early Sunday at 711 Des Plaines Avenue in West suburban Forest Park, authorities said. The man was identified as Hassan Sebazamy Damulira, 24, of Bellwood. According to a Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office spokesman, the man appeared to have suffered a drug overdose. The man was pronounced dead @ 2:52 a.m., the spokesman said. An autopsy is pending toxicological results. The CTA has referred questions to the police. [Sun-Times]

• The Sun-Times looks at Amber Cremeens, the McHenry native killed last week by her ex-boyfriend Tyler James Martin, who shot himself after a stand-off with police in Logan Square on Friday.
• State Attorney General Lisa Madigan is prepping a lawsuit against Caterpillar, Inc. over the huge oil sludge spill from earlier this month.
• The Arlington Heights-based company responsible for Golden Tee is gambling on a new slot machine.

• Chicago Police are investigating what seems to be a serial rapist terrorizing the Bucktown neighborhood after another attack of a woman leaving the Western Ave. Blue Line stop.
• Former pro-wrestling star Verne Gagne is in hot water after a man he threw to the ground in a nursing home died as a result of the incident.
• On the eve of the 10th anniversary of Gene Siskel's death, former partner-in-criticism Roger Ebert gives a heartfelt remembrance of Siskel.

A series of recent muggings at the CTA's Logan Square station has raised concern among residents and has police on the defensive. There were seven different incidents reported in a recent two-week period and now residents want to know what police are going to do about it.

If you plan on using the CTA tomorrow, be sure you're aware of some re-routes happening.

Work on the CTA Red and Blue Lines is happening this week, so be sure to plan accordingly. Work on the Sheridan Red Line stop will change where passengers will board and exit trains; the work will be from Tuesday through Friday from 10 a.m. until 2:30 p.m. As for the Blue Line, trains will run on a single track between Rosemont and O'Hare from 8 p.m. until 4 a.m., starting tonight and finishing Friday morning, to continue work on eliminating slow zones.

What the CTA is calling a "Medical Emergency" has disrupted southbound Blue Line service into the Loop. The incident occurred at the Jackson stop. The CTA is urging people to seek alternate routes southbound into the Loop. It's the second major disruption of serviec for the CTA's trains in as many days after a derailment interrupted Yellow and Red Line service yesterday.

Construction work on the Blue Line tracks between the Rosemont station and O’Hare is wrapping up four days early, with CTA service expected to be restored tomorrow morning at 3 a.m. Repairs to deteriorating rails, tie plates and spikes will eliminate the 15 m.p.h. slow zones on that particular stretch of track, now giving trains the capacity to travel at speeds up to 55 m.p.h.

We mentioned it a few weeks ago, but in case you've forgotten or missed it in the first place, the CTA is shutting down the Blue Line between O'Hare and Rosemont to continue work on slow zone elimination. The shut down begins at 3 a.m. Tuesday morning and runs until 3 a.m. Monday, July 28. Shuttle buses will run between O'Hare and Rosemont 24 hours a day until work is completed, so be sure to allow plenty of extra time.

We've whined and moaned about the constant shut downs of CTA lines over the last several months, but now we feel our gripes are somewhat legitimate. Whereas previous blue line shutdowns have occurred during late night hours on weekends, a new closure between O'Hare and Rosemont will occur July 8 and last three weeks. The CTA will provide 24-hour shuttle bus to connect between the stations in lieu of the trains. Blergh. Says CTA President Ron Huberman: "Through this intensive track replacement effort, customers traveling between O'Hare and Rosemont will notice a significant improvement in train speeds when work on this section is completed by the end of July." We'd better, R-Hub. We'd better.

CTA President Ron Huberman has a plan to right the wrong that is the Block 37 CTA not-at-all-super-station mess: Private investment. Ayeee.

In what is now a weekly right of passage, the CTA is doing all kinds of stuff to the train lines this weekend. Which is fine, because there's really not much going on this weekend besides all the street fests, Blues Fest, Printers Row Book Fair, the Sox home games, and all the tourists in town. We know it's all for the greater good and many of the reroutes are during off-peak hours, but that doesn't mean it won't affect anyone. Here's a quick summary of what's happening with each line this weekend.

The CTA has released its Mystery Shopper reports (recall the mystery shopping program), and apparently the rest of the city rides the Heaven Express down Miracle Drive, direct from Unicorn Town.

Despite this week's news that the work on the Fullerton and Belmont stops will be finished ahead of schedule, we're still drinking the CTA flavor Haterade. Honestly, we've given up taking the El on weekends. With slow zones, closures and reroutes, not to mention the ongoing Brown Line construction/clusterfuck, it's easier in this beautiful weather to just walk or ride our bikes (always wear a helmet!). With lots of people traveling and making their way around town for fests and other spring-time activities, it's important to keep an eye on the CTA Customer Alert website. Here's a quick run-down of this weekend's closures.

We'll still have to wait awhile for Chicago's new Trader Vic's, but in the meanwhile Tiki Terrace has now reopened for business and is ready to hula. And we mean that literally: the Hanalei Revue, every Saturday night, and the Ports of Paradise review on Fridays both feature plenty of dancing and other island-style entertainment.

Fallout from Tuesday's Blue Line fiasco continues as the CTA investigates what exactly went wrong. And the CTA employee who yelled at passengers and called them "stupid" is facing disciplinary action. (Boy are we glad we don't get in trouble for calling CTA passengers stupid. Because lord, we have seen some stupid shit on the CTA. Like the lady on the El with a mug of coffee—not a travel mug, just a regular mug with no lid or anything. WTF are you thinking, mug lady? And that's just the first story that came to mind!) Anyway,

If the RTA extended the Blue Line out to the Yorktown Mall in Lombard, would you go? The Sun-Times reported yesterday that possible improvements to the city's transit system could include a longer trek on the Forest Park line, new bus routes on major expressways, and a north-south train between Midway and O'hare, among other things.