It was remiss of me to let last week pass without posting about the newly revamped Metra web site. Beneath the considerable cosmetic update lie a couple of important new features for riders.

First, anyone can now purchase passes and 10-ride cards online, without having to go through an application process.

It’s not really a new story, but today’s Tribune has a nice write up about the grassroots “Gold Line” proposal to bring better mass transit to parts of the city’s South Side. Much like the earlier “Gray Line” proposal (second item in link), a key component to the plan involves [...]]]>

Gold Line Proposal

It’s not really a new story, but today’s Tribune has a nice write up about the grassroots “Gold Line” proposal to bring better mass transit to parts of the city’s South Side. Much like the earlier “Gray Line” proposal (second item in link), a key component to the plan involves expanding service on the main branch of the Metra Electric Line to several trains per hour and providing some mechanism for easy fare pass-through between it and the CTA.

As someone who grew up in Hyde Park, I find a lot of appeal in the basic idea, although the devil is in the details. Historically, Metra and CTA do not have a great track record of working together, and my understanding is that even the current Metra Electric service is underused, making it difficult to justify expansion. As the article points out, RTA is working on a unified fare card for CTA, Metra, and Pace, which might in and of itself address some of the issues that the Gold Line proposal identifies.

Again, these aren’t exactly new ideas. Chicago Weekly did a really nice job covering some of these issues last November in a longer piece that also details other proposals for improving South Side service such as extending the Red Line to 130th Street, and the Orange Line to Ford City Mall.

The Union Pacific/Northwest Line serves a fair chunk of Chicago, starting with Ukrainian Village and Old Irving Park, and [...]]]> (Note: Originally, the book had longer narrative descriptions of the local commuter rail lines. The final format simply didn’t allow for all this material, so periodically I’ll post selected entries here with updates when appropriate.)

The Union Pacific/Northwest Line serves a fair chunk of Chicago, starting with Ukrainian Village and Old Irving Park, and then heading westward to Jefferson Park, Norwood Park, and Edison Park. One of the top attractions for the UPNW Line riders is Arlington Park Racetrack, a world-class thoroughbred racing site and home to the annual Arlington Million. The train delivers you just adjacent to the track, no shuttles needed. The regular Arlington Heights stop takes you downtown and within a block of the Metropolis Performing Arts Center (111 W. Campbell St., 847-577-2121), although many of the shows there tend to come from the city anyway. You may be more likely to find an act that doesn’t stop in the city at the Woodstock Opera House (121 E Van Buren St., 815-338-4212), towards the end of the line in historic Woodstock. (They don’t actually showcase much opera, but Leon Redbone shows up from time to time.) Commuters traveling to and from the corporate cluster around Barrington will find Pace shuttle service to Siemens, AT&T, Claires, Allstate and ADP. About a third of all trains go on from Woodstock to Harvard, IL, and during rush hour, selected runs head to McHenry.