Imagine a 20-minute train ride between O’Hare Airport and downtown. There’s room for your luggage and space for you to work. There’s no urine on your seat or stench from your fellow riders who have made a row of seats their home.
No, this is not your new Blue Line.
This is a proposed train service, called CrossRail Chicago, that would use existing Metra tracks to provide fast, smooth rides between O’Hare, Union Station and McCormick Place.
There’s no money to pay for such a project but five aldermen introduced a city council resolution last week that calls on the Chicago Infrastructure Trust, a nonprofit agency tasked with luring private money for public projects, to study potential CrossRail funding sources and report back by March.
In the resolution, the aldermen said expressway traffic is a “permanent source of frustration and economic waste,” and increasing and improving train service would draw drivers and taxi passengers off the expressway, decreasing congestion.
Adding express train service to the Blue Line is not feasible given the current CTA infrastructure, the aldermen said. CTA spokeswoman Tammy Chase would not comment on the CrossRail proposal but said the CTA would have to evaluate whether its tracks and tunnels could handle express trains.
Chase said the Blue Line now is an attractive route, in terms of both cost and speed. It takes about 45 minutes to get between O’Hare and the Clark/Lake stop in the Loop on a good day without train door problems or other delays the Blue Line seems to attract.
The idea of an express train service between O’Hare and downtown is not new, but this most recent call for O’Hare express service comes as the CTA is less than a year into its four-year plan to rebuild the O’Hare branch of the Blue Line and subway. The agency is spending $492 million to speed commutes and improve some stations along the way.
Make no mistake—the time and money spent on this project is to make necessary repairs—not to institute express service. And only one station, the Addison stop in Avondale, is getting new elevator access in this project.
Track work is supposed to save riders 10 minutes on their trip between O’Hare and downtown, the CTA said. Trains would run at 55 miles per hour, the CTA standard.
In 2007, when the CTA prepared to undergo a large-scale Blue Line track renovation, the CTA president at the time, Ron Huberman, said the goal was for Blue Line trains to operate at 70 miles per hour.
These days, 12.5 percent of the Blue Line is under slow zone, when trains travel 35 miles per hour or slower because of track conditions or age, according to August CTA data, the most recent posted online. Much of these slow zones are on the Congress branch of the Blue Line along the Eisenhower Expressway.
As the aldermen point out, Chicago deserves more. But let’s start with the Blue Line.
Last year, the CTA implemented a $2.75 fee for riders who begin their trips at O’Hare and don’t have an unlimited ride card.
At the time, the CTA said on its Web site the surcharge was a “premium fee” because “CTA service from O’Hare provides an affordable, convenient way for travelers to get downtown and around the city that saves time and money by avoiding traffic congestion and $50 cab fares.”
There was no improvement in service at the time. Nothing extra for your two bucks.
Perhaps time would be better spent researching private partnerships that could bring trains to 70 miles per hour or elevators to Blue Line stops that seem impossible to navigate for those with luggage or a physical disability.
The California Blue Line stop, which has been closed for more than a month for stationhouse and platform repairs, reopens Thursday. The Damen Blue Line stop in West Town closes Monday for two months for similar fixes. Neither station is getting an elevator.
Those improvements would be a start in making the Blue Line first class.
Fielding lakefront suggestions
The Metropolitan Planning Council, a regional development agency, is hosting an open house Tuesday to seek community input on how to improve transit options at Museum Campus along the lakefront. The meeting will be held from 4 to 6 p.m., at 140 S. Dearborn St.
A new angle
The Polish Triangle Coalition, a group of West Town area leaders, is hosting an online survey to seek input on how to improve the area around the Division Blue Line stop. Go to polishtrianglecoalition.org to take the survey.
Stationary
A weekly dispatch from a CTA station of note
This week: Harrison Red Line
The CTA recently spent $10 million to makeover this Printers Row station and one of the greatest improvements was the lighting on the platform. The new lights, which are LED energy efficient, make a huge difference in rider comfort. Some other CTA subway stops that have poor lighting make commuting a depressing experience. The Harrison stop now feels open and airy instead of dark and dank. Time to turn the lights on systemwide, CTA.
Next up: Ashland on the Green and Pink lines
