Train Service

What's black and white and red all over? The Red Line, which has been the star of CTA news recently. First, there was the announcement this summer that the Loyola stop will see a makeover. Next, the Wilson and Clark/Division stops were trumpeted for facelifts. Then, last week, officials reported $646 million in state funding to repair the southern portion of the Red Line, which has been plagued with slow zones, among other Red Line improvements. But the Red Line proposition that has stayed under the radar is the Red and Purple Line modernization project, a controversial set of six...

Wednesday may be doomsday for some CTA riders. The CTA board is expected to vote Wednesday morning on the agency's proposed "decrowding" initiative - which would add more trains and buses to some lines, at the expense of more than a dozen bus routes that are up for elimination because they have low ridership or duplicate service. At the hearing last week, which drew more than 100 CTA riders, the CTA revealed the details of how it plans to increase rail service. But perhaps the CTA doesn't need more buses and trains to reduce crowds - it just needs to fix train and bus...

The CTA plan that would reduce service on low ridership routes and add service on high ridership routes starting in December could speed rider commutes--if it's done right. There's no question that there are some areas on the rail system that could use more frequent train service. The CTA is considering adding more train service on the Red, Brown and Blue Lines during rush hour. The Blue Line alone has seen a 16 percent increase in weekday ridership over the last four years, as RedEye has previously reported.

The CTA plan that would reduce service on low ridership routes and add service on high ridership routes starting in December could speed rider commutes--if it's done right. There's no question that there are some areas on the rail system that could use more frequent train service. The CTA is considering adding more train service on the Red, Brown and Blue Lines during rush hour. The Blue Line alone has seen a 16 percent increase in weekday ridership over the last four years, as RedEye has previously reported.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas transit. Shopping bags are filling train seats, and buses are crawling along high-traffic shopping corridors. To keep you in good cheer, Going Public has devised a December transit road map so you can have happy haul-idays. > > That new iPhone is cool and all, but I'm a gonna have to stop you from pulling it out on the train. Thieves are watching for distracted riders. Watch your bags, especially at transit stops near stores with pricey products such as the North/Clybourn stop (Apple store)

Call 'em rail fails. Some Going Public readers have been railing against problems with CTA stations and train service lately. Next stop: Frustration station. No crown for Brown It seems that ever since the platform expansion was completed Brown Line off-peak trains (especially during the day and weekends) are only four cars. I feel that this is a problem because I have to stand every time and the trains are just packed. Especially with less frequent service it is quite inconvenient.

The Tribune reported this morning on a memo circulated by a high-ranking CTA official that said trains should not linger at stations waiting for riders to board. The CTA has since discredited the memo, which was written after CTA President Forrest Claypool complained that an operator closed and opened his doors "several" times at the Sedgwick Brown Line stop before departing. Though CTA officials rejected the memo, it presents a good opportunity to talk about rush-hour boarding of trains.

Wednesday may be doomsday for some CTA riders. The CTA board is expected to vote Wednesday morning on the agency's proposed "decrowding" initiative - which would add more trains and buses to some lines, at the expense of more than a dozen bus routes that are up for elimination because they have low ridership or duplicate service. At the hearing last week, which drew more than 100 CTA riders, the CTA revealed the details of how it plans to increase rail service. But perhaps the CTA doesn't need more buses and trains to reduce crowds - it just needs to...

In May, the CTA shut down Brown, Purple and Red line train service during rush hour on the North Side so firefighters could battle a blaze at Roy's Furniture near the Fullerton stop. During the shutdown, riders reported conflicting instructions from CTA employees - one example of a few recent communication breakdowns CTA President Forrest Claypool identified as a problem in a sitdown interview with RedEye shortly after the incident. To improve communication with riders, the CTA is moving toward an audio system the agency says will provide...

The CTA this week touted success with last year's plan to decrowd buses and trains by adding service, but a RedEye analysis shows mixed results and a decrease in ridership in some routes. Of the 48 bus routes that received additional service, 19 of the routes saw an increase in ridership during the time the service was added, typically rush hour. Eighteen of the routes saw a ridership decrease while five routes had flat ridership, the CTA said. The other six routes saw the times of their schedule change but didn't see an increase in frequency of...

The Tribune reported this morning on a memo circulated by a high-ranking CTA official that said trains should not linger at stations waiting for riders to board. The CTA has since discredited the memo, which was written after CTA President Forrest Claypool complained that an operator closed and opened his doors "several" times at the Sedgwick Brown Line stop before departing. Though CTA officials rejected the memo, it presents a good opportunity to talk about rush-hour boarding of trains.

Call 'em rail fails. Some Going Public readers have been railing against problems with CTA stations and train service lately. Next stop: Frustration station. No crown for Brown It seems that ever since the platform expansion was completed Brown Line off-peak trains (especially during the day and weekends) are only four cars. I feel that this is a problem because I have to stand every time and the trains are just packed. Especially with less frequent service it is quite inconvenient.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas transit. Shopping bags are filling train seats, and buses are crawling along high-traffic shopping corridors. To keep you in good cheer, Going Public has devised a December transit road map so you can have happy haul-idays. > > That new iPhone is cool and all, but I'm a gonna have to stop you from pulling it out on the train. Thieves are watching for distracted riders. Watch your bags, especially at transit stops near stores with pricey products such as the North/Clybourn stop (Apple store)

What's black and white and red all over? The Red Line, which has been the star of CTA news recently. First, there was the announcement this summer that the Loyola stop will see a makeover. Next, the Wilson and Clark/Division stops were trumpeted for facelifts. Then, last week, officials reported $646 million in state funding to repair the southern portion of the Red Line, which has been plagued with slow zones, among other Red Line improvements. But the Red Line proposition that has stayed under the radar is the Red and Purple Line modernization project, a...

It was a soggy but quiet homecoming for the CTA's 5000-series rail cars, which debuted on the Pink Line this week after a nearly six-month hiatus. The CTA on Sunday rolled out two trains, each composed of six cars, which feature electronic signs, security cameras and the controversial aisle-facing seats. The cars had been out of service since late last year, when the CTA noticed defective wheel parts. Cars already in the CTA's possession were retrofit with new parts. The CTA said it has asked for additional inspections and checks from Bombardier, the company that manufactures the cars.

George and Sara Aye of Logan Square are campaigning for change. The husband-wife team is trying to raise money to fund a CTA app that goes beyond Bus and Train Tracker to serve as a digital customer service agent that would tell riders what's near their station and provide alternative routes if train service is shut down. To raise the $125,000 the Ayes believe it costs to develop such an app, they turned to Kickstarter, an online funding platform that is becoming a go-to for CTA-related projects.