transportation
Many Metra delays tied to 1930s-era switches
Metra’s A2 interlocker, circa 1932, represents two of the biggest problems facing the nation’s second-largest commuter rail line: delays and capital needs. Switching snafus are the largest cause of Metra delays, Metra data indicates. And A2 is among the top of the heap of Metra’s estimated $9.66 billion in capital needs over the next decade, with only $2 billion expected to plug the hole.
CTA, union reach agreement on ex-offenders jobs program
A deal has been struck to reinstate a second-chance program that gives employment opportunities to ex-offenders at the Chicago Transit Authority.
Oak Forest man killed, 3 hurt in crash involving Pace bus
The three-vehicle crash involving two cars and a Pace bus happened about 9:10 a.m. at Renwick Road and Rankin Drive, police and fire officials said. A Kia Rio traveling eastbound on Renwick Road crossed into the westbound lanes and hit the Pace bus head-on, Romeoville Police said in a news release. Then the Kia thit a Ford Fusion.
Mag Mile among 20 Chicago streets recommended for ‘car-free’ zones
“Let’s give Chicagoans more car-free zones to walk, bike, shop, socialize or just relax,’’ urged the Active Transportation Alliance, which has been a big supporter of bike lanes and the city’s Ashland bus rapid-transit plan.
Midway last, O’Hare near bottom for on-time flights
Midway Airport finished dead last both for on-time arrivals and departures among major American airports for December 2013 — with O’Hare International Airport also near the bottom of the list in both categories..
Metra Board expected to pick new chairman Tuesday
Board members — many of them rookies with less than a year on the job — are expected to select a new chairman Tuesday as they try to shake off the controversy that fueled the resignation of former chair Brad O’Halloran.
Sailboat on the rocks — abandoned 22-footer awaits spring thaw
If this were a Pixar movie, the little boat would free itself from the ice in Belmont Harbor and set out on a long journey to find the mariner who once loved it. The little sailboat is the only vessel trapped in the ice in the entire harbor system. The boat, which has no name, was abandoned two years ago. Its owner owes about $2,500 in dock fees. He’s nowhere to be found. Harbor officials have repeatedly tried to contact him. “Nothing short of bringing in a Coast Guard ice breaker would get the boat out of the water right
Public transit use inched up in the past 5 years: RTA study
Fueled by healthy jumps in CTA rail and special Pace disabled service, transit use over the Chicagoland area inched upward in the last five years — providing 13 million more rides over the period, a new RTA study indicated Thursday. The economic recession clearly took its toll during the beginning of the years studied — 2008 to 2012, said RTA Chief Financial Officer Bea Reyna-Hickey.
Move to Ventra-only fare system could resume by March
Heads up, CTA riders. The transition to a Ventra-only fare payment system could resume by the end of the month. That was the word Wednesday from CTA President Forrest Claypool, who also added that riders probably will be given more than a month’s notice before old paper fare cards are dumped in favor of new plastic Ventra cards.
Metra Board votes interim CEO as permanent chief
Metra Board members Friday voted interim CEO Don Orseno to be the permanent chief of the transit agency for $262,500 a year. The board members met earlier behind closed doors to interview candidates to permanently replace former CEO Alex Clifford, whose controversial buyout ignited a series of investigations and upended more than half the board.
Metra board expected to interview CEO candidates
Metra Board members Friday are expected to interview candidates to permanently replace CEO Alex Clifford, whose hefty June severance package kicked up a flurry of investigations.
Freight train derailment halts Metra North Central Line
Piling on to Metra’s problems because of the cold weather, a freight train derailment has halted service on North Central Service until further notice.
City turns to private truckers to replenish salt supply, thanks to ‘challenging winter’
Chicago has hired private contractors to pick up salt from piles in Downstate Ottawa and Camanche, Iowa, to replenish a supply that dropped to 70,000 tons after a Morton Salt Co. barge got stuck on the Mississippi River near Cairo. “This is not a salt shortage. We’re taking proactive measures to ensure there are ample amounts of salt to keep residents safe,” said Kelley Quinn, a spokeswoman for the city’s Office of Budget and Management. “This pro-active operation is not unique to Chicago, and it is not unique to this winter. We stockpiled more than 285,000 tons of salt to
Edison Park feels the heat from parking enforcement
Call it the parking meter squeeze. Residents and businesses in Chicago’s Edison Park neighborhood on the Far Northwest Side say they’re under siege by enforcement workers writing parking tickets day and night.
New O’Hare runway sends noise complaints soaring, doesn’t reduce delays
Last fall’s opening of a new runway at O’Hare International Airport is already kicking up turbulence. Noise complaints have skyrocketed more than 500 percent in the first full month since runway 10C-28C opened Oct. 17, heralding a massive shift in flight patterns. And although the switch to mostly parallel runways from mostly intersecting ones was supposed to reduce delays in all kinds of weather, that’s not how the first full month of on-time performance numbers shook out.
Amtrak modifies schedule in response to Monday’s expected cold weather
Amtrak released a modified schedule for Monday in response to the expected cold weather, which includes forecasted wind chill values ranging from minus 25 to minus 40. The following trains will not be running on Monday: Lincoln Service trains No. 300, 301, 306 and 307; …
