CHICAGO — Metra’s weekend of free rides to mark its 40th anniversary will also see the debut of the commuter operator’s new museum car at its LaSalle Street station, downtown terminus of the Rock Island District.
The commuter operator will offer free rides across its system this Saturday, June 8, and Sunday, June 9, to mark its birth on June 8, 1984 [see “Metra to mark 40th anniversary with weekend of free rides,” Trains News Wire, May 16, 2024]. That was the date of the first meeting of the Commuter Rail Division of the Regional Transportation Authority, which later adopted the name Metra.
Metra had also announced plans for a “museum in a railcar” as part of its anniversary celebration, and now has announced the schedule for that car, which will display artifacts of Metra and predecessor railroads. It will be at La Salle Street station on Saturday from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., and will also be displayed those same hours at the Ogilvie Transportation Center on June 22, Chicago Union Station on July 6, and Millennium Station on July 20.
“This is our way to thanks Chicago area residents for riding and supporting us for the last four decades,” Metra Executive Director/CEO Jim Derwinski said in a press release. “We encourage everyone to leave their cars at home this weekend and use Metra to experience everything that our city and suburbs have to offer.”
Museum in a railcar? I thought that was every railcar
Thankx for info, did not know that about the “A” Line. Could explain why it dead-ends at Union Station and is inconvenient getting to many parts of the metro.
Unless schedules have changed in 19 years the ex-WC can only be round-tripped once a day weekdays only. The C&A was one-way in the morning and evening but AMTK does that route.
Took me 5 days to cover the entire Metra system with a Bennett Levin trip in between. Now the CSS&SB is no longer an interurban with no street running in MC it is now a CR too!
The METRA Antioch trains have run for 21 years. Still no weekend service. Makes no sense to me.
Commuter runs that operate weekdays only can be un-fun. Last Saturday I needed to get from Seattle to Tukwila, which is one stop south on the route to Portland. Had it been a weekday, both Amtrak and Sounder covered the route. I could pretty much have showed up a King Street Station any time in a weekday afternoon and found a train. But it was a weekend so I had to time my trip to Amtrak’s schedule which is convenient enough. Got me there.
While on the subject of Seattle, I found it interesting that the light rail to SeaTac Airport is very well patronized. But I’ve noticed that light rail to Denver International Airport is not.
Charles: The “A” line to Denver is heavy rail using EMUs. Also FRA rules not FTA