Both trains will be included in a new BNSF Line schedule to be unveiled in June, Derwinski told Metra’s board of directors in advance of a formal announcement.
The additional trains “will be a great enhancement” to the BNSF schedule, Derwinski says, adding that the other timetable revisions will be “very minor.”
Metra’s schedule lists 28 BNSF Line trains arriving at Chicago Union Station between 6 a.m. and 9 am., and 22 trains departing between 3 p.m. and 6 pm. The BNSF Line to Aurora carries the most weekday riders – 64,000 – of Metra’s 11 lines.
In June 2018, Metra revised its schedule for the BNSF line due to the implementation of PTC, the federally mandated technology intended to automatically stop a train to prevent a collision or derailment. The changes were needed because PTC requires more time to “flip,” or prepare for a return trip.
But even though the revised schedule had been announced three months prior, the changes prompted so much overcrowding complaints that Metra was compelled to issue an apology.
Metra also announced Wednesday that it will increase weekend service this summer as a pilot project on two lines, the Rock Island and UP Northwest, to give customers more travel options.
In a survey of weekend riders, a majority of respondents said they wanted more frequent service, as well as faster service, according to Lynnette Ciavarella, Metra’s senior director of strategic planning.
Metra is testing whether the pilot will increase ridership and revenue on weekends.
The new schedules begin the weekend of June 1-2 and end Labor Day weekend.
On the Rock Island Line, there will be six new inbound and six new outbound trains to provide hourly service on Saturdays. There are no Sunday changes.
On the UP Northwest Line, there will be five new inbound and five new outbound trains on Saturdays, and three new inbound and three new outbound trains on Sundays/holidays, including new express trains to and from Arlington Heights.
The new BNSF trains this story mentions are being added to address the changes caused by PTC, which caused the initial overcrowding.
Complaints on the BNSF Line started immediately after the new PTC-prompted schedule went into effect in June 2018, even though riders had three months to prepare. Many conscientious riders expressed their concerns to Metra, which tweaked the schedule in response. But many more riders were either unaware of the schedule changes or chose to overlook them until they hit — is anyone surprised by this? Then the complaints — and overcrowding — came when old habits were disrupted. CEO Derwinski acknowledged this, saying in July that crowding occurred because some riders shifted to different trains because of the schedule change. HOWEVER, that’s not to say that overcrowding did not ALSO result from AC breakdowns and the shortage of cars. Yes, riders jammed cars with working AC units, and many cars were taken out of service. Here’s a link
http://trn.trains.com/news/news-wire/2018/08/16-bnsf-executive-pledges-to-fix-metra-commuters-woes
I am sorry, but last year overcrowding was blamed on gallery car shortages and lack of resources in the Aurora yard to fix the ones out of service and get them switched back into the consist. Specifically around bad (and old) air conditioning units which took a large number of cars off the line.
In fact Metra had to go grab some loaners from the NW Service to supplement the BNSF line.
Now this says the whole service problem was “PTC based” and caused the overcrowding.
So which is it? How does PTC keep a gallery car out of service and cause overcrowding?