U.S. House member seeks funds for next step in Metra yard relocation project
U.S. Rep. Lauren Underwood (D-Ill.) is seeking $4 million to support relocation of a Metra yard on the UP Northwest line from Crystal Lake, Ill., to rural Woodstock, which could accommodate a full-service facility not possible at the current facility, limited by surrounding development. An Underwood press release says the funds would pay for engineering work, the next step in the yard relocation process. The plan could allow the doubling of service to Woodstock; under the current pandemic-reduced schedule, just 12 of the line’s 43 daily trains continue past Crystal Lake to Woodstock and Harvard. The project is one of nine from Underwood’s 14th District under a new program for Fiscal 2022, the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Member Designated Projects, which allow legislators to request direct funding for projects within their districts.
Metra to increase service on Electric Line as of May 10
Metra will increase service on its Electric Line as of May 10, adding four trains (two inbound and two outbound) on both weekdays and weekends, while adjusting schedules or stops for several other trains. The changes reflect ridership patterns, as well as an effort to provide reverse commute options for workers at a new Amazon facility in University Park, the southern terminus of the Electric line. Weekend changes will also include additional express trains. “Our discussions with Amazon to create additional reverse commute options are just one of the many initiatives we are working on to ensure that Metra service post-pandemic is responsive to the region’s travel needs,” Metra CEO/Executive Director Jim Derwinski said in a press release, which also details the various schedule changes.
Portland-area agency approves labor agreement, ending long standoff
TriMet, the transit agency in the Portland, Ore., area, has approved a three-year contract with its workforce. The Oregonian reports the TriMet board unanimously approved the contract to end a stalemate that lasted more than 18 months, meaning almost half the term of the contract will be retroactive. Wage increases of 3% will be retroactive to December 2019, with a 2.5% increase retroactive to December 2020 and a 2.25% increase this December. The contract, effective through November 2022, also includes a revised apprenticeship program and tuition assistance for workers.
Wasn’t Metra restoring service, from McHenry north to Johnsburg, supposed to include moving the Crystal Lake yard to Johnsburg with numerous studies done at that time. Either Woodstock or Johnsburg would be a good location, just get it done and stop wasting money on studies.