TRAINS: David Lassen
Metra adds second bike car to Milwaukee North line
Chicago’s Metra has introduced a second bike car on the Milwaukee North Line, expanding the program to offer bike car service on 14 weekday trains and eight on weekends. The bike cars, with a distinctive blue and gray paint scheme, can accommodate 16 bicycles rather than the usual five on Metra accessible railcars, thanks to the removal of seats from one half of the bilevel car’s lower level. The first car was unveiled in November [see “Metra debuts new bike car …,” Trains News Wire, Nov. 6, 2020]; the second car began operation on Friday. A full schedule for the bike cars is available here.
STB sets schedule for Amtrak-Metra dispute, will learn remaining issues on Dec. 15
The Surface Transportation Board will hear of remaining issues in the dispute between Amtrak and Metra over Metra’s lease at Chicago Union Station next Tuesday, Dec. 15, under a schedule set today by the STB. In a slight modification of the schedule proposed by the two sides, each party will file both public and non-public versions of its briefs on the remaining issues on Jan. 22, 2021, with public and non-public versions of their responses to the opposing side’s briefs on Feb. 19, 2021. The proposal to the board had asked for separate dates for public and non-public versions of the briefs. The dispute first came to the board in 2018 [see “Metra asks STB to intervene …,” Trains News Wire, April 10, 2018] but was not addressed by the STB until it was brought to the agency for a third time. The two parties have informed the STB that mediation has resolved some issues, but others will require resolution by the board [see “Digest: Amtrak,Metra end Chicago Union station arbitration,” News Wire, Dec. 8, 2020].
Members of Congress introduce resolution calling for transit funding parity
U.S. Reps Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.), Jesus (Chuy) Garcia (D-Ill.), and Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), along with 30 other members of Congress, are sponsoring a resolution calling for equal federal funding for transit and highways. The “Transit Parity Resolution” seeks to alter a longstanding precedent under which Congress allocates approximately 80% of federal transportation funding to highways, with the remaining 20% for public transit. A press release from Pressley’s office says that split was originally intended to reflect the “user fee” of the federal gas tax, the primary source of transportation funding. But with increasing use of general tax funds for transportation purposes as gas-tax dollars decrease, the 80-20 split is “out of step with the current needs of our country and leaves too many reliant on deteriorating transit systems with infrequent and unreliable service.” Text of the resolution is available here.
