CHICAGO — Commuter rail operator Metra has begun a survey of riders and the public, seeking comment to aid in creation of its next five-year plan.
The plan will seek to address long-term funding solutions, challenges in regaining riders and attracting new customers in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, and addressing changing rider needs. The plan will also address capital-project needs, equity and climate change, attracting and retaining employees, and ways to gain more control over the system’s operating environment.
“With the pandemic happening and greater funding options now available, much has changed in the public transportation environment since the last strategic plan was adopted in 2017,” Metra CEO Jim Derwinski said in a press release. “That’s why it’s more important than ever that we seek the input of My Metra riders as we plot our future course.”
The survey is available here. The new strategic plan will be developed this summer and presented in draft form to the Metra board of directors this fall. After the public has a chance to comment, a final plan will be presented for adoption in early 2023.
I agree with increasing frequency during off peak hours.
Let’s hit the pause button on pie-in-the-sky ideas like electrification that are unrealistic given existing funding constraints. Far more valuable, I think, would be increased service frequency like the experimental 30-minute frequency on the UP-N. Closing the gaps in hourly service during the week, improving weekend frequencies would also be attractive to potential riders.
i say metra should run their diesel locomotives on bio fuels
I agree Metra is crazy for buying old diesels. Their SD70MAC locomotive rebuild plan seems crazy to me. And they are attached to F40s like no other. If they were really committed to being green I think they would seriously look at electrification. Electrification also provides benefits by being quieter and enabling faster acceleration. The UP-N and Rock Island district are great candidates for electrification since there is minimal freight traffic on both those routes.
At least Metra is finally moving away from the 1950s era gallery car design. It’s a shame we’re stuck with the antiquated design of the electric Highliners, that also have poor acceleration for an EMU.
I also know it’s not all Metra’s fault, but their weekend service on some lines is pathetic, or non-existent. They can wonder why ridership is so low, but who is going to take a train that comes twice a day? Just take a look at the Blue Island branch of the Electric district for what I mean. An electrified branch that has potential, but if almost useless in its current form.
Sorry this has turned into my gripes against Metra…
I agree on the UP-NW being electrified. They could skip the electrification on the RI as it would need to be cleared for Double Stacks. Metra should purchase much lighter Bi-level Euroguage battery mutlitple units for their network.
If I tell Metra to stop buying diesels, including old refurbs, and go green do you think they will? They buy refurb diesels because they have no adequate LT funding source.
So compare Metra to that other politically driven transportation agency in Illinois, the one called the Illinois Tollway. They can now refinance their bonds into perpetuity. They have a captive freight market (trucks) that Metra doesn’t. Anytime IDOT doesn’t have the money they simply throw it at ISTHA.
So should Metra merge with ISTHA? (Yes, I know Metra is part of the RTA).
It’s a radical thought I know. You are basically funding commuter rail using 2 fareboxes, Metra’s and ISTHA’s.
ISTHA’s capital budget is enormous. One Tollway interchange makes all of CREATE look small. But the Tollway has the traffic, freight and passenger both. Does METRA? METRA’s traffic is down by half over the last couple of years. The Tollway’s is not.
Like it or not like it. the Tollway has become one of America’s biggest infrastructure projects. It never stops amazing me. I’ve lived in Wisconsin long enough to see the Tollway rebuilt twice over. Our humble Wisconsin household owns to I-PASSS transponders.
When masks were required on Amtrak and METRA, but not on the Tollway, my I-PASS transponder got a lot of use. When the court lifted the mask requirment, I went back to 50-50 rail/ highway.
I took the survey. Legitimally, even though I live in Wisconsin I do on occasion ride METRA, as recently as earlier this month.The survey is a bunch of silly claptrap. No matter how many METRA patrons answer the questions and no matter what the aggregated answers may be, none of it brings METRA a millimeter closer to being able to fund its services.
This post isn’t meant to criticize METRA, whose services have always met my needs. It’s meant to criticize the psychobabble and political vacuity that substitutes for a path forward. Like asking survey takers to comment on the “mission statement”. Any organization that knows its mission (and METRA does know its mission) can skip over the “mssion statement” and get back to work.
I worked for a subsidiary of a multi billion dollar company that changed their “mission statement” every two years or so. They did that based on the ever changing aspects of the company as a whole and yes we were asked to comment on the “statement” and add input as to what we thought. So METRA asking survey participants to comment is no big deal in the grand scope of things.