Chicago Transit Authority customers’ patience will be tested right off the bat Monday when a major reduction in rail service teams up with the White Sox home opener.
Beginning first thing Monday morning, fewer trains will operate on the CTA’s busiest rail corridor that’s served by the Red, Brown and Purple/Evanston Express Lines. But CTA officials warn that the evening commute will be even more difficult.
Hundreds of Sox fans will be riding northbound on Red Line trains after the team’s afternoon game at U.S. Cellular Field, which means trains picking up commuters who work downtown will be more crowded than usual.
CTA President Frank Kruesi said the agency is prepared for the challenge. “We have all the bases well-covered,” he said.
The reality is, however, that for the duration of the $530 million Brown Line reconstruction project–which runs through late 2009–Red Line service will be reduced to 39 northbound trains during the evening rush, instead of 44, said Jack Hruby, chief of CTA rail operations. That’s due to the elimination of one of the two northbound tracks at Fullerton and Belmont Avenues, Hruby said. Red, Brown and Purple Line trains will all share that one northbound track.
The CTA’s capacity during the evening rush period, from 3 to at least 6:30 p.m., will be reduced by a total of 31 trains on the three rail lines.
It translates to no room on trains for 17,460 riders who normally rely on the service.
Transit customers able to crowd onto trains will encounter longer travel times because of trains making more complicated track-switching maneuvers, slower speeds traveling between stations and the extra time it will take for passengers to board and exit rail cars.
CTA officials are appealing to the public to stay calm and to wait for another train if all the cars are full. But with frequent train breakdowns over the last year and expanded slow zones due to poor track conditions, the riding public is running out of patience with the CTA.
“You might as well take down the train schedules and get advertising up because the schedules do not reflect reality anyway,” Katie Hogan of the North Side told CTA Board members Friday in a plea to delay the service cuts.The transit board voted 6-0 to proceed on schedule with the controversial changes, although CTA Chairwoman Carole Brown acknowledged, “Monday, hell begins.”
About 185,000 riders use the three rail lines, and officials warn that travel times could easily double if commuters do not use alternative service. The transit agency is advising its customers to ride the Blue Line, if possible. Additional Blue Line trains will run between the Jefferson Park and UIC/Halsted stops.
Officials also are suggesting that CTA rail customers switch to buses–more than 40 bus routes run parallel to the north-south rail service–or use Metra’s Union Pacific North line, which is adding three trains a day starting Monday.
Riders should avoid traveling the rails during the peak rush periods, but if that is not an option, the CTA will run some Brown Line trains in the morning between Belmont and the Loop to ease the crunch on other parts of the route.
During the off-peak midday hours, some Brown Line trains will be stored at the agency’s Midway Airport yard on the Orange Line. Those extra trains will be put into service in the evening rush period, starting at the Adams/Wabash station and traveling north.
To simplify train movements, Purple Line trains will join Brown Line trains circling the Loop in a counterclockwise direction on the outer track. Purple Line trains until now went around the Loop clockwise.
The Regional Transportation Authority has improved its Trip Planner software, at www.rtachicago.com, to allow commuters to select a buses-only or trains-only itinerary when planning travel throughout the region. Meanwhile, CTA personnel and Chicago police will be deployed at rail stations to assist commuters but also to block people from entering stations if platforms become too crowded, officials said.
Ald. Joe Moore (49th) said he is worried that Brown Line platforms, some of which are more than 100 years old, may not be able to handle the weight.
“The Chicago Building Department has asked property owners across this city to have their porches inspected and often rebuilt to an extremely high standard out of fear of collapse,” Moore said. “It should ask no less of the CTA at a time when we may be experiencing record crowding on our neighborhood platforms.”
CTA officials said platforms are inspected regularly for structural integrity.
The agency said it needs to close one of the tracks at Belmont and Fullerton to make room for crews installing elevators and expanded platforms at those stations.
All four tracks at Belmont and Fullerton will be rebuilt, although only one track will be taken out of service at a time.
During the first phase of work, the track on which northbound Red Line trains usually operate at Fullerton, and a separate northbound track normally shared by the Brown and Purple Lines, will be closed. All northbound trains will operate on a new track that has been built. At Belmont, northbound Red, Brown and Purple Line trains will share the track normally used by Red Line trains.
Capacity on the Red, Brown and Purple Lines will plummet 40 percent compared with normal four-track operations between 5:30 and 6 p.m. when nine fewer trains will run, leaving behind about 5,400 customers in just those 30 minutes.
The worst period in the morning for southbound commuters trying to jam onto a train will be from 7:30 to 8:30 a.m., officials said. Eight fewer trains will operate between 8 and 8:30 a.m., a 31 percent decline in available capacity.
The Brown Line Southport station also is scheduled to be closed for renovation for 12 months starting Monday, officials said. Crews will be working to extend and widen platforms, rebuild the station house and make the station accessible to disabled people. Riders will still be able to board the Brown Line at Belmont and Paulina, the two stations on either side of the Southport stop. Kruesi said riders’ cooperation and running the service provided in a reliable fashion will be key during this renovation period.
“I think that when it comes right down to it, we have done everything that we should do,” Kruesi said.
But some CTA watchdog groups counter that much more could have been done to provide improvements in alternative service, to foster cooperation between the CTA and Metra on fares and to better accommodate transit users who switch from trains to buses.
“While you do control the trains and buses, the CTA does not control the streets,” Scott Bernstein, president of the Center for Neighborhood Technology, told the CTA Board on Friday. The board rejected Bernstein’s suggestion to delay the Brown Line work for a short time while the CTA partners with the public, the city and the state to identify best practices to ease the negative impact of the rail construction.
Singling out traffic among myriad issues, Bernstein said, “Unless there are new traffic controls to support the better transit service, it is not going to work.”
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A CTA survival guide
Fewer tracks and fewer trains are threatening to double travel times on the Chicago Transit Authority’s busiest rail corridor if commuters don’t seek out other forms of transportation, officials are cautioning.
As Monday kicks off the $530 million Brown Line reconstruction project, authorities are asking its customers to come armed with patience and a plan to get around the renovation. A few suggestions:
Board the bus: More than 40 bus lines run parallel to the north-south rail service. Service will be increased on Routes 11, 22, 134, 135 and 151 southbound during the morning rush and on Routes 11, 22, 147 and 148 northbound during the evening rush. Boarding commuters should have their fare ready, move to the back of the bus and exit from the rear doors at stops.
Take Metra: Three trains a day are being added to Metra’s Union Pacific North line, which heads north from the Ogilvie Transportation Center. The Clybourn stop is at 2001 N. Ashland Ave., Ravenswood at 4800 N. Ravenswood Ave. and Rogers Park at 7000 N. Ravenswood Ave. Visit www.metrarail.com for schedules.
Use the Blue Line: Additional Blue Line trains will run between the Jefferson Park and UIC/Halsted stops, CTA officials said. If possible, take the Blue Line.
Get online: Improved Trip Planner software at www.rtachicago.com offers a new feature. Commuters can select a buses-only or trains-only itinerary.
Call for help: CTA employees are on alert to offer extra assistance. You can also call 1-888-YOUR-CTA to talk to representatives between 6 a.m. and 9 p.m.
No other option? Stick with CTA rail
This may be OK during off-peak times, but the CTA is cutting service during morning (6-9:30 a.m.) and evening (3-6:30 p.m.) rush periods on the Red, Brown and Purple Lines. Northbound service during the p.m. rush is expected to be particularly poor.
When rail cars are too crowded, wait for the next train, avoid blocking doors when they close and allow passengers to exit before boarding.
Source: CTA, METRA
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