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Metra notes big increase in bicycle ridership while Amtrak shares details on Union Station concourse overhaul
Metra has seen a 70% increase in bicyclist ridership since it started allowing bikes on all trains in February.
April 9, 2024
Leaders celebrated for commitment to public transit and pedestrian safety at annual Movers & Shakers Ball
1st Ward Ald. Daniel La Spata, Metra CEO James M. Derwinski, and 7th District Illinois State Senator Mike Simmons were honored at the event.
April 8, 2024
Metra is looking to build a rail yard to increase service on the Union Pacific Northwest line
Woodstock, Illinois, where the movie "Groundhog Day" was filmed, hopes that more trains will attract more visitors.
March 25, 2024
He can’t drive 65: Metra CEO seeks to increase Electric line speeds to 90 mph
"Everybody based [the 65 mph speed limit] on what they knew, but nobody asked the right questions," Metra CEO Jim Derwinski recently said.
March 8, 2024
RTA and CMAP discuss future of paratransit at Urban Transportation Center seminar
CMAP providing technical assistance to improve transit for people with disabilities. But looming budget gap threatens service systemwide.
February 28, 2024
Should a Streetsblog reader “Surrender” to commuting from Rockford to Chicago?
We compare the strengths and weaknesses of driving, and/or riding the train or bus, from the Forest City to the Windy City.
February 23, 2024
Metra orders battery-powered trains, gets funding for new bilevel passenger cars
As Metra's board authorized the purchase of eight battery-powered Stadler train sets, the FTA announced the railroad will get $100M to purchase 50 bi-level rail cars.
February 22, 2024
Millennium Station’s Randolph/Michigan elevator has been broken for months, with no word on fixing it
We decoded Metra's confusing directions for how to access Millennium Station by elevator while the Randolph/Michigan lift is indefinitely out of commission.
February 12, 2024
First day of new Metra fares sees long lines at downtown terminal ticket machines
While Metra's new fare system and ticket machines have some predictable learning curves, hopefully more customers will soon get accustomed to to using them.
February 2, 2024
“By the time we got to Woodstock”: Celebrating Metra’s bikes on all trains policy, and Groundhog Day, in the town where the film was shot
Yesterday Metra made its COVID-era policy of allowing bicycles on all trains permanent. The commuter railroad also also announced that it will install bike racks on 50 cars in the near future. Chicagoland bike advocates, who lobbied for the change for decades, rejoiced.
February 2, 2024
