CTA Red Line Extension

Didn't find an existing topic on this: Railway Age

CTA’s Red Line Project in Line for $1.9B FTA Grant

Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) on Sept. 8 reported that its project to extend the Red Line 5.6 miles to Chicago’s Far South Side is entering the next phase of the Federal Transit Administration’s (FTA) “New Starts” program. It is now in line for a grant totaling $1.973 billion, which would be the largest transit infrastructure grant ever awarded to CTA.
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The Red Line Extension Project will expand the Red Line from the 95th Street Terminal to 130th Street, and includes four new accessible stations near 103rd Street, 111th Street, Michigan Avenue, and 130th Street, each of which would offer bus, bike, pedestrian and parking facilities. CTA said that riders are expected to save up to 30 minutes traveling to and from the future 130th Street Station. A new rail yard and rail facilities will also be built.
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Jeff Smith wrote: ↑Sat Sep 16, 2023 3:50 am . CTA said that riders are expected to save up to 30 minutes traveling to and from the future 130th Street Station.
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Gotta love Chicago-size con games. Save 30 minutes? South Shore has a nearby station, the busiest on the entire line, that is 40 minutes from downtown. Are they telling us that CTA will give you a ten minute ride downtown? Because CTA is currently 31 minutes (in theory) from 95th to downtown. So then you have 6-ish more miles and a handful of stations, and they think it's going to beat any of the three limited-stop nearby commuter trains headed downtown?

Who knows what favor is owed to whom because the red line extension is a total waste of time and money. Not to mention that there are plenty of parts of town that have no rapid transit nor commuter trains. Wonder how the people in Marquette Park, Clearing, Austin, or Belmont Cragin feel about this... Albany Park??? The most diverse zipcode in America and no rapid transit for those folks.

But then there's the issue of south shore trains ticketing not compatible with CTA,or the same level frequency.
That's lowish hanging fruit that should be done, also turning the MED into regional rail type service... like it apparently was in the 30s and 40s.

MED has had the same operational scheme since electrification in 1926. A heavy focus on peak-oriented commuting getting people downtown in the AM and out bound in the PM. Also the "fleeting" system whereby trains run express to their zone and then make all stops south of the zone. Other than the older stations ans declining populations, the Electric district is a textbook study in what you could want from a commuter system. Four track main, grade separated from both roads and railroads, dedicated passenger tracks, electrified, high platforms, zone expresses, service to major sporting venues (soldier field) and convention center (McCormick Place), feeder branches to BI and SC... This is the stuff they are spending oodles of money on for San Francisco and the major GO routes in Toronto. I'm not aware of any other property this conceptually advanced in the US because even the New Haven line and NEC have some freight and Amtrak usage, while MED is 2-4-6 tracks just for commuter trains.

I'm not sure what you refer to as regional rail in the 1940's, but they had the same concept with more schedules. The CTA Dan Ryan line really took some wind out of IC's sails in 1970 because it was so much cheaper to ride. Perhaps that's what this new extension intends to do is allow riders to go downtown for $2.

Tadman wrote: ↑Tue Jan 02, 2024 7:06 pmGotta love Chicago-size con games. Save 30 minutes? South Shore has a nearby station, the busiest on the entire line, that is 40 minutes from downtown. Are they telling us that CTA will give you a ten minute ride downtown? Because CTA is currently 31 minutes (in theory) from 95th to downtown. So then you have 6-ish more miles and a handful of stations, and they think it's going to beat any of the three limited-stop nearby commuter trains headed downtown?

I believe they are comparing CTA rail to the current bus service. While the Rock Island and Metra lines are close, RLE runs down the middle. Speeding up the bus connections.

Tadman wrote: ↑Wed Jan 03, 2024 12:21 pmThe CTA Dan Ryan line really took some wind out of IC's sails in 1970 because it was so much cheaper to ride. Perhaps that's what this new extension intends to do is allow riders to go downtown for $2.

I believe that is exactly the intent. $2 to anywhere in Chicago that CTA rail serves.

Metra is a separated service. Some have suggested turning the MED into a "rapid transit" system ... basically by adding the MED to the CTA rail system (same MED trains, but charge as if it was CTA). The "Gray" line is unlikely to ever be created but the new fares Metra has proposed for 2024 will make using Metra more affordable.

Current Red line run time between Lake (closest stop to the MED/NICTD terminal) and 95th is roughly 25 minutes. The engineering folks in the RLE department have projected an additional 10 minutes or so of run time between 95th & 130th, so there's definitely an argument that once online, Red line service from Hegewisch to the Loop will indeed be time competitive with NICTD. And cheaper, as already pointed out.

IMO, the proposed station at 115th & Michigan could be the most useful, giving passengers from three nearby bus routes another station to access the Red line. Two of those routes (34, 119) already serve 95th, but would likely be reconfigured once the new service begins.

Debating the CBA of the entire project is cool, but I've always believed that the more options a transit system can offer its passengers, the more attractive it can be. In this brave new post-COVID world, redefining those options with proper placement will be the challenge...

doepack wrote: ↑Thu Jan 04, 2024 7:23 pm o there's definitely an argument that once online, Red line service from Hegewisch to the Loop will indeed be time competitive with NICTD.

I wonder if Illinois worries that a beefed up NICTD with more travelers on the main line and branch will make it harder for Hegewisch travelers to use the service to get downtown, thus moving the red line to Hegewisch? It's a small neighborhood and the station is not convenient to the freeway, so curious where most riders actually live.

I believe that is exactly the intent. $2 to anywhere in Chicago that CTA rail serves.

Interesting. I wonder how many riders on the NICTD and Metra system don't go downtown and instead really want to have a job on the other side of downtown - perhaps a UAL pilot living in Valpo or MC needs a ride to O'hare, or a CRRC subway car maker lives in Woodstock and wants a ride all the way to Hegewisch.

The RLE will end at Altgeld Gardens, not Hegewisch. If NICTD follows the METRA fare schedule (as they usually do) prices will be competitive ($3.75 one way, $75 month). CTA $2.50 per trip or $75 per month. The combination pass (METRA and CTA included) would be $105, if offered on NICTD.