Metra Extra/Modified Schedules

Early quit specials to kick off Labor Day weekend. Nothing much out of the ordinary, though I still don't get why SWS wouldn't have a 1530 special out of downtown...


http://metrarail.com/Service_Advisories ... -2007.html

When extra trains are run and some trains are cancelled in order to compensate for the extra runs (as in the case of today), it makes for some interesting equipment shuffles.

On the BNSF, regularly scheduled trains 1239 and 1241 both saw 8 car sets with double headers. 1239 and 1241 run with 7 and 6 car sets, respectively. Trains 1249(1283) and 1255(1373) are the 8 car, double header sets. My guess is 1249/1283 used 1239's set and 1255/1373 used 1241's set.

On the Friday before a Monday holiday, it is usual for BNSF to run trains at 12:25 (train 9401, express to D.G., local to Aurora), 2:25 (9403), 3:10 (9405), and 3:50 (9407) (all Naperville/59 expresses). Not sure about 9401, but 9403 and 9407 used 11 car sets and 9405 used a 9 car set. All extras deadheaded back to CUS.

An interesting observation that I've noticed on train 1243: this particular train will have an MP36 on Fridays.

With the Jazz Fest and heavier than usual Friday night ridership, makes sense for BNSF to run 1241 with a longer set and protect power, since this particular train makes multiple runs the rest of the evening after its 3:22pm departure.

MetraBNSF wrote:On the Friday before a Monday holiday, it is usual for BNSF to run trains at 12:25 (train 9401, express to D.G., local to Aurora), 2:25 (9403), 3:10 (9405), and 3:50 (9407) (all Naperville/59 expresses). Not sure about 9401, but 9403 and 9407 used 11 car sets and 9405 used a 9 car set. All extras deadheaded back to CUS

Earlier Friday, I took a quick ride to Oak Lawn; rode SWS train 815, 1235 dep. from CUS. It left from track 14, but I did notice 9401 loading right next to my train on track 12. Couldn't tell how many cars it had, although I did see cab 8592 bringing up the the rear. When I arrived back downtown at 1500, I saw 8592 again, this time on 9405, which apparently was the 9-car set used on the earlier 9401 special.

Also, on the way back in, I noticed that, by 1500, all three evening HC sets are staged south of Harrison St. interlocking between Roosevelt Rd. and the 21st St. bridge...

MetraBNSF wrote:An interesting observation that I've noticed on train 1243: this particular train will have an MP36 on Fridays.

I'd guess this is because it'll likely be used on multiple trips on the weekend. Gotta take advantage of the MP's larger fuel tanks, you know...

MetraBNSF wrote:With the Jazz Fest and heavier than usual Friday night ridership, makes sense for BNSF to run 1241 with a longer set and protect power, since this particular train makes multiple runs the rest of the evening after its 3:22pm departure.

Kind of surprised that I didn't see any advertised extra BNSF service for the Jazz fest during the holiday weekend while downtown, nothing on Metra's website either. Interesting...

Santa Safety trains this year are running on: UP-NW, NCS, RID, BNSF. Schedules were posted online earlier, but Metra took the link away.

Metra released its 2007 pre-Thanksgiving schedules.

Metra wrote:Extra BNSF Express Trains for The Magnificent Mile Lights Festival & Procession Saturday, November 17, 2007

2:10 and 4:10 Aurora departures serving all stops from Aurora to Downers Grove, express to Union Station.

8:38 CUS departure express to Downers Grove, all stops to Aurora, arriving 9:35pm.

Metra wrote:The following lists revised schedules for the day before Thanksgiving. Please note that some of the revisions include extra trains and some note trains that have been canceled.


BNSF Railway
LV Chicago Union Station 12:25 express to Downers Grove; then all stops to Aurora
LV Chicago Union Station 1:28 express to Downers Grove; then all stops to Aurora
LV Chicago Union Station 2:25 express to Naperville, Rt. 59
LV Chicago Union Station 3:12 express to Naperville, Rt. 59
LV Chicago Union Station 3:50 express to Naperville, Rt. 59

Train No. 1271, 5:32 departure, will not operate
Train No. 1283, 6:12 departure, will not operate
Train No.1373 (6:16) will make all stops Downers Grove to Aurora

Heritage Corridor
LV Chicago Union Station 3:00 all stops to Joliet
Train No. 921, 6:12 departure, will not operate

Milwaukee North
LV Chicago Union Station 2:25 express to Glenview & all stops to Lake Forest.

Milwaukee West
LV Chicago Union Station 2:20 express to Bensenville & all stops to Bartlett
LV Chicago Union Station 3:25 express to Bensenville & all stops to Big Timber
Train No. 2237, 5:17 departure, will not operate
LV Chicago Union Station Train No. 2239, 5:23 departure, will make all stops from Bensenville-Big Timber

Rock Island
LV LaSalle Station 2:10 express to Blue Island & all stops to Mokena
LV LaSalle Station 3:40 express to Tinley Park & all stops to Joliet
Train No. 415, 5:10 departure, will not operate

Union Pacific North
LV Ogilvie 3:20 express to Wilmette & all stops to Kenosha
LV Ogilvie Train No. 343, 5:10, will make all stops to Waukegan.
Train No. 345, 5:15 departure, will not operate

Union Pacific Northwest
LV Ogilvie 2:25 express to Mt. Prospect & all stops to Crystal Lake
LV Ogilvie 3:10 express to Arlington Park & all stops to Harvard
LV Ogilvie 3:20 express to Mt. Prospect & all stops to Crystal Lake
Train No. 623 (3:25) will make all stops to Palatine
Train No. 637 (5:06) and No. 643 (5:20) will stop in Palatine
Train No. 635, 4:57, departure, will not operate
Train No. 641, 5:16 departure, will not operate
Train No. 645, 5:23 departure, will not operate
Train No. 651, 6:01 departure, will not operate
Inbound train No. 650 will not operate

Union Pacific West
LV Ogilvie 2:25 express to Elmhurst & all stops to Elburn
LV Ogilvie 3:25 express to Elmhurst & all stops to Elburn
Train No. 51, 5:13 departure, will not operate
Train No. 55, 5:34 departure, will not operate
LV Ogilvie Train No. 49, 5:09 departure, will stop at Oak Park, Elmhurst and all stops to LaFox
LV Ogilvie Train No. 57, 5:42 departure, will stop at Oak Park

Metra Electric
Standby equipment ready to use after 2:30 PM

Metra wrote:The following extra trains will be running on Friday, November 23rd in addition to the regular service.

BNSF Railway
LV Aurora 9:10AM stopping at Aurora, Route 59, Naperville, Lisle, Belmont, Downers Grove and express to Chicago Union Station
LV Aurora 10:10AM stopping at Aurora, Route 59, Naperville, Lisle, Belmont, Downers Grove and express to Chicago Union Station
LV Aurora 12:10PM stopping at Aurora, Route 59, Naperville, Lisle, Belmont, Downers Grove and express to Chicago Union Station

MetraBNSF wrote:Metra released its 2007 pre-Thanksgiving schedules.

Metra wrote:The following lists revised schedules for the day before Thanksgiving. Please note that some of the revisions include extra trains and some note trains that have been canceled.

BNSF Railway
Train No. 1271, 5:32 departure, will not operate
Train No. 1283, 6:12 departure, will not operate
Train No.1373 (6:16) will make all stops Downers Grove to Aurora

I was predicting that BNSF would cancel 1271 and 1283 and combine the schedules of 1283 and 1373. Which means the 7 car set normally used for train 1271 could go out on train 1255 and upon terminating at Fairview Ave, could deadhead to Hill and tie up. I rode train #1279 (5:48pm CUS departure) last year on the day before Thanksgivng and there were many open seats.

Metra wrote:The following lists revised schedules for the day before Thanksgiving. Please note that some of the revisions include extra trains and some note trains that have been canceled.

Union Pacific North
LV Ogilvie 3:20 express to Wilmette & all stops to Kenosha
LV Ogilvie Train No. 343, 5:10, will make all stops to Waukegan.
Train No. 345, 5:15 departure, will not operate

Union Pacific Northwest
LV Ogilvie 2:25 express to Mt. Prospect & all stops to Crystal Lake
LV Ogilvie 3:10 express to Arlington Park & all stops to Harvard
LV Ogilvie 3:20 express to Mt. Prospect & all stops to Crystal Lake
Train No. 623 (3:25) will make all stops to Palatine
Train No. 637 (5:06) and No. 643 (5:20) will stop in Palatine
Train No. 635, 4:57, departure, will not operate
Train No. 641, 5:16 departure, will not operate
Train No. 645, 5:23 departure, will not operate
Train No. 651, 6:01 departure, will not operate
Inbound train No. 650 will not operate

Union Pacific West
LV Ogilvie 2:25 express to Elmhurst & all stops to Elburn
LV Ogilvie 3:25 express to Elmhurst & all stops to Elburn
Train No. 51, 5:13 departure, will not operate
Train No. 55, 5:34 departure, will not operate
LV Ogilvie Train No. 49, 5:09 departure, will stop at Oak Park, Elmhurst and all stops to LaFox
LV Ogilvie Train No. 57, 5:42 departure, will stop at Oak Park

I wonder if UP plans to run an 11-car set (normally used for 647) for the 3:10 special to Harvard. Not sure if they did this last year (I think so), but it wouldn't be a bad idea. An interesting twist this year is that on UP/W, no stops were added to 47's schedule (5:04 to Elburn) meaning that it'll still make the OTC-Wheaton express run, which was a pleasant surprise. And speaking of surprises, how is it that the 1 hr, 50 min. gap on SW between trains 819 and 823 wasn't filled with a 3:30 CUS departure, at least for Wednesday? Maybe Metra couldn't find a crew, or didn't want to pay the OT.

Even though it makes sense logistically to do so on the modified schedule, it's still weird to see scheduled cancellations of any train on BNSF...

Interesting to note...BNSF used a 10 and 11 car set for the extras for the Mag Mile Lights Festival. One train was SRO by the time it reached Belmont.

doepack wrote:And speaking of surprises, how is it that the 1 hr, 50 min. gap on SW between trains 819 and 823 wasn't filled with a 3:30 CUS departure, at least for Wednesday? Maybe Metra couldn't find a crew, or didn't want to pay the OT.

The SWS gap was also not filled last year for pre-Thanksgiving, but rather before Christmas and New Years... not sure why that is.. as #829 was canceled for the 3:30 extra... even tho a 3:30 run to 179th could easily be added with no cancellations... I guess Metra doesn't see the need, tho its a good way to lose riders to RI when there is no early afternoon train going out to Manhattan.

MetraBNSF wrote:Interesting to note...BNSF used a 10 and 11 car set for the extras for the Mag Mile Lights Festival. One train was SRO by the time it reached Belmont.

Again, BNSF surprises me with its ability to fill up trains. Saturday morning I was out on RI waiting for outbound #203 and forgot that the Lights Festival was that day... of course they didn't cut trains at Joliet, so the train ran with 9 cars... causing it to be 8 minutes behind schedule by the time it reached Hickory Creek... a downside to the branch on heavier weekends.

Metra put its "Pre-Christmas/New Years" schedules online today... I have only looked at SWS, same as last year, and RI so far.. and RI is changed from last year.. no TP express on the 31st like years past, instead extra Blue Island express 10 minutes before regular scheduled #407.. which makes no sense to me. More odd scheduling is with #415, which has a different schedule both days even though the trains canceled are the same for each. Any other strange scheduling on other districts?

BNSF runs a modified schedule on Christmas and New Year's Eve between 12:00pm-6:30pm. I wouldn't go as far as calling it strange but the modified schedule retains some trains that are a part of the regular schedule but they are renumbered. Trains #1235, #1251, #1263, and #1275 on the regular schedule are on the modified schedule, but are renumbered to #9409, #9431, #9439, and #9443 respectively. Trains #1259 and #1373 on the regular schedule add stops to Naperville and Route 59 and are renumbered to #9435 and #9447, respectively.

A special 1:25pm run to Elburn on UP/W for 12/24 & 12/31 is scheduled, I've never seen one leave that early. But of course, this equipment is among the three cancellations for that day (49, 51, & 55), so the equipment is making just a one-way trip as usual...

MetraBNSF wrote:BNSF runs a modified schedule on Christmas and New Year's Eve between 12:00pm-6:30pm. I wouldn't go as far as calling it strange but the modified schedule retains some trains that are a part of the regular schedule but they are renumbered. Trains #1235, #1251, #1263, and #1275 on the regular schedule are on the modified schedule, but are renumbered to #9409, #9431, #9439, and #9443 respectively. Trains #1259 and #1373 on the regular schedule add stops to Naperville and Route 59 and are renumbered to #9435 and #9447, respectively.

It's always mystified me as to why BNSF has to assign different numbers to trains that run on its same schedule, with the same stopping patterns during these holiday modifications; it's not done anywhere else on Metra's system. But then, it probably doesn't matter, not many people pay attention to the train numbers anyway; except us...

Also, there's this little thing from Metra's website:

Metra wrote:Please read the holiday schedules carefully as some trains may not run because of time shifts.

Not entirely accurate of course. Equipment shifts would be more like it...

On New Years Eve (Mon Dec 31), all of Metra's full service lines have the last train of the night departing at 1:15am.

On SWS, the last train of the night (#841) departs at 11:40pm. It'd probably make sense to withhold #841 until 1:15am just like the rest of the full service lines. I'm willing to bet that that train will run empty or close to it if it sticks to its normal 11:40pm departure time.

SWS #841 usually runs close to empty on a normal weeknight anyhow... in fact, the crew of this train usually make flag stops only and won't stop if they don't have to. Best bet is Metra will not hold this train until 1:15a.

Took a second look at the holiday schedules for the other lines, and I was surprised to see 19 cancellations (10 out, 9 in) for UP/N on 12/24 & 12/31. Most of the annulments were of the short-turn variety, but several through trips between OTC and Waukegan or Kenosha were also cut. Still trying to figure out how they're balancing the equipment; but with all of those cancellations, I have to think at least one set each at Waukegan and Kensoha won't make an AM rush hour trip inbound, and will remain stored instead...