Metra Extra/Modified Schedules

Venetian Night, Saturday July 29, will see extra trains on both BNSF and RI.

On BNSF, two extra inbound express trains will run in the late afternoon/early evening and one extra express will run at night.

On RI, inbound trains #540 and #702 will run on the mainline. Two extra inbound trains will run on the Beverly branch and one extra outbound mainline train will run ahead of train #531.

For this weekend's Air & Water show (8/19-8/20), Metra is running extra service on six lines. For more details...

http://metrarail.com/Special_Promotions ... r2006.html

Four lines (BNSF and all 3 UP lines) will be running extra trains on Halloween (Tue Oct 31).

http://www.metrarail.com/Service_Adviso ... -2006.html

Can anyone else ever remember Metra running modified service on Halloween? Sounds like a first to me...

I noticed it yesterday, and I believe it is a first also. Didn't realize Halloween brought such an early load of people leaving early.

doepack wrote:Can anyone else ever remember Metra running modified service on Halloween? Sounds like a first to me...

I think it was done last year on UP-W, I vaguely remember something. I know in 2004 2 days before Haloween they ran an extra outbound on UP-W.

Based on previous discussion, the demand is there to add a Naperville/59 express ahead of 1243 (1558 CUS departure). The 3:50 train this afternoon used the 11 car set that does 1257 (1700 departure) and was just about filled to capacity. At the end of its run, the train deadheaded back to CUS to become the 1744 departure. The 1700 and 1722 Naperville/59 expresses used 11 car sets, but had swapped sets (the normal 1257 set has a 4 car cut).

Additionally, freight interference in the vicinity of Clyde cause up to 20 minute delays on a few trains. I know that 1251 had arrived DG ahead of 1247 by almost 15 minutes.

MetraBNSF wrote:Based on previous discussion, the demand is there to add a Naperville/59 express ahead of 1243 (1558 CUS departure). The 3:50 train this afternoon used the 11 car set that does 1257 (1700 departure) and was just about filled to capacity.

Not surprising, since 1243 is normally SRO anyway. Metra has already said it isn't adding more service anytime soon, but I've always said this train should become a regular part of the schedule. Since it's such a hit, look for an encore performance on Thanksgiving eve...

This is also one of the first times I can recall extra service on the UP lines where equipment wasn't taken from other trains (therefore causing annullments), or stops added to other express trains as is the norm. After today's UP/W extra (symbol WX1), a nine-car set, arrived at West Chgo, it deadheaded back downtown as WX2 ahead of 56. Thought it would return as 55, but it didn't; I'm guessing that it probably wound up as either UP/NW 651 or 653...

Metra finally released schedules for next Wednesday's " Pre-Thanksgiving" rush.

BNSF Railway

LV Chicago Union Station 12:25 express to Downers Grove; plus all following stops to Aurora

LV Chicago Union Station 1:28 express to Downers Grove; plus all following stops to Aurora

LV Chicago Union Station 2:25 express to Naperville, Rt. 59

LV Chicago Union Station 3:15 express to Naperville, Rt. 59

LV Chicago Union Station 3:50 express to Naperville, Rt. 59

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, 5:17PM departure, will not operate

LV Chicago Union Station Train No. 2239, 5:23PM departure, will make all stops 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. 413, 5:10PM departure, will not operate

Union Pacific North

LV Ogilvie 3:25 express to Wilmette & all following stops to Kenosha
Train No. 337, 5:10PM departure, will not operate

LV Ogilvie Train No. 339 will leave 5 minutes earlier at 5:10PM stopping at Rogers Park & all stops to Waukegan.

Union Pacific Northwest

LV Ogilvie 2:25 express to Mt. Prospect & all stops to Crystal Lake

LV Ogilvie 3:10 express to Palatine & all stops to Harvard

LV Ogilvie 3:20 express to Mt. Prospect & all stops to Crystal Lake
Train No. 635, 4:57PM departure, will not operate

LV Ogilvie Train No. 637, 5:06PM departure & Train No. 643, 5:20PM departure, will both stop at Palatine
Train No. 641, 5:16PM departure, will not operate
Train No. 645, 5:23PM departure, 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, 5:13PM departure, will not operate
Train No. 55, 5:34PM departure, will not operate

LV Ogilvie Train No. 49, 5:09PM departure, will stop at Oak Park, Elmhurst and all stops to LaFox

LV Ogilvie Train No. 57, 5:42PM departure, will stop at Oak Park

The pre-Thanksgiving schedules are more or less par for the course, especially on the Burlington side, although I'm surprised to see UP/W get two early express trains to Elmhurst, when it's usually just one. (btw, train 51 leaves OTC at 5:13...). But, typical of UP, only one set is making a return trip downtown, everything else ties up at the outlying yard. Still, I wonder why Metra didn't add a 3:30pm Thanksgiving eve departure for SWS...

But anyway, keeping what happened last year in mind, let's hope this Thanksgiving eve passes without incident, and that everybody, whether they're taking Metra or otherwise, arrives safely at their destinations...

doepack wrote:I wonder why Metra didn't add a 3:30pm Thanksgiving eve departure for SWS...

I don't understand this either. RI has a 3:40 express to Tinley added, which is a 9 car set that usually does fill up, the train could also be 10 cars this year. A 3:30 SWS departure could easily be added, the cancellation of #827 would most likely be the resulting action, however #831's set could be used and be back downtown in time for its 6:15 departure. SWS has never had a modified schedule for "Pre-Holiday" schedules, however I would have thought Metra would be different this year, guess not.

I don't think either of the extra UP-W trains are going back downtown, unless I'm missing something. 2 trains were added, 2 were canceled.

Last year's "Pre-Thanksgiving" schedules can be viewed here.

metraRI wrote:I don't think either of the extra UP-W trains are going back downtown, unless I'm missing something. 2 trains were added, 2 were canceled

They would be if they were flipping at West Chicago, but no, they aren't; gonna tie up at Elburn upon arrival. And after looking at the schedule again, I think everything on UP/NW is tying up at Crystal Lk or Harvard; thought that one set might come back, but there's three cancellations that match the three early departures, misread that the first time.

(btw, nice job with the archived 2005 holiday schedule; it's a very handy reference tool...)

Ah, thought you meant UP-W was going to have a deadhead back to downtown, misread that, my bad. The only lines that I can see having deadheads are of course BNSF, MD-N, MD-W, and RI.

I also have last years Chirstmas/New Year's schedules archived... I figured they might come in handy one day. I'll probably post them too when Metra releases this year's schedule.

In addition to the extra service on the day before Thanksgiving, Metra released the schedules for the post-Thanksgiving mid-morning express trains on BNSF. 3 trains serving Aurora through DG, then express to CUS.

I've always wondered if one or more of these special expresses could serve as the Santa trains...

MetraBNSF wrote:In addition to the extra service on the day before Thanksgiving, Metra released the schedules for the post-Thanksgiving mid-morning express trains on BNSF. 3 trains serving Aurora through DG, then express to CUS

Ah yes, the "shopper's specials..."

I suppose it could be possible that one of those sets could serve as a "Santa safety train", but that line has just too much traffic and is therefore way too busy for that to be seriously considered, and that includes weekends. Besides, even if BNSF was amenable to the idea, where would they find a window? Frankly, I'm shocked that Metra was able to talk UP into operating a train this year. And on the Geneva sub, no less...