Transportation Issues G8/NATO Summit

The heck it is a 1% issue, there are plenty of 1%ers with summer homes on Lake Michigan and Olympia Fields memberships that ride trains under McCormick place. On a Friday afternoon in the summer, Chicago's "cannonball-esque" trains pass under McCormick place.

JLJ061 wrote:Amtrak would not have to use CSX at all at Dolton. There is a UP/IHB interchange in the southeast quadrant of the interlocking, so outbounds just have to pull south of the diamonds, reverse east onto the IHB and the pull west one-half mile to the CN/IC connector track just east of the Blue Island Yard at Riverdale. That would the only reverse move they would have to make.

Thanks ... I missed that on the map.

Tadman wrote:The heck it is a 1% issue, there are plenty of 1%ers with summer homes on Lake Michigan and Olympia Fields memberships that ride trains under McCormick place. On a Friday afternoon in the summer, Chicago's "cannonball-esque" trains pass under McCormick place.

Perhaps they can afford to take Monday off. They will probably want to be out of the city anyways while the alleged "99%" disrupt the downtown area.

Amtrak using rail detours is fairly uncommon, aside from running the Builder on the BNSF and the Zephyr on the UP since those happen due to weather issues which are becoming fairly regular. Last time I remember any other re-route, it was when they were rebuilding Brighton Park and the St. Louis trains + Texas Eagle took the Rock to Joliet. My guess is that any such re-routes won't be considered if you're traversing more than one railroad, requiring more than one pilot engineer. If McCormick place is a no-train zone, bustitution to a waiting train at Homewood is what I'd bet on.

At my place of employment, we were surveyed maybe a month ago on our ability to work from home for a couple days - those of the NATO/G8 summit, of course. If things turn out to be as "bad" as predicted, I will probably be at home those days (and by "at home," I mean at the bar, playing hockey at the local rink, sleeping til noon, etc).

Trains will run under McCormick during NATO, Secret Service says

(Crain's) — Commuter rail lines running under McCormick Place will remain open during the NATO summit next month, the U.S. Secret Service announced.

However, security measures may cause “some delays” as trains approach and pass through the summit site, the agency said.

Additional information on delays and station closures will be provided in coming weeks.

Read more: http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/ ... z1sL7Dl1zH
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NICTD's News Page ( http://nictd.com/news.html ) has been updated with the news.

Small price to pay to keep service running, even if they do close a few stations... I imagine they will be 18th Street, 23rd Street and 27th Street.

At least it's good to know I'm not gonna get detoured on the outbound CNO next month!

Summit Could Mean Airport-Style Security On Metra Electric, South Shore Trains

CHICAGO (CBS) – Some stations on the Metra Electric Line and South Shore Line could be shut down during the upcoming NATO summit, and passengers at other stations could face airport-style security screenings, due to the Secret Service security plan that could be released as soon as Friday afternoon.
. . .
The commuter rail agencies are still in talks with the Secret Service over major security measures for passengers, including airport-style screening of all riders during the summit. That would mean commuters on those lines would face patdowns, X-ray screenings, and long security lines at their stations before boarding trains.

The Secret Service initially wanted all trains to stop short of McCormick Place, with shuttle buses taking passengers around the summit site.

Now, the Secret Service is planning for airport-style security screening at a limited number of stations on those two train lines. Many other stations on the Electric and South Shore lines – serving the South Side, southern suburbs and northwest Indiana – would be shut down during the summit.

http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2012/05/03/ ... re-trains/
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Is it worth staying open? It looks like "onerous" might be the best description of the security plan.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/loca ... 3448.story

Station closures: http://metrarail.com/content/dam/metra/ ... 20Maps.pdf

Revised schedules: http://metrarail.com/content/dam/metra/ ... o%2021.pdf

No Monday Blue Island service nor MED inbound service 12:57-18:46.

I wonder if CNO Train 59 (19) will be affected by any delays because of this? I will be on this train on my way to NOLA.

Metra has imposed severe limits on what you can carry on board with you on all lines (one item no more than 15" x 15" x 4" - no food or beverage). Total overreaction IMHO for all lines except Metra Electric and South Shore.

I will be making a one-day trip to San Francisco for a meeting at the airport (so in and out in four hours) on 5/21 so won't have to deal with this stupidity (except for possible delays into ORD on the return). Ironically, the briefcase I will take with me that day, legal for airplane carry-on, will not meet Metra's limits. I really hope my trip plans don't change.

I just measured mine, and it doesn't fit either. I'm getting the heck out of town for the week except tues/weds due to meetings. I have no desire to mess with these idiots and their circus. Next time, rent a cruise ship, park it in the Chesapeake, and stay the heck out of Chicago.

JLJ061 wrote:I wonder if CNO Train 59 (19) will be affected by any delays because of this? I will be on this train on my way to NOLA.

Saturday's trains should be fine as the event at McCormick doesn't start until Sunday. The dignitaries will be arriving Saturday night which could make travel "interesting". Allow extra time, keep an eye on the Amtrak website and be patient.

lstone19 wrote:I will be making a one-day trip to San Francisco for a meeting at the airport (so in and out in four hours) on 5/21 so won't have to deal with this stupidity (except for possible delays into ORD on the return). Ironically, the briefcase I will take with me that day, legal for airplane carry-on, will not meet Metra's limits. I really hope my trip plans don't change.

The dignitaries are scheduled to leave O'Hare between 6:30pm and 7:30pm on Monday night. O'Hare may recover by Tuesday.

I wonder how enforced the rules will be on the non-MED lines? Probably not worth the risk to test security. 15"x15"x4" is small and while I appreciate the desire to keep alcohol and weapons off of trains system wide, the 3oz of liquid rule seems unneeded off the MED.

Today NICTD announced their plans for the weekend ... pretty much the same restrictions as Metra except NO liquids. Seven westbound trains cancelled on Monday along with four eastbound Chicago-Gary trains.

"All passengers traveling on May 20-21 can expect rigorous security checks at stations and en route. All westbound trains will go through a full stop and individual screening at Hegewisch station. Law enforcement officers with canine units will be at all security checkpoints. Passengers can expect significant delays en route for screening.

Due to the heightened security presence, any significant threat or onboard disruption will result in the train being rejected from the McCormick place red zone and reversed to its origination point with intermediate stops.

NICTD advises passengers to postpone travel on the NATO summit days, if possible. Passengers are further advised to check websites of major destinations such as museums to determine their hours of operation during the event."

http://nictd.com/nato.html

justalurker66 wrote:Today NICTD announced their plans for the weekend ... pretty much the same restrictions as Metra except NO liquids. Seven westbound trains cancelled on Monday along with four eastbound Chicago-Gary trains.

"All passengers traveling on May 20-21 can expect rigorous security checks at stations and en route. All westbound trains will go through a full stop and individual screening at Hegewisch station. Law enforcement officers with canine units will be at all security checkpoints. Passengers can expect significant delays en route for screening.

Due to the heightened security presence, any significant threat or onboard disruption will result in the train being rejected from the McCormick place red zone and reversed to its origination point with intermediate stops.

NICTD advises passengers to postpone travel on the NATO summit days, if possible. Passengers are further advised to check websites of major destinations such as museums to determine their hours of operation during the event."

http://nictd.com/nato.html

Yep, SO working from home on Monday!

I wonder how many more trains will be annulled due to passengers refusing to cooperate?