'El' in a handbasket
Today marks the beginning of a massive reconstruction of Chicago's Northside elevated lines, the Chicago Tribune reports:
for the duration of the $530 million Brown Line reconstruction project—which runs through late 2009—Red Line service will be reduced to 39 northbound trains during the evening rush, instead of 44, said Jack Hruby, chief of CTA rail operations. That's due to the elimination of one of the two northbound tracks at Fullerton and Belmont Avenues, Hruby said. Red, Brown and Purple Line trains will all share that one northbound track.
The CTA's capacity during the evening rush period, from 3 to at least 6:30 p.m., will be reduced by a total of 31 trains on the three rail lines.
It translates to no room on trains for 17,460 riders who normally rely on the service.
Transit customers able to crowd onto trains will encounter longer travel times because of trains making more complicated track-switching maneuvers, slower speeds traveling between stations and the extra time it will take for passengers to board and exit rail cars.
This comes on top of the ongoing CTA projects, which have been closing Brown and Red line stations on and off for a year. I took the El southbound from Belmont on Friday for the first time in a while (I usually ride the bus) and it was an utter disaster, with the train inching along as the swarm of workers on the track moved aside as the train entered the station, then periodically as it inched its way down to Fullerton. All told, the 20-minute ride to Chicago Avenue took about 45. While commuters may be angry at the delays, they will eventually create more capacity for the growing ridership in developing areas of the north and northwest sides, not to mention the capacity needed should Chicago get the Olympics in 2016.
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rj3 | 10:34 AM |
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