Ingrained in Metra’s current strategic plan is our vision to run trains more frequently throughout the day and on weekends, so that our service is useful for more than just commuting to and from work downtown. In transit parlance, that is known as a regional rail service model.
To implement regional rail, a Metra team is in the midst of a detailed study called the Systemwide Network Plan. The plan is trying to answer four key questions:
- Where do people want to go?
- What types of service can Metra provide?
- What needs to be built and what will it cost? and
- What are the near- mid- and long-term steps?
To answer the first question, the team looked at travel patterns via all modes in the region and identified the top 50 that move along Metra lines. That data shows Metra would be a better option for a variety of trips with faster and more frequent trains and better connectivity.
To answer the second, the team developed a blueprint that would start with hourly service or better throughout the day on our eight full-service lines and enhanced service on our limited-service lines (HC, SWS and NCS). Ultimately, the blueprint would split the lines into an inner zone with frequent local service and an outer zone with express service throughout the day, with transfer stations and other key stations served by all trains. In practice, this concept may look different on each line.
Now the team is working on identifying the improvements that would be needed to implement the blueprint, detailing the capital and operating costs, and determining how the work could be phased. We don’t know if we’ll have the funding to carry it off, but we’ll be ready if we do.
For more information, go to Systemwide Network Plan | Metra.
