Welcome home, Eric

METRA BNSF INBOUND TRAINS TO UNION STATION AND OUTBOUND TRAINS TRAVELING TO AURORA ARE OPERATING 10-20 MINUTES BEHIND SCHEDULE DUE TO SWITCH PROBLEMS.

Why does that stretch of track always have switch problems?

Transportation woes

And so ends one of the worst weeks to commute to work in recent memory. From frozen switches to derailments, it was bad.

Winter Wonderland on the train platform

Holi-daize

Morning train: 33% full
Evening train: 5% full

I'm one of only four people on my half of the car. These trains can carry about 75 people in that much space. It's odd working on a day like this. I do find it rewarding when you can get ahead and make progress on projects without all the interruptions of a normal day.

Where 5 minutes sets you back 60

I was getting ready to leave the office when I got rolled up into an ongoing issue. Just taking the time to assess the issue took five minutes and put me out of range to catch my perfect train departure. I said, "No big deal, I'll just take the next train". That turned out to be a fatal mistake.

As it turns out, there was a huge backup of equipment due to signaling problems and delays. Normally, the second train gets me home 25 minutes after the first. I ended up getting home over 60 minutes later on this train than if I had taken the earlier one (which was on time). See what a five-minute delay can lead to?

Here's a photo of the scene at the train station as we all waited on the platform for our trains to arrive. This photo is of an adjacent platform. Mine is equally crowded to the left of the frame.

CTA doomsday approaches yet again!

When is the CTA gonna get with it and stop lowering fares (a-la free fares for seniors) and simply raise their prices to keep step with raising costs of operation? Metra did so in February; my monthly pass went up 10%. I'm still riding.

Let's get real. I'm done listening to how the CTA cannot meet its own budgets. The last time the CTA raised fares was 6 years ago. Times have changed. What are you afraid of? The North and South Sides won't stop buying your product; you have a captive audience. Raise fares to $2 a ride and let's move on with our lives. Raise the fare another $0.25 in two years. G-Rod is not going to help you; only hurt you...
http://redeye.chicagotribune.com/chi-cta-cuts-web-sep09,0,7996333.story