Riders of Chicago’s Metra could soon be in for a treat. But it is quite a long time coming. Given that over 50% of its rail cars have been in use for more than four decades, a renovation has been needed for a while. And now thankfully, that will happen.
On Monday, a news conference took place discussing plans for the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA)and Rebuild Illinois Program. With a $45 billion expenditure budget, Metra is earmarked to a decent amount of money, enough to implement some substantial changes within the next five years.
James Derwinski, CEO and Executive of the Metra Board of Directors explained:
“In the next five years, we are going to be able to put out a contract for new cars…that is the first and the biggest one passengers will see all over the system. We are going to be investing in technologies that are going to be looking at the gate circuits and also the switches out there…and start providing critical data before they fail.”
Meanwhile commuters to Indianapolis will be happy to learn that on July 1st OurBus began a trial route to Chicago. The New York company is charging $10 for each rider, following customer feedback indicating a need for this. The route it will take will begin in Downtown Indianapolis (across from the IndyGo Transit Center), then stop in Zionsville, Lafayette and complete its route between Canal Street and the Chicago River in Jackson Boulevard.