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New Metra Electric Cars Unveiled
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Found this article on the subject also... <br /> <br /> <br />Electric Line riders get their thrones <br /> <br />New cars, bathrooms have finally arrived on overlooked Metra line <br /> <br />Saturday, May 21, 2005 <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />By Guy Tridgell <br />Staff writer <br /> <br /> <br />-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- <br />Metra's Electric Line moved into a new era Friday, one that had commuters crossing their fingers — and legs — to arrive. <br />The first of 26 new Electric Line cars were delivered to Chicago. <br /> <br />The bright, shiny cars feature bigger windows, nonskid floors, electronic messaging signs and public address systems capable of transmitting a clear human voice. The cars even smell new. <br /> <br />But the upgrade that will be saluted by riders most is behind a sliding door next to a row of seats. <br /> <br />The new Electric Line cars have bathrooms. <br /> <br />The rolling lavatories no longer give the line the distinction as the only one of the 11 routes on Metra without facilities for commuters to relieve themselves. <br /> <br />The Metra board agreed to add the toilets after Electric Line customers loudly complained about the discrepancy. <br /> <br />James Dodge, an Orland Park trustee representing the south suburbs on the Metra board, said criticism the agency ignores the south suburban lines is no longer valid. <br /> <br />"If there was a need for special pressure, it is no longer there," Dodge said. <br /> <br />The 42,000 daily Electric Line riders must wait a few months before taking a seat in the new cars. <br /> <br />Metra crews will require 65 days of training to familiarize themselves with cars outfitted with propulsion systems significantly more powerful than the existing Electric Line cars. <br /> <br />"You probably can't find a computer chip on these cars," Metra executive director Phil Pagano said of the existing fleet. "Today you have computer chips all over the place." <br /> <br />The cars are expected to be hauling commuters in late summer or early fall. They will be phased in through February. <br /> <br />The $77 million contract with Japan's Nippon Sharyo to build the new cars is part of a $500 investment in the Electric Line, which connects University Park to the Randolph Street Station in downtown Chicago. <br /> <br />Yet to be purchased are the remainder of the new cars needed to revamp the fleet of 165. Because the new cars are outfitted with bathrooms, a larger storage yard also must be built so the effluent stored in the tanks can be removed and treated. <br /> <br />But Metra officials are warning the bulk of the improvements are in jeopardy because of a reluctance by state leaders to pass another bond program in the mold of Build Illinois and Illinois FIRST. Metra relied on the massive infrastructure programs to revamp its aging fleet. <br /> <br />The contract with the Nippon Sharyo to provide the remaining cars was approved a year ago. <br /> <br />Pagano said the manufacturer is agreeing to honor the contract for five more months before backing out of the deal. The wait, Pagano predicted, will add another $40 million to the order. <br /> <br />The Chicago Transit Authority is in a similar predicament with its rolling stock. <br /> <br />If the state fails to provide its share, the Electric Line overhaul will be spread over several years, Metra officials said. <br /> <br />"I know things are tight in Springfield, but we have got to find a way to make transportation work in the six-county area," Metra chairman Jeff Ladd said. <br /> <br /> <br />Just more info for anyone who cares.
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