METRA Critical video.

[blue streak 1]

Video critizing METRA.  Warning do not watch with kids as some rough language.

Metra Exemplifies Everything Wrong with American Passenger Rail - YouTube

[CMStPnP]

He blames a lot on the Private Railroads but I have to say I have never run into a Private Railroad that was not open to selling their tracks or doing track swaps.    Just within the State of Texas we had the UP offering to sell the state the bulk of their mainline down to Austin, TX from Dallas and onto San Antonio for use as a starter commuter rail system and include Amtrak in the package.     They were in fact, happy to do so.     The cost of course was a brand new mainline for UP between those cities that was straighter, higher speed, etc.    Which the State of Texas agreed to build for UP.     Problem was the State never came up with the funds and that project fell through.

So METRA could do the same.   Not sure why he mentions CP Rail as a problem because they have been outstanding to work with via WisDOT with it's Amtrak expansion plans as well as offering Dallas the Meridian Speedway for future Amtrak Service to connect with the Southern Crescent and offering Amtrak New Orleans to Mobile access.    CP did that on it's own as a goodwill gesture.    I don't see CN making the same kind of gestures publicly.

I would agree with him that METRA is woofully underfunded but at the same time METRA management is like a drunken sailor on leave proposing new projects and expansions without the money to pay for existing operations.    Then you also have the massive overemployment problem, METRA's operational staff could easily be cut and replaced with technology with little impact on service.    There are more issues that plague it as well.     For example, how many decades have they been performing the ridiculous METRA train ballet near Rondout and delaying Amtrak trains.    You have to be brain dead not to realize that is an issue hurting both METRA and Amtrak, yet no funds to fix it?   For several decades this has been going on.    So again, negligent METRA management.