Or why not stay on CP to Davis Junction then take the existing WYE North into Rockford..........which would allow a Rockford Airport station stop.
As long as Boone and Winnebago counties are not part of the RTA's operating district, Metra cannot be considered for operation of a Chicago-Rockford service.
CSSHEGEWISCHAs long as Boone and Winnebago counties are not part of the RTA's operating district, Metra cannot be considered for operation of a Chicago-Rockford service.
You know that outside of Illinois thats not a factor.
Metra has approached Wisconsin more than once in the past with fee for service proposals that excluded joining the RTA. Here in Dallas the TRE can pretty much run it's trains for special events where it wants to off the system as it has decent working relationships with UP and BNSF.
rauner is without a doubt anti-rail, but unlike Wisconsin, Illinois has Democratic super majorities in both houses and will be able to set the agenda and stop rauner.
CMStPnP You know that outside of Illinois thats not a factor. Metra has approached Wisconsin more than once in the past with fee for service proposals that excluded joining the RTA.
Metra has approached Wisconsin more than once in the past with fee for service proposals that excluded joining the RTA.
For example?
Buslist CMStPnP You know that outside of Illinois thats not a factor. Metra has approached Wisconsin more than once in the past with fee for service proposals that excluded joining the RTA. For example?
You can use Google too. In fact I found out the previous assertion was not completely true. Metra will consider fee for service within the state of Illinois as well.
Check out this article from 2012:
http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2012/02/20/metra-mulls-extension-to-oswego-outside-rta-service-area/
Pay specific attention to this paragraph, bolded part:
"Clifford said that, by law, Metra cannot spend any of its or RTA money on construction or operating subsidies in Kendall County unless the county opts to join the RTA. It also is willing to build and operate the service if those costs are underwritten."
Bolded part is Fee for Service without joining RTA. As I said before they have offered same option to Wisconsin several times in the past, I remember it from the mid-80's to 1990's. Not sure if they have done so recently but they did hint at it when the Central Line went into place and folks from Burlington, WI started to ask what it would take to get Metra to cross the Wisconsin Border. They also hinted at it again with proposals to extend service from Kenosha to Racine.....before Governor Doyle turned that into his own new commutter train operation and extended it to Milwaukee and renamed it KRM.
Daily Herald 6/7/2013
"A proposal to expand Metra service west on the BNSF Line to Oswego is gathering steam with the possibility of adding a stop in Yorkville.
Metra board directors on Friday supported increasing a consulting contract by $439,631 for a total of $2.26 million to review the Yorkville option. The funding for the engineering study comes from a federal grant, earmarked in 2003 by former House Speaker Dennis Hastert of Yorkville.
The agency has been considering locating stations in Oswego but Yorkville is being added since it offers an optimal site for a yard to house trains. Montgomery is also in the mix as a new station.
But how to pay for operating the expansion and related construction -- since most of the route is outside the six-county region that Metra serves -- is an unknown. A sales tax in Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry and Will counties subsidizes part of the costs of running Metra, but it isn't levied in Kendall County.
Oswego and Yorkville are located in Kendall, while Montgomery is in Kane County.
"Kendall County will ultimately need to take this information ... and figure out how to make this happen ... so that it does not occur using six-county area tax revenues," Executive Director Alex Clifford said.
"This is a good project but any expansion with our current needs is problematic," Metra Director and former Kane County Chairman Mike McCoy said. "There's a lot of hurdles to jump through before it comes to fruition."
Metra has many requests for expansion of service in the six-county region including more express trains on existing lines and more stations in McHenry County.
"We've got needs in Marengo," said Director Jack Schaffer of Cary, but he noted that going outside the six-county region is not unprecedented. Metra already goes to Kenosha in Wisconsin. "If Kendall County can work out a system to pay for their share, I see no reason why we would not go to Oswego."
Preliminary estimates from 2007 projected that a Oswego station alone would draw about 140 riders a day.
"Extending to Yorkville makes all the sense in the world, if we do it," Director Norm Carlson of Lake Forest said.
Still, experts said the challenges involved in negotiating an agreement that ensures Kendall County towns pay their fair share, deciding what constitutes a fair share, getting approvals from stakeholders and finding a guaranteed source of revenue at a time of economic restraint are mammoth.
State law stipulates that operating costs for any expansion beyond the six counties must be born by the benefiting municipalities, Regional Transportation Authority Chief of Staff Jordan Matyas explained.
"We're looking forward to seeing what the study finds," he said.
Oswego Village Administrator Steve Jones said the Metra station was "extremely important. Up until the housing crash, Oswego and the immediate area was one of the fastest-growing areas in the country. As residents move to the area, they have some expectations for transportation for employment and cultural matters ... just being linked to the city."
Consequently, Oswego built a popular park-and-ride site that ferries commuters to the Aurora Metra stop. It caters not only to Oswego residents but workers from nearby towns.
Regarding contributing to the project, Jones said the hope was that federal or state grants could help pay for capital costs such as stations or siding. With the park and ride, which is located at the site of the proposed station, Oswego already has some infrastructure in place.
As for operating costs, Jones said the Metra study will let the village know what to expect so it can plan accordingly. "One of the most common questions I get is, when is Metra coming to Oswego?" he said.
The full Metra board must vote on the consulting contract increase later this month."
Clifford got pushed out in August of 2013, I believe. Doubtful after the scandals in recent past that Metra will try to operate outside the RTA six-county taxing district.
C&NW, CA&E, MILW, CGW and IC fan
CMStPnP Buslist CMStPnP You know that outside of Illinois thats not a factor. Metra has approached Wisconsin more than once in the past with fee for service proposals that excluded joining the RTA. For example? You can use Google too.
You can use Google too.
Yes I can google but why do I need to do that to substantiate what you claim? Seems it's your job!
BuslistYes I can google but why do I need to do that to substantiate what you claim? Seems it's your job!
But can you read? The two posts before yours seem to answer the question. Or at least that the question has been raised with Metra.
schlimm Buslist Yes I can google but why do I need to do that to substantiate what you claim? Seems it's your job! But can you read? The two posts before yours seem to answer the question. Or at least that the question has been raised with Metra.
Buslist Yes I can google but why do I need to do that to substantiate what you claim? Seems it's your job!
neither of which support Metra proposing service to WI. Hinting is not proposing, neither is interest on the part of Burlington residents! My specific question is thw assertion that METRA had made proposals to WI. Looking for support of the claim that METRA officials "approached" Wi authorities about service.
not interested in Oswego ( where Pace already provides bus service out of the RTA territory) but proposals to WI.
perhaps you need to read.
CMStPnP Buslist CMStPnP You know that outside of Illinois thats not a factor. Metra has approached Wisconsin more than once in the past with fee for service proposals that excluded joining the RTA. For example? You can use Google too. In fact I found out the previous assertion was not completely true. Metra will consider fee for service within the state of Illinois as well. Check out this article from 2012: http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2012/02/20/metra-mulls-extension-to-oswego-outside-rta-service-area/ Pay specific attention to this paragraph, bolded part: "Clifford said that, by law, Metra cannot spend any of its or RTA money on construction or operating subsidies in Kendall County unless the county opts to join the RTA. It also is willing to build and operate the service if those costs are underwritten." Bolded part is Fee for Service without joining RTA. As I said before they have offered same option to Wisconsin several times in the past, I remember it from the mid-80's to 1990's. Not sure if they have done so recently but they did hint at it when the Central Line went into place and folks from Burlington, WI started to ask what it would take to get Metra to cross the Wisconsin Border. They also hinted at it again with proposals to extend service from Kenosha to Racine.....before Governor Doyle turned that into his own new commutter train operation and extended it to Milwaukee and renamed it KRM.
Perhaps what we have here is a semantics issue. But when I was tought English to approach someone (not physically) meant I was the one asking for something that I wanted to do. That's a lot different than saying I would do something if asked and compensated.
But then I've authored close to 100 papers and edited a couple of books. But it must be that Chicago cronyism!
Puleeze. Metra is not even responding to a formal wriiten request in most cases and is freely "offering" their trains for a fee. That's not approaching......according to whom? I know all your fingers are broken and your typing with your nose BUT had you Googled you would also have seen Metra dreaming about service to Rockford, IL specifically.
Buslist schlimm Buslist Yes I can google but why do I need to do that to substantiate what you claim? Seems it's your job! But can you read? The two posts before yours seem to answer the question. Or at least that the question has been raised with Metra. neither of which support Metra proposing service to WI. Hinting is not proposing, neither is interest on the part of Burlington residents! My specific question is thw assertion that METRA had made proposals to WI. Looking for support of the claim that METRA officials "approached" Wi authorities about service. not interested in Oswego ( where Pace already provides bus service out of the RTA territory) but proposals to WI. perhaps you need to read.
Perhaps you need to stop refusing to believe other's claims out of inability to Google or sheer spite or all? But you are correct, as far as I can determine, but it seems like a rather moot point:
http://www.dot.wisconsin.gov/projects/state/docs/railplan-chapter7.pdf
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1998-03-22/news/9803220030_1_train-service-study-wisconsin
Those two were in the past, and the pitch was from WI. But here you can see that the RTA was making the pitch (unsuccessfuly) to Metra:
http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/news/99767164.html
I do not personally believe Metra will make any service expansions anytime soon. With Rauner's proposed cuts, even if they are reduced, Metra and Amtrak operations, much less capital infrastructure , will be lucky to keep the status quo.
CMStPnP Puleeze. Metra is not even responding to a formal wriiten request in most cases and is freely "offering" their trains for a fee. That's not approaching......according to whom? I know all your fingers are broken and your typing with your nose BUT had you Googled you would also have seen Metra dreaming about service to Rockford, IL specifically.
what an intelligent comment thanks!
does your nose tell you Rockford is in Wisconsin?
Still looking for those Wisconsin offers you claimed.
can't stand a call out can you!
Buslist CMStPnP Puleeze. Metra is not even responding to a formal wriiten request in most cases and is freely "offering" their trains for a fee. That's not approaching......according to whom? I know all your fingers are broken and your typing with your nose BUT had you Googled you would also have seen Metra dreaming about service to Rockford, IL specifically. what an intelligent comment thanks! does your nose tell you Rockford is in Wisconsin? Still looking for those Wisconsin offers you claimed. can't stand a call out can you!
I am sure CMStP knows where Rockford is, as do I. Do you? Had you read the links I posted above, you would see the facts. But instead you continue your monologue, Seinfeld-style.
Buslistwhat an intelligent comment thanks! does your nose tell you Rockford is in Wisconsin? Still looking for those Wisconsin offers you claimed. can't stand a call out can you!
Hey I am not getting any money here to be your Internet Tutor...
You can invest the 5 min with Google search and read the results. OR You can choose to remain ignorant.....why would the latter choice bother me at all?
Plenty of folks on these forums living in their own worlds with their own set of facts. Not my job to fix that either. I just post for readers that want to learn and discuss another point of view.
Oh and technically your misusing the term "call someone out" so when your on Google you might want to look up the definition of that.
schlimmI am sure CMStP knows where Rockford is, as do I. Do you? Had you read the links I posted above, you would see the facts. But instead you continue your monologue, Seinfeld-style.
He is mad because I mentioned in another thread that Metra has an issue with cronyism, which if you remember from the Chicago papers last year was proven pretty vividly. For some reason that bothered him and this is his revenge to disrupt this thread. So I am guessing former Metra employee.
CMStPnP Oh and technically your misusing the term "call someone out" so when your on Google you might want to look up the definition of that.
Wow, if you are going down that road maybe you should Google when to use your and when to use you're........
https://www.google.com/#safe=off&q=your+or+you%27re
An "expensive model collector"
Back to the original topic:
http://www.wifr.com/home/headlines/Neighbors-Show-Support-for-Amtrak-Route-294116921.html
They might be able to improve the line in increments. I would be really surprised to see Illinois spend $223 million on this route all at once for just one train. Since frieght railroads are involved maybe they should bundle some money with FRA?
CMStPnPSince frieght railroads are involved maybe they should bundle some money with FRA?
No way in H---. This is a passenger project. The government should pay for what they want. The railroads' facilities are sufficient for their purposes. Any freight management that would willingly waste their stockholders money on passenger trains, or fixed plant for passenger trains has breaced their fiduciary duty to their shareholders and should, and likely would, be replaced immediately.
Mac
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