Big improvements coming to "the home-town line" here.

[CShaveRR]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Improved Train Flow, Enhanced Safety and Reduced Environmental Footprint Highlight Metra Union Pacific West Line Improvements

Chicago, February 13, 2009 – Improved passenger and freight train flow, an enhanced safety design, and a reduced environmental footprint are among the benefits of the Metra Union Pacific west line improvement project. Work at the stations is scheduled to begin in March and conclude near the end of 2010. Metra service will not be disrupted while the project is underway.

“These improvements will help create a more fluid railroad operation, decrease commuter and freight delays, and reduce motorist wait time at grade crossings,” said Phil Pagano, Metra executive director. “These upgrades address today’s west line rail traffic congestion issues and are essential if we want to consider potential new Metra starts in the years to come.”

“We will be able to relieve some high levels of congestion we currently experience and better serve our customers,” said Dennis Duffy, Union Pacific executive vice president, operations. “The combination of station improvements and grade crossing warning devices at Metra stations will create an enhanced safety environment for pedestrians at the stations.”

Improved Train Flow

Completion of the third mainline on the route will provide capacity to keep trains moving. Installing two universal crossovers will close a 15-mile gap between crossovers on the line, increasing the use of multiple tracks to bypass rail congestion. An upgraded rail signal system will allow trains to safely operate closer together and improve train flow.

While there are no current plans to increase overall train volume on the west line, other trains will be able to operate while commuter trains are in stations, as a result of the upgrades.

These improvements will result in up to a 50 percent reduction in passenger and freight train delays, Metra on-time performance will improve, and overall grade crossing gate downtime will improve by at least 11 percent. Communities also will see fewer trains parked for extended periods of time.

Enhanced Station Safety

Metra and Union Pacific have studied station improvement initiatives across the country. The west line safety infrastructure incorporates the best practices, creating the most comprehensive safety system of any commuter rail operation in the United States, including the following elements:

• An enhanced pedestrian train warning system called “Another-Train Warning System” (ATWS)

• Additional pedestrian gates

• Improved pedestrian flow control

• Inter track fencing

• Brighter, more conspicuous platform signs

• Eliminated mid-platform pedestrian crossings

The ATWS system will be the first of its kind in the U.S. to be fully implemented at stations along a commuter line. This system warns pedestrians at crossings adjacent to stations that “another train” is approaching or present, with a combination of audio and visual alerts. This system will be installed in addition to pedestrian crossing gates at station grade crossings.

Environmental Benefits

Environmental benefits from the west line improvement project include improved locomotive fuel efficiency. Benefits also include reduced locomotive and vehicle emissions as a result of improved train flow and less engine idling. Union Pacific locomotives will use up to 160,000 fewer gallons of diesel fuel per year. That’s enough fuel for a typical Union Pacific train to travel the circumference of the Earth almost two times.

Timeline

Station improvements will be completed in three segments, with estimated completion of the first two segments near the end of 2009 or in early 2010. The third segment is scheduled to be completed near the end of 2010.

• Segment I – Maywood, Melrose Park, Bellwood, Berkeley

• Segment II – Winfield, Geneva

• Segment III – Elmhurst, Villa Park, Lombard, Glen Ellyn, College Avenue, Wheaton

Project updates and progress will be provided at www.metraupwest.com .

For further information, contact Judy Pardonnet [phone] at Metra; or Mark Davis [phone] or Tom Lange [phone] at Union Pacific.

From the sound of things, the safety-related enhancements are intended to eliminate the practice of prohibiting a freight train from occupying the platform area at the same time as a Metra train. It will increase freight-train speeds along this line through the western suburbs, because virtually any freight train operating between Elburn and Proviso encounters at least one scoot somewhere in that stretch. I'm not sure whether a similar rule requires freights to "lay back" for dinkies on the BNSF line, so the safety enhancements shouldn't have any negative effect.

I wish I knew where the two new universal crossovers are going to be installed. I know where the ideal places would be in relation to current operations, but they may not be ideal for other reasons.

The first segment to be improved, starting next month, will be past the stations at Maywood, Melrose Park, Bellwood, and Berkeley. This brings two questions to my mind, neither of which were specifically addressed:

1. What has happened with the plan to move the Bellwood station and consolidate it with Melrose Park?

2. Does this improvement involve adding the third main track along this stretch? Both UP (CREATE) and Metra are on record as wanting this track installed.

And the mention that "mid-platform pedestrian crossings" are going to be eliminated: in favor of what? For example, the nearest grade crossing to Lombard's pedestrian crossing is about a quarter-mile (a full minute's walk each way) away, not all of which can be traversed on platforms or village sidewalks. There's a nearer underpass with pedestrian accommodations, but access by handicapped persons would be difficult, if not impossible. And what about the times when the train has to make a station stop on the center track? Those will probably be reduced by the additional crossovers, but I doubt that they can be totally eliminated.

As you no doubt can tell, this is an exciting prospect. I don't see faster Metra schedules resulting from any of this, but I think the line will be safer, and that timekeeping will improve. And, when the economy improves, Metra's plans for increasing rush-hour frequencies will be a lot easier to implement.

[Mookie]

Wow!  So many questions....

Is the freight traffic involved those fairly short trains we saw when we stayed in DeKalb?  If so, then it makes sense to have them go by while the Metra is in the station. 

Refresh my memory (there was too much to see when I was there) there are two tracks now, correct?  Are those two tracks both UP and Metra shares them with UP?  So a 3rd track would? 

We will start with that until I can get my bearings.

SJ

[CShaveRR]

The trains only seemed short in DeKalb because they were moving so fast! Seriously, the intermodal trains can be over a mile long, as can the manifests, and coal trains are usually in the low 130s in the car count.

Going west to east, there are three tracks from Elburn to Peck (west of Geneva), two tracks from Peck to Kress (west of West Chicago), three tracks from Kress to Park (east of Elmhurst, including Lombard and environs), and two tracks from Park to Vale (around Proviso and east through Maywood and across the Des Plaines River). The third track from Elburn to Peck was added for the Metra extension in '06; they're talking about a third track from Peck through Geneva (we had a thread on that), and this article suggests to me that the stretch between Elmhurst and Vale will be three-tracked.

All tracks are open to use by the Metra trains, but they generally stick to the outer tracks (by the platforms, you know). West Chicago has all three tracks accessible from platforms, and the Metra .trains generally stick to the south track from Elburn through LaFox to Peck. All tracks in the area are operated by CTC, so any one of them is open to a train in either direction. What's most intriguing to me is the addition of the crossovers to reduce the 15-mile stretch of track between West Chicago ("Turner") and Elmhurst ("Park) to more manageable lengths. With these crossovers, express trains could be scheduled to pass up locals, and use the center track, and swoop out to the outer tracks prior to their appropriate stops. Or, if a track needs to be taken out of service for work, you're losing only five miles of track instead of 15.

[billio]

Mookie" asks

Refresh my memory (there was too much to see when I was there) there are two tracks now, correct?  Are those two tracks both UP and Metra shares them with UP?  So a 3rd track would? 

 A third track would supply more capacity to a line that sees heavy freight traffic between Proviso and points west, plus heavy commuter traffic between Elburn and downtown Chicago.  This concentration of traffic can resultin delays, and places a premium on capacity.

A query of my own:  When will the third track mentioned in the news release be completed? 

[CShaveRR]

billio

Mookie" asks

Refresh my memory (there was too much to see when I was there) there are two tracks now, correct?  Are those two tracks both UP and Metra shares them with UP?  So a 3rd track would? 

 A third track would supply more capacity to a line that sees heavy freight traffic between Proviso and points west, plus heavy commuter traffic between Elburn and downtown Chicago.  This concentration of traffic can resultin delays, and places a premium on capacity.

A query of my own:  When will the third track mentioned in the news release be completed? 

Good question, because I'm not sure whether it's part of this initiative or not. Previous reports about a third main line from Peck through Geneva up to the Fox River mentioned 2011 or 2012, if I remember correctly, and I hadn't heard anything firm on any of the rest of it. I suppose it's possible that some stimulus money might have accelerated all of this work, because I'm pretty sure it meets some of the "shovel-ready" criteria. I just want to see it happen soon--it's not like Cajon Pass or even the Des Moines River valley in magnitude, but I'll bet it will have more of an effect on the public than either of those two projects.

[blue streak 1]

Question: Will this eliminate the bridge weight restrictions that now limit the type Locomotives used on this line or is that another line?

[CShaveRR]

The restrictions on use of certain Metra locomotives in UP service are due to bridge weight limitations on the North and Northwest lines (primarily the North line now). The west line has no weight restrictions, but all power on the UP's Metra trains is in the same pool.

[MP173]

Carl:

This is completely off topic, but...

Did you see the new UP motive power only movement today?  As I was southbound on the Dan Ryan, there were about 15 new UP GE units (7300 series) westbound on the NS (ex Conrail, ex PRR).  Looking very good in the afternoon sunshine.

ed

[eolafan]

While I am certainly not an expert on this line...only get there occasionally...and while I can see some areas where triple tracking will not be a big deal (at West Chicago and west from there mostly), I can't imagine where U.P. will "shoehorn" a third track in with the other two mains, especially in the area around Wheaton, Glen Elyn, Lombard, etc.

[CShaveRR]

The area around Wheaton, Glen Ellyn, Lombard, etc., already has three tracks--nothing will have to be added there, except for some universal crossovers to make the whole thing more flexible.

[CShaveRR]

MP173

Carl:

This is completely off topic, but...

Did you see the new UP motive power only movement today?  As I was southbound on the Dan Ryan, there were about 15 new UP GE units (7300 series) westbound on the NS (ex Conrail, ex PRR).  Looking very good in the afternoon sunshine.

ed

Ed, I didn't catch that particular move, but have since seen a couple of the probable participants.