January 30, 2007
By MONIFA THOMAS Chicago Sun-Times Transportation Reporter
It's bad enough that trips out to O'Hare Airport on the CTA Blue Line are taking longer thanks to an abundance of slow zones. Now, even getting on the train can come with a built-in delay because trains and station platforms have become increasingly packed during rush hour.
Riders say trains on the O'Hare branch of the Blue Line have been coming at longer intervals these past few months, and when they do arrive, they are often too full to board. Crowded platforms add another wrinkle, since riders have to wait until the people in front of them have squeezed onto a train before they can.
This is especially true during the afternoon rush when Barbara H., of Norwood Park, says she has to budget "easily an extra half hour" to catch a train that isn't already crammed with people at the busy Clark and Lake station.
"To have a one-hour 45-minute commute when it used to be an hour or less [a year ago] . . . doesn't put you in a good mood," said Barbara H., 53, who didn't want her last name used.
"I've never seen the Blue Line worse," said Mike Murphy, who's been riding the CTA for 21 years and now budgets an extra 30 to 45 minutes to get to his job near the Washington stop.
The problems on the Blue Line illustrate how slow, unreliable and inconvenient taking the L has become for riders on almost every line.
CTA President Frank Kruesi said a number of factors are to blame, not least of which is the CTA's crumbling infrastructure.
Slow zones now riddle the Blue Line O'Hare branch.
Trains are taking longer to complete their runs and are therefore making fewer trips overall, Kruesi said. That means more people per train.
At the same time, larger rush-hour crowds on the platform slow the boarding process at each station, creating a domino effect of delays on the CTA's second-busiest rail line, Kruesi acknowledged.
Trains are moving at reduced speeds on one-third of the Blue Line tracks between Division and O'Hare, a huge increase from last June when the entire Blue Line only had slow zones on 2 percent of its tracks, CTA data shows. It's also a huge difference from the Congress branch of the Blue Line to Forest Park, which had no slow zones as of Jan. 17.
A CTA sampling found the slow zones have increased Blue Line O'Hare branch trips by an average of seven to nine minutes -- which clashes with what many riders relayed to the Sun-Times.
The only other part of the rail system with a greater percentage of speed restrictions is the Red Line between Howard and Roosevelt, which also has the CTA's highest ridership. The Red, Brown and Purple lines have been hit-or-miss for riders in recent months because of Brown Line renovations and related equipment problems at a key switching point.
Decaying rail ties appear to be one of the main culprits behind the slow zones on the O'Hare branch, even though the 24-year-old ties are relatively new. The CTA said contractors hired to extend the Blue Line to O'Hare in the 1980s may have used a different type or amount of preservative on the ties.
Alternative to other lines?Kruesi said crowding on the CTA's rail lines is a result of record ridership at a time when the agency can't increase the size of its train fleet -- beyond trains currently on order -- because of financial constraints.
Making the capital improvements necessary to fix the system will require an influx of cash from the Legislature, the CTA has said.
Meantime, the situation will likely get worse once Red, Brown and Purple line trains have to start sharing three tracks instead of four at Belmont and Fullerton this spring. The Blue Line is being recommended by the CTA as an alternative, but the feasibility of that plan hinges on whether the CTA can provide enough trains.
CTA SLOW ZONES BY LINE
Purple: 26 percentRed: 24 percent Blue: 22 percent Green: 5 percent Yellow: 5 percent Brown: 1 percent Orange: 0 percent Pink: 0 percent
NOTE: The figures, provided by the CTA, are current as of Jan. 17.
CTA's Blue Line cars are often full of riders ...
This report is really an irritant. No one could ever fill George Krambles shoes but I wish they had someone with at least ten percent of his ability to sharpen a number two pencil and get down to business. I have managed many a rehabilitation and capital project always juggling several at a time and I can attest there is no excuse for this. Anyone with that outfit hear of a rolling five year capital budget? Nice cushy brand new headquarters building...when will that pay for itself?What's this Paulina Connector and third rail installation on the Skokie route when trains can barely roll on existing track? Who had oversight on the Blue Line work? Arghhh....need more money..I would be embarrassed to use that old lame hack excuse for poor management of resources...In the private sector, they would be out of a job. period. This degree of slow orders on a rapid transit line?! Beyond pathetic...
Nothing is more fairly distributed than common sense: no one thinks he needs more of it than he already has.
Nataraj wrote:um.... this is about CTA, NOT Metra.
Oops! Typo corrected.
Technically, though, they're all under the umbrella of the Regional Transportation Authority (Metra, CTA and PACE) ...
And all have been grossly underfunded lately, thanks mainly to the State of Illinois, which is more than broke these days ... CTA has been saying it will take $8.7 billion to get things back in shape.
I read a story last week in the Tribune that 5 or 6 track inspectors and supervisors were fired due to the derailment last summer.
So, you have to figure that the track inspectors/supervisors are going to be extra cautious regarding slow orders from now on. Not saying they shouldnt be...
ed
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