CTA Tattler

CTA's Thanksgiving weekend work

The weekend comes early this week, and so does the CTA's weekend service change e-alert. Signup for it here.

CTA Weekend Service Changes - November 28 - November 30  

Rail Lines

Visit transitchicago.com for information on the
2008 CTA Holiday Train

BLUE LINE

Nov 29 – 30
9pm Sat to 5am Sun
Boarding Change, Delays Between Pulaski and Western

How does this affect my trip?
9pm Sat, Nov 29 to 1am Sun, Nov 30
Board/exit all trains on the Forest Park-bound side of the platform at Kedzie-Homan station.

1am to 5am Sun, Nov 30
Board/exit all trains on the Forest Park-bound side of the platform at Kedzie-Homan and Western stations.

Trains in both directions will operate on the same track between Pulaski and Western, resulting in minor delays.

Allow extra travel time.

Why is service being changed?
We are performing track maintenance to ensure that trains continue to operate safely along the Blue Line.

---

Nov 30 – Dec 1
9pm Sun to 4am Mon
Boarding Change, Delays Between Western and Kedzie-Homan

How does this affect my trip?
Board/exit all trains on the O’Hare-bound side of the platform at the Western station.

Trains in both directions will operate on the same track between Western and Kedzie-Homan.

Allow extra travel time.

Why is service being changed?
We are performing track maintenance to ensure that trains continue to operate safely along the Blue Line.

---

RED LINE

Nov 30 – Dec 1
Sun to Mon
11pm nightly to 4am next day
Boarding Change, Delays Between 63rd and Garfield

Bus Tracker widget for Mac OS X; future of theCTA on South Side; Thanksgiving reroutes

Kevin Zolkiewicz  just recently launched the Bus Tracker Widget for Mac OS X.

For those with a Mac, it makes it much easier to know when the next bus is coming. You can quickly glance at bus arrival times for your stops in OS X's Dashboard without having to load the Bus Tracker web site. More info and the free download is at http://widget.chicagobus.org/.

This widget was made possible thanks to Harper Reed's http://chicago.transitapi.com. As you know, Harper also helped with the creation of CTA Tweet.

Thanks, Kevin!

"The Future of the CTA on the South Side." I got a note last week from Sam Feldman last week about the article he wrote on this topic. He's a University of Chicago student and  the managing editor of Chicago Weekly. Check out his story on possible future expansion of the CTA on the South Side.

Thanksgiving Day reroutes. The downtown parade Thursday will cause lots of bus reroutes. The CTA will run on a Sunday schedule Thursday, and on a regular schedule for Black Friday. Details here.

Oh, and Happy Thanksgiving! We'll be taking a few days off, looking for the Holiday Train.

The proselytizer meets his match

A clean, well-dressed young man boards the southbound Red Line at Loyola and starts preaching the word. He shares his tale of how Christ our Lord saved him from 13 years of gang banging.

Granted, he's not asking for money or hurting anyone, but he's a little annoying and, well, doing some heavy duty Christian proselytizing.

We are leaving Granville when he really begins his spiel, and -- about two minutes into it -- a 65-year-old woman in a beige beret yells, "OH SHUT THE FUCK UP."

He ignores her, and she shouts, "SHUT THE FUCK UP. SHUT-THE-FUCK-UP."

And then the guy gets off the train.

NYC MetroCard provides murder suspect with alibi

In the past here we've discussed the pros and cons of letting the CTA track your every movement on the system via a Chicago Card and Chicago Card Plus. Not to mention giving the CTA access to your credit card via a Chicago Card Plus.

But a guy in New York City has been released on bail after a MetroCard he used proved his alibi -- and that it would have been difficult if not impossible for him to have committed the murder he was accused of.

The New York Times has that story.

Recycling MTA rail cars -- in ocean reefs. Frankly, I'm not sure what the CTA does with old rail cars. I suspect they cut them up and recycle the scrap metal for cash.

But in New York City, some retired rail cars are being used as a habitat for ocean fish in reefs all along the Atlantic Coast. It's a cool idea.

Watch the video here at the NBC Nightly News site.

A Thanksgiving blessing: Four tracks rule at Fullerton

Mayor Daley's City Hall is known for issuing press releases with bad news late on Friday afternoons. So it was odd to see the CTA issue its own press release late Friday announcing great news -- the end of three-tracking at Fullerton.

Of course, the CTA has told us all along the Fullerton project would end before Thanksgiving. So it's not really "news" But great news it is for CTA rail riders in the heavily traveled Fullerton to Belmont corridor.

Track 1 being open now at Fullerton should open things up a bit between Belmont and Fullerton. But don't expect miracles. The same number of trains will run until Track 1 is open at Belmont, sometime before the end of the year.

Till then, we give thanks for the end of three-tracking at Fullerton.

The Santa (Holiday) Train schedule; how about a Tattler meetup/tweetup?

Yes folks, it's that time again! The CTA Santa Train is coming town starting this weekend. Of course, the CTA has to be more politically correct, so they call it the Holiday Train. But Santa certainly is the centerpiece as he rides a sleigh on two open flat-bed cars in the middle of the train.

And for those of you grinches who are going to complain about how much extra this costs us, hold your tongues. Basically, it's nada. We addressed this issue last year.

So here's the schedule. And if you keep checking back, the CTA links up a detailed schedule for upcoming dates.

Our pal Jasmine suggested that perhaps we could do a CTA Tattler meetup on the Santa Train this year. Maybe we could ride it around the Loop on Saturday, Dec. 13, on the Brown or Orange Line and then gather somewhere for good cheer. What do you think?

CTA Weekend Service Changes - Nov. 21 to Nov. 23

Here's the CTA email alert on weekend service changes.

Rail Lines

BLUE LINE

Nov 21 - 24
9pm Fri to 3am Mon
Bus Substitution Between Clark/Lake and Division Stations

How does this affect my trip?
Shuttle buses replace rail service between Clark/Lake and Division.

Accessible shuttle buses operate between Jackson and Western (O’Hare branch).

Trains will operate between O’Hare and Division and between Clark/Lake and Forest Park.

Allow extra travel time.

Why is service being changed?
We are making track improvements to eliminate slow zones and improve rail service along the Blue Line.

---

Nov 21 – 22
11pm Fri to 7am Sat
Boarding Change, Delays at Rosemont Station

How does this affect my trip?
Board/exit all trains on the Forest Park-bound side of the platform at the Rosemont station.

Trains in both directions will operate on the same track at Rosemont, resulting in minor delays.

Allow extra travel time.

Why is service being changed?
We are making track improvements to eliminate slow zones and improve rail service along the Blue Line.

---

It could be worse -- we could be in New York City; the "Pokey" award

Here in Chicago, the CTA faced about a $50 million budget gap for 2009, which it plugged with a fare increase, but no service cuts.

In New York City today, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority will reveal its budget and how it plans to deal with a $1.2 billion shortfall. So yes, it could have been much worse for us, were it not for the sales tax increase passed early this year.

The New York Times reports that an 8% hike in fares and tolls will cover about half of that. But Gotham City passengers are waiting for the other shoe to drop -- in the form of expected heavy service cuts.

And while we're talking about the MTA, check out this New York Magazine story about which bus gets the Pokie and Schleppie awards for being "slower than chickens walking." The "winning" bus moves at 3.7 mph.

So, which CTA bus do yo think should win our own CTA Tattler Pokie award? Or should be call it the Bunchie? (Hat tip to Jasmine.)

Transit systems join long line for federal bailouts

The CTA and 10 other transit agencies went hat in hand to Congress Tuesday, asking for the Feds to guarantee long-term financing deals that have soured recently with the global credit meltdown, Crain's Chicago Business reports.

Last week, Crain's reported:

"The Chicago Transit Authority has asked a judge to intervene in a contract dispute that threatens to shut down the agency’s Green Line and force the agency to pay $76 million in damages.

"The CTA has an agreement with EntreCap Public Financial Holdings LLC of Connecticut and two other organizations to lease back property, railway tracks and train stations on its Green Line. When the 45-year contract was signed in 1998, the CTA’s payments were guaranteed by American International Group Inc.

"Two months ago, AIG’s credit rating was cut amid the U.S. mortgage meltdown that claimed several financial institutions and forced a federal bailout of the former insurance industry powerhouse.

"AIG’s rating cut triggered a clause in the CTA leaseback contract that required the already cash-strapped transit agency to find another backer in 30 business days or face a $76-million penalty, along with the end of the deal with EntreCap."

Tuesday the transit agencies asked the Treasury Dept. to guarantee these deals instead. Crain's had a great quote from a Maryland congressman: "I made the point that it would be wrong to ride to the rescue of private Wall Street firms and then leave public transit agencies out in the cold," Rep. Chris Van Hollen, D-Maryland, told The Associated Press last month. 

Wired magazine likes the Blue Line airport connection

OK, admittedly I've been holding on to this post for awhile before actually posting it today. (You know -- good for a rainy/snowy day!) But still, it's interesting to read the view of an "outsider" of our own rail system.

Dave turned me on to this Wired magazine story from last December, where the Blue Line connection to O'Hare is the only U.S. rail line cited among the "Five Best Airport to City Rail Connections." 

But even back then there were slow zones, which have largely been fixed. The weekend work lately is to repair crossovers.

From the story:

Both domestic terminals have underground walkways to the train platforms (international terminal has an automatic people mover to the station), where Blue Line trains depart every 5 minutes at peak hours, every 8 minutes during the day, and every 10-30 minutes during the night. Once in the downtown area, Washington, Monroe, and Jackson stations are in walking distance to most destinations in the Loop area. The trip takes 45 minutes, since the train makes local stops, but during rush hour, the 'L' becomes very competitive with cars. For only $2 (or $1.75 with a ChicagoCard), it's a deal!