CTA Tattler

I eagerly await the objections to this service increase.

Well, here's one: Last week I was on the Loyola platform at 9:30 AM & a southbound Purple Express went by me. There were exactly 6 people on board, I could actually count them.
Not getting a lot of use, is it?

Won't it cost a lot of money that the CTA doesn't have to change all the signs in the loop?

Adam, remember, you can always count on UCC for a discouraging word.

UCC: Of course I would never doubt your ability to count the total number of people on a six-car train as it speeds by you. But even if there were just six people, I'm not tha surprised since rush hour is pretty much over at 9:30.

Try to confine your criticism to the meat of the post: The CTA has expanded service when many commenters questioned whether they would:

http://www.ctatattler.com/2008/12/fourth-track-opens-saturday-at-belmont.html#comments

Glad to hear that the Purple Line service is being increased, even if I don't use it that much. Seems much more useful now.

Actually, the whole thing is good news. No griping from me.

No doubt you're right, Kevin. But I was surprised to follow your link to the press release only to discover it's 2 weeks old and mentions only the Purple Line changes we knew about, and not the others.

Is there another release you meant to link to, or perhaps something is forthcoming and you got tipped early?

Red Line trains have been arriving every 4 minutes in the morning?

I'll have what Ron's having, please. As strannix reminded us recently, the CTA cut down to 15 Red Line trains during rush hour, not 15 per hour. My experiences bear that out based on the time I've waited.

I'm happy service is improving, but it's odd for the CTA to claim service has been so much more frequent than it has been.

It was easy to count the six people as the train wasn't speeding by.
And when there are that few on board, it's rather easy to count them.
And it is about this post as those cars could be an extra Red Line train which needs more service instead of a Purple Express that carries almost no one.

Ryan. I'm reporting this exclusively. No one else has this yet. There is no press release. I asked and the CTA told me.

Hopefully more frequent purple line service will attract more riders.

The one downside is that everyone should now expect more delays at Tower 18 and 12.

So what does this mean for the buses (like the #22) that increased capacity when the 3-track project started? Are they being returned to previous levels?

I think Ron meant that red line trains leave their starting point every 4 minutes or so and I'll have to at least verify that from direct experience while waiting for a purple line express at Howard during rush hour (8am-8:45).

I'll be happy that the Purple lines express are going to run every 7 minutes now...gives me a little more breathing room in the morning to be on time..

Wow, two positive things in one post. They may have to take away my "cage rattler" card.

KevinB

I think the ghosts of transit past, present and future visited KevinB last night.

Nope Martha, just had alot of Christmas Cheer, several bottles of it, actually :)

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays all.

KevinB

ebob: I'd bet the CTA saved most of the signage from before the start of three-track and is simply going to swap the old ones back in. Whatever needs to be replaced won't cost very much in the grand scheme of things.

UCC: I reverse-commuted on the Purple Line Express for four years, and I can assure you that the train you saw had more than six people on its return trip north. I now use the Red Line going south at Belmont about 9:30am, and any southbound Purple Lines I see at that time usually pick up quite a few passengers there too.

Ok, the Christmas spirits have worn off.

Kevin:

Can you confirm with your CTA sources what I was told by a couple of the train operators at the Howard St station this morning?

I was told the reason for the no purple line inbound this morning was because someone "forgot" to run he train that clears the 3rd rail last night.

Thanks,

KevinB

Orange Line riders get screwed again! First the Pink Line was added to our track which slowed down service (adding 5-10 minutes to commuting time.) This was reduced when the Purple and Brown Lines shared a track. With the Purple Line being put back on the Orange Line track (at Washington and wells for example) three lines use that track to only the Brown line using the western track. How is this fair? Why does the north side get all of the consideration?

Not only does it add travel time to the commute home, but when entering the loop now, full Orange Line trains will have to wait for southbound Orange and Green line trains as well as Pink and Purple Line trains before entering the loop. Let me tell you nothing is more aggravating than being a passenger on an overcapacity train going to the loop as you wait for an empty train which has the right of way.

Also, now that construction is done is the CTA going to go back to public schedules for the trains instead of the "every 5 to 12 minutes" garbage that they just switched to?

"Why does the north side get all of the consideration?"

Oh knock it off. Your comment is unbelievably stupid. You are the one who is riding the train with the least amount of stops and thus the fastest commute based on distance. To have the nerve to complain about a slight increase in traffic in the loop is rather silly and unfortunate.

In fact, I think you may be the first person on this whole blog to complain about the orange line. What do you think that says about you?

Well MK, expect more Orange Line complaints. Service on that line has deteriorated greatly over the years and riders are getting fed up. We may have the fewest stops, but we have many riders per stop, and the trains are filled to capacity by the fourth or fifth stop and run later and later. During peak rush hour times (8:00 a.m. - 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. to 6 p.m.) the number of Orange Line train runs actually drop, apparently so that a greater number of Brown and Purple Line trains can run.

Why is it silly and unfortunate to comment on an unfair distribution of the train lines?

You know nothing about me, but your comments say a lot about you.

It seems like people are always complaining about the extra/unnecessary service being given to lines other than the one they ride. Why is that? So, on one occasion, a purple line didn't have that many riders riding express from Evanston to Belmont. So what? Should they just not run the Purple Line or something? It's pretty packed at other times.

Adding the Pink Line to the inner Loop tracks couldn't possibly add 5-10 minutes to someone's commute, and a full Orange Line train wouldn't have to wait for every single train on the Loop tracks to pass before entering, anyway. It seems that it's always someone else's train that's getting better service around here..

BLR, it is the fact that from Washington/Wells the Orange Line gets backed up behind Purple lines waiting to go north, Pink lines turning west, and Green and Pink lines heading east from Clinton. That is a lot of trains to assimilate on one rail, and it backs things up.

I said I was frustrated about the ride in. I understand that nothing can be done as far as trains entering and leaving the loop - that doesn't make it any less frustrating. The other trains are empty when I see them because most everyone has gotten off - I get that.

The fairest option would be to have the Pink line turn south into the loop on the west tracks, but who expects fair from the CTA? (And Pink line riders can wait at Clinton for the Green line if they don't wish to circle the loop.)

Orange line rider,

What is your problem? You do understand that the world does not revolve around you, right? And the definition of the word "fair" is not what would benefit you the most. Do you think that those people who ride the pink line would agree with what seems to be your definition of the word "fair"? Don't you think that those people deserve as much as you to have transit decisions that might benefit them?

Why do you think the pink line operates in the direction it does around the loop? Do you think it is random? Does it not even occur to you that maybe they have a good reason for this? If the pink line operated the way you suggest it would have the same routing as the green line. Umm, don't you think there are some benefits to having two lines from the same place (they intersect at Ashland and Clinton where people can switch) go in different directions? Don't you think that people going to the western part of the loop around Wells (which is a more heavily trafficked area during business hours) should have the ability to have more convenient transit? And perhaps more imporantly, if the pink line followed the counterclockwise loop routing it would be HUGELY less convenient for the many people transferring to the blue and brown lines. Currently, pink line riders can transfer to the brown line at the very first loop stop for the pink line and the last for the brown line, and vice versa going the other direction. Those going to and from the north side get quickly out of the loop and to their destination. Under your suggestion, the riders would have to spend around ten minutes riding all the way around the loop every time they are transferring between these two lines. Furthermore, those transferring to the blue line would also have to ride all the way around the loop under your suggestion instead of being able to switch trains at the first stop. How the bleep is all that "fair"? Heck, I don't even ride the pink line and I can see how unbelivably self-centered you are. Get over yourself.

I should also point out that another major benefit of the pink line being routed the way it is on the loop tracks is that it provides the most options to those people coming from the areas from the UIC medical center all the way to the end of both the pink line and the forest park blue line. These lines are very close to each other. The blue line heads into the loop from the southwest and stops first at Clinton and Lasalle. So obviously it makes sense for the pink line to head into the other side of the loop for the conveinence of the people who are going in that area (not to mention the enormous transferring benefits that I discussed earlier). People living or working in the pink-blue line area can choose whichever line is most conveinent for where they are going. Coming back, people near the northeastern and northwestern portion of the loop (and from an O'hare branch blue line) can always take a green line and transfer at Clinton for a pink line. If the pink line operated in the other direction, as Orange Line Rider suggested, there would be dramatically fewer benefits. Yes, I realize I accidently stated something that was only half true in my last post. But that doesn't matter.

MK, you sure seem to have a lot of time on your hands and opinions. I took a pass on reading them.

That's not surprising. To you, the only viewpoint that matters is your own. It's rather sad. You are going to have a tough time with life if you do not care what other people have to say.

"During peak rush hour times (8:00 a.m. - 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. to 6 p.m.) the number of Orange Line train runs actually drop, apparently so that a greater number of Brown and Purple Line trains can run."

According to the Orange line schedule here:

http://www.transitchicago.com/assets/1/rail_route_schedules/Orange_Line_2008.pdf

the Orange line runs every 6-7 minutes from during rush hour Monday-Friday, which is an increase from the 10 minute headways mid-day and early evening.

"If the pink line operated in the other direction, as Orange Line Rider suggested, there would be dramatically fewer benefits. Yes, I realize I accidently stated something that was only half true in my last post. But that doesn't matter."

a) Pink Line Riders wanting to have Clark/Lake be their first stop in loop could transfer at Clinton (or Ashland) to Green Line.

b) You clearly are confused given the incorrect information in your posts.

c) I took the Purple line out of the loop yesterday and the conductor apologized to the riders about the delays caused by having the Pink, Green, Orange, and Purple Line trains traveling the same route through the loop.