Bicycles are permitted on all weekday trains arriving in Chicago after 9:30 AM and leaving Chicago before 3:00 PM and after 7:00 PM, and on all weekend trains, with the following exceptions:

• Blues Fest (June 7 – 10)
• All days during Taste of Chicago (June 29 – July 8)
• Independence Eve Fireworks (July 3)
• Venetian Night (July 28)
• Air & Water Show (August 18 & 19)
• Jazz Fest (August 30 – September 2)

Great, I thought. August 4th isn’t listed. So I went to Ogilvy Transportation Center and attempted to board a UPN train at 2:35pm. The conductor told me “No Bikes on Trains this weekend.” When I asked why not, he said “Lollapalloza, Cubs game, Bears game.” When I told him that I just checked the Metra website and this weekend wasn’t listed as a blackout weekend he said, “Too bad.”

If I cannot count on the information on the Metra website, why would I ever use this program again? I have places to go and have to be able to count on the means to do so. If there’s a chance there is a stealth blackout, that means I cross Metra off my list of options for getting where I need to go. This program is useless!

Today, I’m going to Wilmette again. Will I try Metra? No way!

Understanding the potential of Union Station requires thinking on a much larger scale than when thinking about airports.

For example: A 737, the workhorse of domestic flights, holds 130 people.

On the other hand, Amtrak’s smallest trains hold 200 people (with no center seats.)

During busy travel periods, Amtrak’s sleeper trains can exceed the seating capacity of 747s.Many peak-hour Metra trains exceed 1100 seats.

Many French TGV’s also have 1100 seats (no center seats and two bars) – twice the size of the new super-jumbo Airbus A380. They cover the distance of Chicago to Pittsburg or Memphis in just three hoursTrains also come out ahead in space requirements. Union Station’s 15 track south concourse is about same width as just one and a half gates at a major airport.

And since large buildings can be built immediately adjacent to a railroad station, many people can walk or take a quick cab ride to their final destination making huge parking lots unnecessary.

The result is much more intense economic activity at a lower cost.

I received a Yellow Fever vaccination from them in August of 2000.  Many African countries will not issue an entry visa without proof of Yellow Fever vaccination, so the certification form is quite important.  I’ve lost mine twice since 2000.  This thank you is about this second replacement, which was actually accomplished today, with Ann doing way more than her job requires.

As a result of some personal and personnel issues in their office, they weren’t able to act on the phone messages I’d been leaving intermittantly for the last 3 weeks.  I finally go ahold of Ann yesterday and she agreed to meet me at a train station near her house to hand off the document.  This is really amazing, because their office is quite a bit further outside the city (and not near a train station) and I have no car, so going all the way out there would’ve been a major hardship.  As it was, I was able to ride my bike 3 miles from my house to the Metra, take the bike on the Metra (remembering to bring a rag to wipe it down from the road grime so the conductors would let me on), get off to get the paperwork and ride 3 miles back east to get on the el (our subway system in Chicago), which was necessary because Metra didn’t have another train back inbound for well over an hour.

Anyway, the point of this is: Thanks Ann!

Governor Rod R. Blagojevich today signed legislation to add Illinois to the Midwest Interstate Passenger Rail Compact (MIPRC), a regional association that promotes the development of intercity rail. House Bill 4344 adds Illinois to the number of Midwestern states working to promote and advocate for passenger rail service on a federal, regional and local level. Last year, Gov. Blagojevich doubled funding for state sponsored passenger rail in Illinois’ partnership with Amtrak, more than doubling the number of daily round-trips on downstate routes.

… Tickets have gone on sale for the new Amtrak Illinois “Lincoln Service” trains on the Chicago –
Springfield – St. Louis corridor. Similar announcements have been made for new service on the Carbondale and Quincy lines.

I live near the California Pink Line station and am excited for increased service!

Late last week, the Illinois Legislature approved its FY2007 budget. It includes the largest expansion of Amtrak service in the State’s history.

Here is what we expect will result from this budget increase:

1) Chicago – Milwaukee: Remains at 7 daily roundtrips.

2) Chicago – Carbondale: Grows from 2 daily roundtrips to 3. Adds a morning northbound and a morning southbound. (100% increase in state-funded service)

3) Chicago – Quincy: Grows from 1 daily roundtrip to 2. Adds a morning westbound and an evening eastbound. (100% increase in state-funded service)

4) Chicago – St. Louis: Grows from 3 daily roundtrips to 5. Adds a morning express train southbound and a more reasonable morning departure out of St. Louis. Also, adds evening trains in both directions. (200% increase in state-funded service)

The target date for start-up is October 2006.