Metra’s service plan for the CTA Red Line construction project

Metra will be offering a combined fare product with the CTA and Pace and will be modifying the schedule of some of its Metra Electric line trains in order to assist CTA riders during the five-month shutdown of the Red Line on the South Side. The CTA in May 2013 will be starting a major project in which they will close a 10-mile stretch of the Red Line from the Cermak/Chinatown stop to the 95th/Dan Ryan stop for five months in order to completely reconstruct the tracks and improve the stations. The CTA has arranged for extensive alternative service for Red Line riders that relies on the Green Line and shuttle buses. For details about the project and the CTA’s alternative service, please go to www.transitchicago.com/redsouth. For CTA Red Line riders at the southernmost end of the line, the Metra Electric line and Metra Rock Island line may also be alternatives. The Metra Electric line runs to the east of the Red Line and transports riders to Van Buren Station and Millennium Station downtown. The Rock Island line runs to the west of the Red Line and transports riders to LaSalle St. Station downtown. Go to www.metrarail.com for schedule and fare information for both lines, and riders unfamiliar with Metra should visit our New Riders guide under the “Riding Metra” tab at the top of our homepage.

Joint Fare Product To assist Red Line riders and encourage them to use a combination of CTA, Metra and/or Pace, the agencies are offering a joint fare product to be sold through the existing CTA retail network (Jewel, Walgreens, etc.) near the project:  The prepackaged fare product will include a CTA or CTA/Pace 5-day pass and a Metra 10-ride ticket. o CTA will issue a 5-day pass to be sold with Metra Zone B or Zone C 10-ride tickets. The price for the combined fare product will be $52 for Zone B and $64 for Zone C. o CTA and Pace will issue a 5-day pass to be sold with Metra Zone D 10-ride tickets. The price for the combined fare product will be $74.  The CTA, Metra and Pace encourage riders to use the following Metra stations: o Zone B: 63rd St., 75th St. and 79th St. on the Metra Electric and Gresham on the Rock Island. o Zone C: 87th St. and 95th St. on the Metra Electric and 95th (Beverly branch) and 95th (main line) on the Rock Island. . Most of these B and C Zone stations correspond with a Red Line stop and are located along east- west bus routes that also serve the Red Line. (The only exception is Metra’s 75th St. Station; the CTA does not have a 75th St. stop but 75th St. is the closest Metra station to the Red Line’s 69th St. stop.) o Zone D: Harvey on the Metra Electric and Blue Island/Vermont St. on the Rock Island. . These stations serve as convenient transfer points between Metra and a number of Pace bus routes that operate close to them.

Flag stop changes To further assist Red Line riders, Metra will change flag stops to regular stops at five Metra Electric stations located in proximity to the Red Line for two inbound trains, Nos. 100 and 102, during the weekday morning rush hour, and two outbound trains, Nos. 227 and 241, in the weekday evening rush hour. Those stations are: 63rd St., 75th St. (Grand Crossing), 79th St. (Chatham), 87th St. (Woodruff) and 95th St. (Chicago State University). Trains will automatically stop at regular stops, but they will stop at flag stops only when passengers are visible on the platform or when passengers on the train inform a crew member that they want to get off there. In addition, several Saturday trains also will make regular stops, instead of flag stops, at those five stations. Those trains are Nos. 100, 102, 210, 227, 233, 235 and 241. For all other trains on weekdays or weekends, those stations are either regular stops or flag stops. Passengers will need to check the Metra Electric timetable to determine the type of stop it is for the train they wish to take. The timetable lists the time trains are scheduled to depart from each station and flag stops are designated with an “f” next to the departure time.

Parking Red Line riders wishing to drive to a Metra station should consider using the Gresham Station (820 W. 87th St.) or 103rd/Washington Heights Station (10335 S. Vincennes) on the main branch of the Rock Island line or the Brainerd Station (8901 S. Loomis) on the Beverly branch of the Rock Island line. The parking fee is $1.50 a day. Because there are no ticket agents at those stations, riders boarding there can buy one-way tickets on the train (cash only). The one-way fare from Gresham is $3, while the one-way fare from Brainerd and Washington Heights is $4.25. Ten-ride tickets and monthly passes can be purchased online at www.metrarail.com or from ticket agents at LaSalle St. Station.

Metra will be monitoring ridership demands closely during the Red line project to determine if further adjustments are needed.

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