OF THE STATE 2018 SYSTEM CHICAGO DIVISION OF Strategic Capital Planning AUGUST 2018 TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION 1 METRA INFRASTRUCTURE 4 CENTRAL BUSINESS DISTRICT MARKET 30 UNION PACIFIC - NORTH LINE 36 MILWAUKEE DISTRICT - NORTH LINE 48 NORTH CENTRAL SERVICE 60 UNION PACIFIC - NORTHWEST LINE 72 MILWAUKEE DISTRICT - WEST LINE 86 UNION PACIFIC - WEST LINE 98 BNSF RAILWAY LINE 112 HERITAGE CORRIDOR LINE 126 SOUTHWEST SERVICE LINE 138 ROCK ISLAND LINE 150 METRA ELECTRIC LINE 164 SOUTH SHORE LINE 182 APPENDIX 188 LIST OF ACRONYMS METRA LINES BNSF BNSF Railway HC Heritage Corridor MD-N Milwaukee District-North MD-W Milwaukee District-West ME Metra Electric NCS North Central Service RI Rock Island SWS SouthWest Service UP-N Union Pacific-North UP-NW Union Pacific-Northwest UP-W Union Pacific-West AC Alternating current ADA Americans with Disabilities Act AED Automatic External Defibrillators AESS Automatic Engine Start-Stop System ARRA American Recovery and Reinvestment Act ATWS Another Train Warning System BRC Belt Railway of Chicago BRT Bus Rapid Transit C&NW Chicago and NorthWestern Railroad CB&Q Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad CBD Central Business District CCF Consolidated Control Facility CIP (75th Street) Corridor Improvement Project CMAP Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning CMAQ Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program CN Canadian National COST Capital Optimization Support Tool CP Canadian Pacific CRB Commuter Rail Board CRD Commuter Rail Division (of the RTA) CREATE Chicago Region Environmental and Transportation Efficiency Program CRI&P Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad CSS&SB Chicago, South Shore and South Bend Railroad CTA Chicago Transit Authority CTC Centralized Traffic Control CTCO Chicago Transportation Coordination Office CUS Chicago Union Station DC Direct current EMU Electric-multiple unit FRA Federal Railroad Administration FTA Federal Transit Administration GPS Global Positioning System HVAC Heating, ventilation and air conditioning IC Illinois Central Railroad INFRA Infrastructure for Rebuilding America LCD Liquid crystal display LEED Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design NICTD Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District NIRCRC Northeastern Illinois Regional Commuter Railroad Corporation NS Norfolk Southern OTC Ogilvie Transportation Center PPP Public-private partnership PSA Purchase of service agreement PTC Positive Train Control RTA Regional Transportation Authority SAFETEA-LU Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users TIGER Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery UIC University of Illinois at Chicago UP Union Pacific Railroad INTRODUCTION Geographically, Metra is one of the largest commuter rail systems in the nation, serving a six-county region of more than 3,700 square miles. This complex system is comprised of 11 rail lines operating on 488 route miles, including 1,100 miles of track, 800 bridges, and 2,000 signals. Each weekday, 685 trains serve 242 stations, including five stations in Chicago’s Central Business District (CBD), and provide approximately 270,000 trips. Metra’s service area is at the center of the nation’s rail network, and Metra commuter service must be closely coordinated with the movements of around 600 freight and passenger trains also operating in the Chicago region each day. Metra: State of the System provides a broad view of Metra’s infrastructure, operating environment, and customer base, to help readers gain perspective on the complexities of Metra’s system and provide context for agency strategic planning efforts. Following chapters on Metra’s origins, physical assets and CBD market, the document explores the Metra system on a line-by-line basis. Line-specific chapters include historical information about each corridor as well as descriptions of the line’s infrastructure, particular operating limitations, and service and station characteristics. Past, present, and projected future ridership demand, including growing reverse commute and non-downtown markets, is examined. Line chapters include a demographic analysis of each fare zone in the corridor and discuss improvements that have been made to track and signal infrastructure, station facilities, and parking. Metra: State of the System focuses on Metra’s existing system, and builds on Metra’s Future Agenda for Suburban Transportation (1992), which emphasized the agency’s long-term investment needs and proposed expansion projects. This document also complements Metra’s annual Program and Budget Book, which provides a near-term view of agency activities and planned investments. 2 | METRA STATE OF THE SYSTEM — INTRODUCTION HISTORICAL OVERVIEW 2017 Average trip length: 22.4 miles The Northeastern Illinois Regional Commuter Railroad Corporation (NIRCRC) 2017 Average fare paid: is a public corporation of the State of Illinois that was authorized by statute $4.60 and created by Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) ordinance in 1980. Source: Ridership Trends Report, Dec. 2017 The corporation, commonly known as Metra, is the primary operator of commuter passenger rail services in the six-county Chicago metropolitan Number of stations: area in Northeast Illinois. 242 System route length: The RTA was formed in 1974, initially to provide financial assistance to 488 miles troubled passenger rail operators and suburban bus companies throughout Number of weekday trains: the region. To keep the patchwork of public transportation providers running, 685 voters in the six-county Chicago area, comprised of Cook, DuPage, Kane, 2017 On-time performance*: Lake, McHenry and Will Counties, authorized the RTA’s creation. 95.6% * On-time Performance Report, Dec. 2017 From the beginning, the RTA’s mission has been to coordinate and assist public transportation and to serve as the conduit for state and federal subsidies needed to keep the system operational. The RTA did not at first directly operate commuter rail service (or any other transit service), but paid private railroads to do so under purchase of service agreements (PSAs). The RTA, along with the suburban Mass Transit Districts, began to reverse decades of disinvestment in the overall commuter rail system, primarily by buying new locomotives and cars. However, with the bankruptcies of the Rock Island and the Milwaukee Road together with the financial difficulties of the Illinois Central, the Illinois General Assembly gave the RTA the authority to directly own and operate (through NIRCRC) commuter railroad operations and the RTA eventually bought the tracks of those railroads over which commuter trains operated. In 1983, the General Assembly reorganized the RTA into a planning and financial oversight agency (rather than a direct operator of transit service) and created the Commuter Rail Division (CRD) and the Suburban Bus Division (Pace Suburban Bus). Along with the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA), previously established in 1947, the three agencies (now known as service boards) fell under the financial oversight umbrella of the RTA. The CRD is responsible for commuter rail throughout the six Northeast Illinois counties, Pace for the suburban bus and regional ADA paratransit system, and the CTA continues to be responsible for rapid transit and bus service, primarily within the city of Chicago. Under this arrangement, each service board is responsible for day-to-day operations and maintenance, setting fare policy, and planning for services and facilities for their respective systems. The service mark “Metra” is co-registered and controlled by NIRCRC and CRD. NIRCRC operates as a separate corporation but is governed by the Commuter Rail Board (CRB), which also governs the CRD. The CRB is responsible for the commuter passenger rail operations, capital investments, finances, fare policy, and service and facilities planning for the system. Revenues come METRA STATE OF THE SYSTEM — INTRODUCTION | 3 from local sales taxes in each of the six counties in which Metra operates, farebox recovery, and capital credits and leases. Of the Metra CRB’s 11 members, five are appointed by County Board chairs or chief executives from the collar counties, four are appointed by the suburban Cook County board members, one is appointed by the Cook County President, and one is appointed by the Mayor of Chicago. The CRB’s Chairman is elected by the members of the CRB. The Metra workforce is made up of over 4,400 employees, including union members, management staff, and employees of privately owned railroads operating under PSAs with Metra. TABLE 1A: 2016 SYSTEMWIDE WEEKDAY BOARDINGS Time of Day Inbound Outbound AM Peak 111,179 7,303 Midday 13,382 13,227 PM Peak 9,430 102,388 Evening 2,735 11,997 TOTAL 136,726 134,915 Source: Metra Weekday Station Boardings and Alightings by Time-of-Day and Direction, 2016 TABLE 1B: SYSTEMWIDE ANNUAL PASSENGER TRIPS 1983 — 2017, in millions YEAR Note: Excludes South Shore. From 2008, figures include free Circuit Permit trips. 2008-2011 figures include free senior trips; this program ended September 2011. Worker monitors switch heaters at A-2 crossing METRA INFRASTRUCTURE near Western and Grand in Chicago Photo: Mark Llanuza OVERVIEW Metra operates eleven main lines radiating from the Chicago Central Business District throughout Chicago and the six-county area. Diesel- powered service operates on the BNSF Railway (BNSF), Union Pacific–North (UP-N), Union Pacific–Northwest (UP-NW), Union Pacific–West (UP-W), SouthWest Service (SWS), Milwaukee District–North (MD-N), Milwaukee District–West