PROGRAM &BUDGET BOOK ® 2014 ® ® www.metrarail.com C Metra System Map D Table of Contents System Overview 2 Board of Directors 2 Board of Directors’ Letter 3 Interim Executive Director’s Letter 4 Vision 2014 6 Staying on Track 8 Organization 10 Moving the Agency Forward 24 Oversight 25 Maintaining Our System: State of Good Repair 26 Ridership 30 Fares 32 Recovery Ratio 33 Capital Program 33 Non-Capital Programs 36 2014 Budget Overview 41 Appendix 44 1 SYSTEM OVERVIEW Metra by the Numbers • 241 Stations (5 downtown and 236 outlying) Metra is geographically one of the largest • 90,019 Parking Spaces commuter rail systems in the nation, • 1,155 Miles of Track serving a six-county region of more than • 487.7 Route Miles 3,700 square miles. This complex system • 821 Bridges is comprised of 11 rail lines operating over • 571 Grade Crossings more than 1,100 miles of track, 800 bridges, • 24 Rail Yards (6 downtown, 18 outlying) and 2,000 signals. • 10 Electrical Substations 4 • 5 Electrical Tie Stations Metra’s 241 stations, including five stations • 12 Fuel Facilities in the Chicago Central Business District, are served by 700 trains each weekday. The railroad uses more than 1,100 pieces of rolling stock, storing and maintaining this equipment at 24 rail yards and seven Board of Directors maintenance facilities. Metra also oversees Jack Partelow Don A. De Graff and maintains more than 400 station Acting Chairman Director platforms and provides more than 90,000 Will County Suburban Cook County parking spaces. Jack Schaffer Martin J. Oberman Treasurer Director Metra, the Commuter Rail Service Board McHenry County City of Chicago of the RTA, assumed direct responsibility Arlene J. Mulder John R. Plante for commuter railroad operations for Secretary Director Northeastern Illinois in 1984. Metra Suburban Cook County Suburban Cook County 201 operates service directly on seven lines and Manuel Barbosa Brian K. Reaves through purchase of service agreements Director Director with two freight railroads on four lines. Kane County Suburban Cook County Since 1985, Metra ridership has grown by Romayne Brown John P. Zediker 31.1 percent and train miles have increased Director Director by 32.2 percent. Metra projects it will have Cook County DuPage County provided 81.6 million rides in 2013, a 0.4 Norman Carlson percent increase from 2012. Donald A. Orseno Director Interim Executive Director/CEO Lake County 2 Board of Directors’ Letter To the riders and taxpayers of Northeast Illinois, The Metra Board of Directors present for your review Metra’s 2014 A railroad’s costs are largely fixed. Thus, any increase in business has a Program and Budget document, which outlines our operating budget large impact on the bottom line. The Board wants to create incentives and capital program for the coming year. for people to use our service. To that end, we will be reviewing our fare policies to ensure we attract and retain customers and have policies The budget for 2014 is balanced and meets the requirements of that are consistent and equitable. We are also supporting projects to the Regional Transportation Authority Act. The operating budget advance the development and implementation of an electronic fare includes no fare increase for 2014 and recognizes the constraints collection system and additional passenger amenities such as Wi- placed upon us by our funding sources, while the capital program Fi. We understand that the first and last mile of any trip is a critical 4 focuses on projects necessary to maintain and enhance our existing component in the decision to use mass transit and will ask staff to infrastructure. examine our schedules with an eye to achieving seamless connectivity with CTA and Pace. By improving the customer experience, Metra will The Metra Board has devoted considerable thought to several issues secure rider loyalty, increase ridership and ultimately increase our that we feel the agency must begin to address in 2014 to move forward value to the region’s transportation network. and meet the needs of our region for today and the future. They are, in short: people, processes and procedures, and passengers. The driving Metra’s ability to meet these challenges will have a large part in force behind these proposals is to achieve excellent customer service. determining our future success. The most serious challenge to mass transit in Northeast Illinois, and across the nation, is the lack of Metra’s success is built on a dedicated group of employees who work capital funding. Fares and sales tax subsidies cover our operating long hours to keep our trains running on time. In recent years, Metra costs but do not provide a consistent source of funding for capital has had difficulty retaining and attracting people in many professional expenses. Mass transit has always been forced to rely upon sporadic positions. To address this, the Board firmly believes that Metra must state and federal grants to cover the costs of maintaining and perform a comprehensive review of its human resources needs. This replacing our assets. We estimate that Metra will need approximately includes career development, retention planning and the development $9.7 billion over the next decade just to keep our current assets in a of an attractive compensation plan that fits within the budget. state of good repair, but current funding formulas show that we can This is critical to Metra’s success and we hope that our passengers expect to receive approximately 20 percent of that amount. We are understand that it is critical to them as well. committed as a Board and an agency to promoting the need for a 201 stable source of capital dollars from both federal and state sources. The next area that we believe requires attention is the agency’s We are also committed to the idea that any such funding source must internal processes and procedures. We find that some of our existing be allocated fairly to benefit the entire region. Without a stable source processes have been in place for a long time and may need freshening of capital dollars, mass transit in Northeast Illinois is not economically to allow Metra to fully benefit from new technologies and respond to sustainable over the long term. a dynamic business environment. The driving force behind all these proposals is our passengers. The goals that we have outlined here are necessary to secure the sustainability of Metra and the region’s mass transit system. The Metra Board of Directors 3 Interim Executive Director’s Letter Metra is proud that we provide more than We have been deliberate in our stakeholder As you can see, there are many exciting 300,000 rides each weekday, getting our engagement through marketing campaigns things happening at Metra. We anticipate passengers to their destinations safely and to increase ridership and inform our 2014 will be a great year for new beginnings, reliably. Metra’s more than 4,400 dedicated customers about transit benefits programs, continued growth and improvements. employees are focused every day on and for the first time we partnered with Providing good commuter service, meeting providing the best possible commuter rail NBC 5 in a back-to-school supply drive. our on-time performance goals, being fiscally service. Riders can be assured that Metra is We carried out another successful school prudent and striving to be a world-class strong and steady. safety poster contest and have launched the railroad are our top priorities in serving 8th annual campaign. We have increased Metra customers. There are many examples of good things advertising revenue by 34 percent and we happening at Metra. Third-quarter ridership have developed new advertising products. Don Orseno numbers are up. We are excited about our Interim Executive Director/CEO new cars for the Metra Electric Line that Metra has a variety of other plans in the continue to roll out of the factory at a rate of works to benefit our riders. In 2014, we four to six a month. Those cars are bringing want to enhance the public’s trust in Metra, more reliable service, and for the first time, and we know the best way to do that is to bathrooms to the Metra Electric. We continue concentrate on operating safely and reliably to renovate 176 cars into like-new condition and on spending public dollars wisely. for our diesel lines in-house, which has Beyond that, we also want to boost our saved us money and allowed us to add such riders’ experience by continuing to explore amenities as electrical outlets and intercoms new initiatives that will take our customer for passengers. It has also provided jobs service to the next level. right here in Chicago. In addition, major projects such as the UP North bridge work, the Englewood flyover bridge and station rehabilitations remain on track. 4 5 VISION 2014 Metra’s Mission As Metra navigates the sluggish economic Metra’s Mission & Vision recovery and diminishing capital resources, During Metra’s strategic planning process we are reaffirming the goals that have As part of which was initiated in 2012, mission helped us create our current rail system. and vision statements for the agency a regional These include: providing a high-quality travel were developed with input from staff, experience for our customers; effectively senior leadership, the Board of Directors, transportation communicating with our customers and stakeholders and the general public. Metra’s stakeholders; maintaining customer security mission statement describes the overall network, Metra and emergency preparedness; ensuring purpose of the organization, and Metra’s financial stability; achieving a state of good provides safe, vision statement describes where we are repair; strengthening ties with the regional going.