CTA urges full capital funding -- UPDATED

CTA recently completed an update to its capital needs assessment – the funding necessary to bring our system to a state of good repair. Conducted for CTA by a consortium of private engineering firms, this is the first comprehensive update to CTA’s capital needs survey since 1998.

Capital funds are used to pay for construction and renovation of rail stations, bus turnarounds, trackwork, signals, and for the purchase and maintenance of railcars and buses. Because of the long lead time inherent in designing, procuring, and completing capital projects, CTA passes a 5-year capital program. As you can see from this presentation to the CTA board, CTA needs $8.0 billion over the next five years to reach a state of good repair. With just $2.2 billion estimated to be available under current federal and state law, that leaves CTA with a $5.8 billion unfunded capital deficit.

Virtually everything readers here have asked about – viaducts, leaky stations, you name it – is included in the figures on page 17 of the presentation. We have asked for funding to address all of these issues throughout the entire system.

Although operating funding shortfalls have received more public attention, CTA has consistently argued for sufficient capital funds to maintain our infrastructure – particularly after the State of Illinois’ 1999 capital program expired. Old infrastructure is less efficient to operate (think extra buses and personnel moving around to replace broken down equipment), and – as just a few of you have noted – deteriorating infrastructure can result in slower and less attractive service for our customers.

CTA has provided this capital needs assessment to the RTA and the Illinois Auditor General as part of the state’s review of transit funding, and we have asked that the RTA Strategic Plan fund these needs.

Some of you have asked why CTA is pursuing expansions to its service when it also has unmet capital needs. That’s a fair question – in fact, I have testified to the Illinois General Assembly that we first must maintain what we already have.

It is important to understand, however, that there are two basic sources of federal funding – formula funds for ongoing maintenance, and competitive grants for service expansions, which are awarded based on criteria set by Congress. Competitive “New Start” grants such as our Blue and Brown Line reconstruction projects are in effect “found money”. CTA successfully won Cermak and Brown Line projects funding in part because their completion would permit us to expand service. But we are not permitted to divert those funds to basic maintenance projects.

The Illinois Congressional delegation successfully included several additional expansion projects in last year’s federal transportation bill, including extensions of the Red, Orange, and Yellow Line as well as proposed Circle Line and Ogden Avenue Corridor projects. That means these projects are eligible to compete for New Start funds in the next few years. CTA believes these projects will be highly competitive nationally IF our region and the state identify the non-federal capital dollars necessary to match federal funding AND provide the operating and capital funds necessary to run and maintain the system we already have.

While I understand why some of you might be against even considering any extensions until CTA brings the rest of the system into a state of good repair, I don’t agree. This region needs more transit service. For example, far south side and south suburban communities have been waiting for a Red Line extension for decades. They deserve good transit as much as people on the north side and northern suburbs – even if they are half as likely to have easy internet access in order visit a blog. Our region has an obligation to seek federal funds for these extensions just as we have an obligation to maintain what we already have.

State officials have said they will leave no federal dollars on the table. The only way to do that is to make major new capital and operating investments in transit.

UPDATE -- Some in the comments appear to have missed the part where I told the General Assembly “we first must maintain what we already have” (emphasis added). That does not mean we cannot "consider" and plan for what comes next. In fact, I will continue to be an advocate for expanding transit – including planning for congressionally authorized projects – because it is clear to me that our region needs more transit. What it does mean, in my view, is that those elected officials who support expansion must also support the capital and operating funding necessary to run the existing system . Perhaps more importantly, that’s the federal government’s view as well. This region – Metra, Pace, and CTA – will not be competitive for increased federal funding to build expansions unless northeastern Illinois puts funding in place to run and maintain the system we already have.

Pink Line ridership +14%, FP Blue Line +9%

At the August Chicago Transit Board meeting CTA staff provided a preliminary update on West Side and West Suburban Corridor improvements launched in June, including the new Pink Line service and improved bus routes.

To summarize, Pink Line (Cermak Branch) ridership is up 14%, Blue Line Forest Park Branch ridership is up 9%, and total ridership on the revised bus routes is up 1%. Note that bus improvements historically take more time to show ridership gains as customers explore out various options. (This was the case on south and north lakeshore corridor improvements a few years ago (6 months: +1%, 24 months; +~5%).

I'll continue to monitor ridership data and the feedback you provide, so please keep it coming.

Construction updates

As promised, I raised the concerns many of you have shared about Red and Blue Line slow zones at this week's CTA board meeting. As you can see from this updated map, we've had a significant increase in slow zones on the Blue Line. This has been caused in part by an abundance of caution as we increase inspections following last month's derailment. Once those very detailed inspections are complete, it is anticipated that much of these slow zones will be lifted. Our recent heat wave is also responsible for some of these zones, particularly on our older infrastructure.

I have asked staff to do everything they can to adjust/increase service around these slow zones to mitigate the delays and crowded trains you have been experiencing.

On the Red Line, CTA staff said they continue to plan eliminating all of the slow zones on the north Red Line before the end of the year in anticipation of three-track operations at Belmont and Fullerton. We also scheduled the Clark Junction work to be done ahead of the three-track situation so that we will have as much flexibility as possible to provide maximum service levels.

I have asked staff to consider all of the suggestions and concerns you have raised about the challenges of 3-track operations, and to provide a more comprehensive plan in the next few weeks.