Three-tracking: UPDATED
Today marked the beginning of what I hope will be an extensive and detailed process to educate the public about the challenges and impact of the next major phase of the Brown Line reconstruction project, which will impact customers of Brown, Red, and Purple Lines, as well as the community at large.
As you can see from this news release and this presentation,
three-tracking is going to be very similar to major road construction projects like the Dan Ryan – we’re closing each of our four "lanes", one at a time, between Belmont and Fullerton. This process is necessary as we move the tracks to expand the platforms and make them fully accessible under federal law.
The biggest impact on service in the first phase will be on northbound service between 5:00 and 5:30 p.m., because that's when our current service is running at maximum capacity. Customers are encouraged, if able, to shift their travel times a bit earlier or later -- just as you would for a road construction project.
CTA has been working in advance of this phase to improve the signals and switching near this section of track to facilitate the extra movement and switching of trains from track to track. The imminent completion of the Dan Ryan Red Line project will also help improve service for the entire Red Line. But no level of preparation can completely compensate for reduced capacity.
Just like a major highway project, customers should adjust their travel patterns. Today is just the first of what I expect to be many presentations on this topic.
CTA staff is considering a variety of steps to help mitigate the impact of construction, including additional buses, alternative Purple line stops, and staging trains in different locations to help boost rush hour capacity. I asked staff to make sure that three-tracking does not begin until the major signals and switching work throughout the entire corridor has been completed, tested, and re-tested. Three-tracking will begin no sooner than April 2nd, and will be completed no later than December 2009.
CTA is also planning extensive community and customer outreach efforts to educate people about alternative service. I welcome your comments and ideas.
UPDATE: Thank you all so much for your comments and ideas. Many of them echo questions that my fellow board members and I raised during the first presentation, including things such as reversible tracks; additional Purple line transfer stations; more specific scheduling details for the Brown, Red, and Purple lines; the level of supplemental bus service; and any alternative approaches that were considered. I specifically asked that we at CTA have such a discussion well in advance of three-tracking because I wanted lots of public input and a dialogue about these issues. In addition to comments here and at our board meetings, I have asked that CTA hold multiple community meetings to offer information, answer questions, and solicit additional feedback. These meetings will be held in the evening in neighborhoods that will be affected by three-tracking, and those times and locations will be posted here when they are scheduled. I have also asked CTA staff to prepare responses to questions raised at the board meeting and via customer emails, calls, and comments here on this blog. I expect to have a comprehensive response at our February board meeting.
(In related news, a temporary station will open at Sedgwick this weekend, and CTA plans to begin using the first new track at Fullerton on Monday, January 29th. More information here.)
Finally, the Board insisted that complete three-tracking will begin only when these issues are addressed and the scheduling, switching, and signal processes are tested, re-tested, and tested again.
As you can see from this news release and this presentation,
three-tracking is going to be very similar to major road construction projects like the Dan Ryan – we’re closing each of our four "lanes", one at a time, between Belmont and Fullerton. This process is necessary as we move the tracks to expand the platforms and make them fully accessible under federal law.
The biggest impact on service in the first phase will be on northbound service between 5:00 and 5:30 p.m., because that's when our current service is running at maximum capacity. Customers are encouraged, if able, to shift their travel times a bit earlier or later -- just as you would for a road construction project.
CTA has been working in advance of this phase to improve the signals and switching near this section of track to facilitate the extra movement and switching of trains from track to track. The imminent completion of the Dan Ryan Red Line project will also help improve service for the entire Red Line. But no level of preparation can completely compensate for reduced capacity.
Just like a major highway project, customers should adjust their travel patterns. Today is just the first of what I expect to be many presentations on this topic.
CTA staff is considering a variety of steps to help mitigate the impact of construction, including additional buses, alternative Purple line stops, and staging trains in different locations to help boost rush hour capacity. I asked staff to make sure that three-tracking does not begin until the major signals and switching work throughout the entire corridor has been completed, tested, and re-tested. Three-tracking will begin no sooner than April 2nd, and will be completed no later than December 2009.
CTA is also planning extensive community and customer outreach efforts to educate people about alternative service. I welcome your comments and ideas.
UPDATE: Thank you all so much for your comments and ideas. Many of them echo questions that my fellow board members and I raised during the first presentation, including things such as reversible tracks; additional Purple line transfer stations; more specific scheduling details for the Brown, Red, and Purple lines; the level of supplemental bus service; and any alternative approaches that were considered. I specifically asked that we at CTA have such a discussion well in advance of three-tracking because I wanted lots of public input and a dialogue about these issues. In addition to comments here and at our board meetings, I have asked that CTA hold multiple community meetings to offer information, answer questions, and solicit additional feedback. These meetings will be held in the evening in neighborhoods that will be affected by three-tracking, and those times and locations will be posted here when they are scheduled. I have also asked CTA staff to prepare responses to questions raised at the board meeting and via customer emails, calls, and comments here on this blog. I expect to have a comprehensive response at our February board meeting.
(In related news, a temporary station will open at Sedgwick this weekend, and CTA plans to begin using the first new track at Fullerton on Monday, January 29th. More information here.)
Finally, the Board insisted that complete three-tracking will begin only when these issues are addressed and the scheduling, switching, and signal processes are tested, re-tested, and tested again.
posted by Carole Brown | 1/10/2007 02:51:00 PM
