# Overnight on the Chicago El



## NorthShore (May 4, 2022)

Another thread started to wander in the direction of conditions on some systems, especially CTA, since the pandemic. This is a fairly representative picture of the situation, especially late/over night. Though I do think that riding further north on these lines around or after midnight would have effaced more mischief and the sense of discomfort that a lot of riders have felt of late.









El of a Night: Twelve Hours on the Red and Blue Lines | Newcity


While I ride CTA trains a few times a week, I was interested in getting a better sense of what conditions are like on the El at other times of the day. So I hung out on the Red and Blue routes from 5pm to 5am.




www.newcity.com


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## NorthShore (May 4, 2022)

Riding towards O'Hare around 3 or 4 A.M would have also offered perspective on the early airport rush hour, when trains have a lot of airport employees and flight attendants onboard.


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## Everydaymatters (May 5, 2022)

NorthShore said:


> Another thread started to wander in the direction of conditions on some systems, especially CTA, since the pandemic. This is a fairly representative picture of the situation, especially late/over night. Though I do think that riding further north on these lines around or after midnight would have effaced more mischief and the sense of discomfort that a lot of riders have felt of late.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Thanks, Tim. Reminded me of my granddaughter riding all night when she suddenly found herself without student housing at Loyola!


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## rs9 (May 6, 2022)

As a Chicago resident, I've found myself transitioning to more bus usage than train usage. While it might not actually be true, the buses feel safer, especially at night.

While the situation and its causes are complex, it's hard to justify using the Red Line if I can avoid it. In my life situation, I can as of now.


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## joelkfla (May 6, 2022)

rs9 said:


> As a Chicago resident, I've found myself transitioning to more bus usage than train usage. While it might not actually be true, the buses feel safer, especially at night.


Probably is. You have a driver who can radio for help, if nothing else. At least some buses have a panic button that silently signals an emergency to the dispatcher, and displays "CALL 911" on the destination signs.


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## Metra Electric Rider (May 9, 2022)

One of my friends used to live on Austin in Oak Park back in our younger days. She said that there were (this would have been back in the era when Princess Di was killed - cue shocked scream for those of you who get that obscure reference...) times when the blue line was unpalatable after clubbing, but then after a certain hour the shift workers were commuting (as in overnight and weird hour shifts) and the, well, timbre, of the ride improved. Don't know if that's still the case out that way.


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## NorthShore (May 10, 2022)

joelkfla said:


> Probably is. You have a driver who can radio for help, if nothing else. At least some buses have a panic button that silently signals an emergency to the dispatcher, and displays "CALL 911" on the destination signs.



It used to be the case, on CTA Ls (especially overnight in the days when they only ran 2 car trains) that passengers would intentionally ride in the conductor's car, due to a sense of safety with a CTA employee present and watchful. And since that was, typically, the more populated car, there was an additional sense of safety in numbers. Even if one rode in the motorman's car, at least there was a CTA employee nearby.

I can see how this same sensibility might apply on a bus, a sort of compact vehicle with limited passengers and an employee readily present. Whereas, on the L there are no conductors and several cars, so no one is as clearly nearby and protective.


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## NorthShore (May 10, 2022)

Metra Electric Rider said:


> One of my friends used to live on Austin in Oak Park back in our younger days. She said that there were (this would have been back in the era when Princess Di was killed - cue shocked scream for those of you who get that obscure reference...) times when the blue line was unpalatable after clubbing, but then after a certain hour the shift workers were commuting (as in overnight and weird hour shifts) and the, well, timbre, of the ride improved. Don't know if that's still the case out that way.



The pandemic affected a lot. As did gentrification in Logan Square before that. There's much more ridership than 20 to 30 years ago. Weekends, you'll have tourists staying at the outlying hotels near the airport, along with young suburbanites finding their way to a parking lot or pickup. But, generally, I'd agree with this sentiment, at least Thur-Sat. Other nights, lots of restaurant/bar workers and office cleaning ladies late, along with people out for the night, especially post entertainment be it sports, music, theater. 

CTA often was not running enough service and short trains of 4 cars, causing cramming and crowding. I, once, was on a totally packed train which I didn't think could hold anyone else. It stopped at a subway station beyond downtown and had not yet been clearing riders. A family of four or five was standing on the platform where we stopped and made a shoving run for the doors, as might be experienced in Asia. Somehow, we all fit in.

It's interesting to see the overnight buses on the 24 hour route along my street. It's busy both directions until after 1, but especially crowded with riders transferring from the blue line. After that, buses from that terminal are relatively empty as buses in the other direction start to get fairly full by the 3 A.M. blue line arrivals for O'Hare transfers.


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## Metra Electric Rider (May 10, 2022)

NorthShore said:


> The pandemic affected a lot. As did gentrification in Logan Square before that. There's much more ridership than 20 to 30 years ago. Weekends, you'll have tourists staying at the outlying hotels near the airport, along with young suburbanites finding their way to a parking lot or pickup. But, generally, I'd agree with this sentiment, at least Thur-Sat. Other nights, lots of restaurant/bar workers and office cleaning ladies late, along with people out for the night, especially post entertainment be it sports, music, theater.
> 
> CTA often was not running enough service and short trains of 4 cars, causing cramming and crowding. I, once, was on a totally packed train which I didn't think could hold anyone else. It stopped at a subway station beyond downtown and had not yet been clearing riders. A family of four or five was standing on the platform where we stopped and made a shoving run for the doors, as might be experienced in Asia. Somehow, we all fit in.
> 
> It's interesting to see the overnight buses on the 24 hour route along my street. It's busy both directions until after 1, but especially crowded with riders transferring from the blue line. After that, buses from that terminal are relatively empty as buses in the other direction start to get fairly full by the 3 A.M. blue line arrivals for O'Hare transfers.


Yeah, the NW branch has changed, but I wonder about the Forest Park branch - that hasn't seen the gentrification.


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## NorthShore (May 10, 2022)

Metra Electric Rider said:


> Yeah, the NW branch has changed, but I wonder about the Forest Park branch - that hasn't seen the gentrification.



Every time I ride that branch, especially outside rush hour, it seems almost abandoned, not just in slow zones but generally little ridership. I almost think running express buses would be more efficient, if it weren't for the need to get railcars from the yard in Forest Park.


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## Deni (May 11, 2022)

rs9 said:


> As a Chicago resident, I've found myself transitioning to more bus usage than train usage. While it might not actually be true, the buses feel safer, especially at night.
> 
> While the situation and its causes are complex, it's hard to justify using the Red Line if I can avoid it. In my life situation, I can as of now.


I've been choosing the bus over the L a lot more lately myself (when I'm not biking, which is my main mode), especially in off (any non-rush) hours. The Blue Line especially has been such a s**t-show lately that my family likely won't take it to the airport in July when we fly out for our vacation to Germany, and opt for a taxi instead. And we NEVER do that, we always take transit to the airport.


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## Michigan Mom (May 12, 2022)

Can I ask why the CTA Blue Line has been a ... show lately? I'm looking at an upcoming Chicago excursion for the holiday weekend and the downtown hotels are crazy expensive, so a hotel along the CTA line might work better. Either ORD or Midway, although, I guess the latter would actually involve the Orange Line.


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## Metra Electric Rider (May 12, 2022)

Michigan Mom said:


> Can I ask why the CTA Blue Line has been a ... show lately? I'm looking at an upcoming Chicago excursion for the holiday weekend and the downtown hotels are crazy expensive, so a hotel along the CTA line might work better. Either ORD or Midway, although, I guess the latter would actually involve the Orange Line.


It's the el in general... There are a couple hotels that are Metra accessible in Hyde Park and there are a few up in Lincoln Park on bus lines if you're looking for a Chicago experience.


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## SarahZ (May 12, 2022)

joelkfla said:


> Probably is. You have a driver who can radio for help, if nothing else. At least some buses have a panic button that silently signals an emergency to the dispatcher, and displays "CALL 911" on the destination signs.


It’s also much easier to escape a bus. It’s simply a matter of pulling over quickly and opening all of the doors.


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## PaTrainFan (May 12, 2022)

A few years ago I stayed at the Carleton in Oak Park for a reasonable price. Of course I don't know how reasonable it is now. An older, but nice property just a couple of blocks from the CTA (I forget which line, think Harlem)


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## joelkfla (May 13, 2022)

PaTrainFan said:


> A few years ago I stayed at the Carleton in Oak Park for a reasonable price. Of course I don't know how reasonable it is now. An older, but nice property just a couple of blocks from the CTA (I forget which line, think Harlem)


Me, too, in 2019. It was nice, and the bar & grill off the lobby had a good breakfast (looks like that's been discontinued.)

There are both a Green Line "L" station & a Metra station side by side 2 blocks away.


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## caravanman (May 13, 2022)

It was often my preferred money saving option to get a hotel near to O'Hare airport, and travel into Chicago on the blue line. Never had any worries or problems, but it has been several years...
Are things measurably more "dangerous" these days?
I am getting a little more cautious in general as I age, but I often wonder if my "concerns" are just a product of me getting older, or are an honest reaction to genuine issues?
It seems easy to pick up on other folks fears, generating a snowball of unfounded worry... What do the statistics actually say?

I am a great fan of architect Frank Lloyd Wright's buildings in Oak Park, the Unity Temple and several houses are well worth a visit if you stay there. The childhood home of Hemmingway is also located in Oak Park.


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## Trogdor (May 13, 2022)

Michigan Mom said:


> Can I ask why the CTA Blue Line has been a ... show lately? I'm looking at an upcoming Chicago excursion for the holiday weekend and the downtown hotels are crazy expensive, so a hotel along the CTA line might work better. Either ORD or Midway, although, I guess the latter would actually involve the Orange Line.



There are a few key issues, some of which are general societal issues, some specific to CTA, and some which are specific to the Blue Line. 

I’m not going to go into the societal problems, except to say that things have been headed this way for a long time (even when things appeared to be improving), with crime rates accelerating in the past few years, and then things really falling apart during COVID and in the aftermath of the unrest/fallout of the George Floyd murder. A lot of the fallout of these issues are persisting, with no real end in site.

On the CTA side, their biggest problem has been the dishonesty that the agency has adopted as official policy with respect to operating conditions during COVID. CTA has continually claimed that they are the only large agency not to cut service during COVID (they even won an award from APTA for it, and their president, Dorval Carter was recognized by APTA as outstanding manager of the year or something for this work, all of which led to the CTA board giving Dorval and his executive team a 33% pay raise last fall for all of his “outstanding” work and blah blah blah…). This is just one big lie (or any other strong derogatory term you want to use).

The reality is that only “on paper” has full service been maintained. On the street (or on the rails), a good 25-30% of the service has not operated. On the rail system, they absolutely adjusted the schedule behind the scenes. They just never published the new schedule to the public. They also adjusted the rail schedule in such a way that it actually made it more difficult to fill the (reduced) schedule than if they’d just gone ahead and published said schedule officially.

To understand how/why this is a problem, you have to understand how work gets assigned to operators at virtually any public transit agency in North America. At CTA (and pretty much anywhere else), every few months they will publish a new set of schedules to be operated for an upcoming period. The schedules aren’t just the times a bus or train will be somewhere. They are also (and, from the standpoint of the schedulers, more significantly) where and when each operator run will have to report, what they will be driving while on their shift, where/when to take breaks, where/when they will finish, and which operator run will take over for them at the end of their work day (or if they are bringing the vehicle back to the yard to park). This is an overly simplified view, but basically there is a very delicate set of interconnected pieces that all have to work together in order for the schedule to function properly.

Once these schedules are published, operators will, in seniority order (i.e. starting with whoever has been working there the longest, finishing with whoever just got hired most recently), choose which of those operator runs they want to work, and on which days of the week. Basically, the most senior folks get to pick from the entire slate (subject to certain rules; at CTA the restrictions are that you must only pick from what is posted to your bus garage or your rail terminal; there is a separate process for giving operators the opportunity to change which garage/terminal they work out of). The next-most-senior operators can pick from anything except what the seniormost guys picked. And so on…down to the least senior folks (or “juniorest”?) that basically get the leftover scraps. These leftover scraps are generally the least desirable, often working either long split shifts with barely-minimum overnight rest, and/or night shifts on routes that have rougher operating conditions (historically, the “early straight,” or something that reports around 5-6 am and works until early afternoon, is typically the category that goes first, as it only deals with folks going to work, and then a lighter midday load; this gives operators the opportunity to work overtime in the afternoon rush, or just take the rest of the day off; weekend and night work tends to be leftover more often).

Now, take the above and introduce something like COVID. COVID has given us (among other things), a staffing shortage. The shortage comes in two parts. First is the higher absenteeism related to more people being sick, and their time off being longer (e.g., the 14-day quarantines, when previously an illness might have you out for a day or two at most). Second is the fact that staffing levels themselves are lower, as hiring and retention are more difficult.

Since the success of the entire operation is dependent on all of those carefully scheduled pieces falling into place, if you have a higher level of absenteeism, your extra board (drivers without regular schedules, but who are available for day-to-day assignments) gets depleted quite quickly. Once it’s used up, the next person that calls in sick; well, their scheduled run doesn’t operate. Anybody waiting for the bus or train that they were supposed to run will have to wait an extra headway for the next one.

Then, consider that actual staffing is reduced from where you planned it to be. This makes things even worse, still. Consider the above practice of operators picking their work in advance. When fully staffed, the last few drivers on the seniority list get the leftovers. Now, consider what happens when your staffing is 5% or 10% less than you scheduled around. Instead of those leftovers going to the last person hired, those leftovers go to…nobody. Because you went through your seniority list of operators and then ran out of drivers before you ran out of work. This disproportionately affects certain routes, certain times of the day, and certain days of the week (i.e. anything that is less desirable to work). So while the morning rush hour can seem like everything is running fine, the weekends and evenings are just a nightmare.

Now we get to some Blue Line specific issues, again, related to CTA’s general lack of honesty. The reality is that, even without the operator shortage, the Blue Line cannot run to schedule. The schedule is built based on the assumed conditions of several years ago. Meanwhile, they have been doing some signal and power upgrades on the north end, resulting in single-tracking and other disruptions. These are not accounted for in the schedule.

Even worse, however, is that the south end (Congress branch) is significantly slow-ordered because of a deterioration in the track and roadbed. (As a side note, this is because highway medians are a terrible place to build rail transit, and more specifically, the highway medians CTA uses do not have proper drainage, so whenever it rains, it all just goes into the ballast and loosens it up over time, degrades the ties, etc.).

In reality, the Congress branch takes 10-20 minutes longer than scheduled. It is just a pathetic stretch of railroad. The seemingly obvious solution would be to extend the schedule in the short-term (and do repairs for longer-term improvements). However, by extending the schedule by that amount, the Blue Line would take so long that operators could not legally do three round-trips in a day, which is what they are scheduled to do currently. This would mean either increasing the staffing levels (not possible right now), or reducing (on paper) the amount of scheduled service to reflect their ability to operate. Since CTA’s executives have this mindset that they’d rather look good on paper rather than run properly in reality, the option of modifying the schedules was rejected in favor of sticking their heads in the sand.

A friend of mine built a tracker that measures the CTA Blue Line’s operational performance vs. schedule, and on weekdays, they are running, at best, 50-60% of their service. On weekends, its even worse. Gaps of 30-45 minutes during the daytime are sadly normal because of this mess. And as long as CTA as an agency refuses to do anything but put a footnote on a service alert about “COVID-19 related staffing shortages” rather than scheduling around the number they expect to have in the foreseeable future, the service will continue to struggle.


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## Deni (May 13, 2022)

Michigan Mom said:


> Can I ask why the CTA Blue Line has been a ... show lately? I'm looking at an upcoming Chicago excursion for the holiday weekend and the downtown hotels are crazy expensive, so a hotel along the CTA line might work better. Either ORD or Midway, although, I guess the latter would actually involve the Orange Line.


Trogdor pretty much summed it up in a pretty detailed way. All of the issues he mentioned are why the Blue Line in particular has been so bad. In short, first thing is it is undependable. He mentioned that you cans sometimes wait 30-45 minutes for a train and he is not exaggerating. Even more frustrating is that the train tracker display board will say a train is coming in xx minutes and then when it gets down to one minute or so it just disappears from the display and no train shows up. We've started calling them ghost trains.

When a train does show it is packed, there are unhoused people sleeping across the seats, there may be people openly smoking and playing loud music, the trains are extremely dirty with trash and cigarette butts. It is just a wholly unpleasant experience. And it feels unsafe. The smoking and music thing is more than just an annoyance, the people who do it seem to be just wanting people to ask them to stop so they can start a fight. There are issues on the other lines as well but nothing is as bad as the Blue Line, as far as I've seen.

Of all the on-and-off years I've lived in Chicago the Blue Line has always seemed to be the worst line (longest waits, always have the oldest cars, more slow zones, etc.) which doesn't make any sense to me as it is the gateway line to Chicago from the airport. It should be the best line.


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## Metra Electric Rider (May 13, 2022)

Trogdor said:


> On the CTA side, their biggest problem has been the dishonesty that the agency has adopted as official policy with respect to operating conditions during COVID. CTA has continually claimed that they are the only large agency not to cut service during COVID (they even won an award from APTA for it, and their president, Dorval Carter was recognized by APTA as outstanding manager of the year or something for this work, all of which led to the CTA board giving Dorval and his executive team a 33% pay raise last fall for all of his “outstanding” work and blah blah blah…). This is just one big lie (or any other strong derogatory term you want to use).
> s are published, operators will, in seniority order (i.e. starting with whoever has been working there the longest, finishing with whoever just
> 
> Now we get to some Blue Line specific issues, again, related to CTA’s general lack of honesty. The reality is that, even without the operator shortage, the Blue Line cannot run to schedule. The schedule is built based on the assumed conditions of several years ago. Meanwhile, they have been doing some signal and power upgrades on the north end, resulting in single-tracking and other disruptions. These are not accounted for in the schedule.



Great summary! I argued about this before with people - I always felt that the cta reduced service on the red line in the first half of the century (so far) but people pooh poohed it, including somebody who claimed to work for the cta. It was noticeable that trains were further apart at the morning rush period.

They've also gotten really bad about construction announcements - one of my friends was heading out to O'Hare recently and she checked the various media and there was no scheduled construction so she took the bus to the el and then the el to O'Hare. Lo and behold, at Rosement (or possibly Cumberland, bit I think it was Rosemont) there was a switch to a shuttle bus that had not been announced.


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## NorthShore (May 13, 2022)

Metra Electric Rider said:


> Great summary! I argued about this before with people - I always felt that the cta reduced service on the r
> They've also gotten really bad about construction announcements - one of my friends was heading out to O'Hare recently and she checked the various media and there was no scheduled construction so she took the bus to the el and then the el to O'Hare. Lo and behold, at Rosement (or possibly Cumberland, bit I think it was Rosemont) there was a switch to a shuttle bus that had not been announced.



Actually, that seems odd to me. The every weekend shuttle from Rosemont to O'Hare has been well known and publicized, generally. In fact, it's the one thing CTA has actually made clear.

Generally speaking, a combination of lower ridership during covid leaving riders to feel unsafe (as it's largely been a combination of homeless and riff raff riding) and the aforementioned unreliability and crowding when a bus or train finally arrives accounts for this current state of affairs.

Ridership is returning. There are lots of tourists downtown weekends. It's not quite as bad as it was a few months or a year ago. Schedules still suck. I feel like you can't count on getting anywhere weekends on CTA. If you make solid connections, consider yourself lucky. I've argued that CTA should change schedules entirely to place the more frequent service weekends (when it is currently needed) rather than weekday rush (when it isn't with so many workers still not consistently in downtown offices.) Look at ridership patterns (including blue collar essential workers reliant on transit and entertainment travel along with tourism) and reapportion resources there.

I'd also argue that part of the challenge with the Blue and Red Lines (which is every bit as bad, just a little different..especially considering that it's the line which connects several universities...I call Chicago a "college town", as especially evidenced any Thur-Sun night on the Red Line....and a lot of popular bar areas) is that they operate 24/7. This is rare in the U.S. It is needed and necessary. However, it adds up to a combination of drunk young people, homeless, and riff raff along with whoever else is using the system to get to/from work or visiting friends or out for entertainment or communting to a hotel, which creates a fascinating view of society and an interesting spark of unexpected occurrences.


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## Michigan Mom (May 14, 2022)

Really appreciate all the thoughtful and detailed replies in this thread. Helpful and interesting stuff too.


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## NorthShore (May 15, 2022)

No rainbow cone for me Saturday, since the 95th Street bus never showed up. And I had to wait a half hour on the Blue Line after missing a train just past 1 A.M. (since the next scheduled was a ghost) last night. But, everything else seemed almost like an, otherwise, normal Saturday on CTA riding all over the vast city. If anything, the Red Line wasn't as jam packed as it could be north out of downtown. Only the usual oddness. Hopefully, that guy who asked at least a dozen times about the Blue Line going south at Grand finally got on the right train. And, maybe the drunk girls who quickly alighted at Damen, realizing they weren't on the Red Line got home safe. Sox had a full ballpark. Glad I passed 35th in the 8th, missing the crowds. The guys selling squares who decided to reorganize their inventory in the seats across from me offered some interesting information about an arrest at Roosevelt, while chatting with another passenger. The one dude pulled the cherry twice, cuz he wasn't having none of that train operator trying to operate a train business when he had important business of his own, and wanted to alight. And there was some sort of police check at 95th, while I waited on that bus. 

City life!!!

Probably, tomorrow, I'll make up for the generally good connections. They're still working on the flyover connection for Brown Line at Belmont. Track out of revenue service.


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## joelkfla (May 15, 2022)

NorthShore said:


> The guys selling squares who decided to reorganize their inventory in the seats across from me offered some interesting information about an arrest at Roosevelt, while chatting with another passenger. The one dude pulled the cherry twice, cuz he wasn't having none of that train operator trying to operate a train business when he had important business of his own, and wanted to alight.


Please translate into English.


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## tomfuller (May 15, 2022)

Michigan Mom said:


> Really appreciate all the thoughtful and detailed replies in this thread. Helpful and interesting stuff too.


I am arriving on a flight to O'Hare about 5AM on Thursday 5/26/22. I was hoping to ride the El (first time) from O'Hare to the Clinton stop and walk from there to Chicago Union station. What are my chances of making it to Union Station by 8AM without being assaulted, robbed or killed?


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## MARC Rider (May 15, 2022)

tomfuller said:


> I am arriving on a flight to O'Hare about 5AM on Thursday 5/26/22. I was hoping to ride the El (first time) from O'Hare to the Clinton stop and walk from there to Chicago Union station. What are my chances of making it to Union Station by 8AM without being assaulted, robbed or killed?


You probably have a greater chance of being killed if you take a taxi from O'Hare to Union Station. I would think you have more of chance of getting killed on the L by accidentally falling off the platform and hitting the third rail. As for assault of robbery, the chance might be marginally higher, but it is still so low that it's probably not worth worrying about. The news media over-reports spectacular incidents of subway crime, and people think that's typical. Back around 1970, when crime was really spiking, I commuted to school for four years on the Broad Street Subway through the most crime-ridden neighborhoods of Philadelphia, and except for one incident when I was in 9th grade, I was never, ever bothered. Also, my experience with big cities is that by 5 AM, all the criminal types have worn themselves out, and have gone off to sleep. Also, by 5 AM, a lot of the service workers are up and about, commuting to work, so it might be busier than you expect.


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## NorthShore (May 15, 2022)

joelkfla said:


> Please translate into English.



You don't speak L?

Let me offer you bargain. Here's the ball. Under this shell. Keep your eye on it, now...

Sqaures are cigarettes. There are guys on the Red Line (especially south of downtown) who, regularly, walk through trains selling them and other tobacco stuff to riders. Last night's guy was saying one for 75 cents, 3 for 2 bucks. A passenger who bought one gave him a buck and reminded him to not forget about that extra quarter as credit for next time. The guy quickly said he sells them for a buck for one, three for two. They had at least a couple dozen boxes in their backpacks that were unloaded on seats and repacked, doing inventory.

Pulling the cherry refers to the red ball and rod in a pocket above doors which releases/opens them. Properly used in case of emergency, they're commonly pulled to release doors that were already closed at a platform by the train operator, forcing the operator to wait and try to close them again, after passengers decide they either still want off or are trying to hold a train. These levers also get used at terminals to allow people out, if the doors were closed, or in if they're looking to wait seated in a car where a train is standing. A lot of people, erroneously, think these levers also stop trains by throwing them into emergency brake. They do not. Those cherry levers are located at the #2 (far/inside) end of each car. They are rarely pulled. I've never seen anyone grab one in my decades on riding the L. Occasionally, someone will pull a door lever while the train is moving. The doors open but the train keeps moving, until it can be stopped by the operator who will see an indicator in the cab showing there is an open door.


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## NorthShore (May 15, 2022)

tomfuller said:


> I am arriving on a flight to O'Hare about 5AM on Thursday 5/26/22. I was hoping to ride the El (first time) from O'Hare to the Clinton stop and walk from there to Chicago Union station. What are my chances of making it to Union Station by 8AM without being assaulted, robbed or killed?




You'll be fine. 100 percent. It's big city life. Can't promise somebody won't come walking through the train soliciting monetary help. Or that there won't be a homeless person sleeping in your car. But just ignore it all and take the ride. 

Word from the well traveled local commuter, get off at Monroe (or Jackson if you want elevators) and walk up to Adams, then take a bus to Union Station. Everyone here likes to use Clinton because the map apps say it's closer. I don't know any Chicagoan who actually does that. Same arriving to Chicago at Union Station. You cross Jackson and take the bus to Dearborn for the L or your hotel or wherever. Even if no bus was coming (there are several routes along that street, so one will though possibly not immediately) the walk along Adams to Union Station is nicer, if slightly longer, than from Clinton.


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## NorthShore (May 15, 2022)

At least I missed the transit fallout from this last night:









Teen Dies After Being Shot in Chest at Millennium Park


A teenager has died after being shot in the chest in Chicago’s Millennium Park on Saturday evening.




www.nbcchicago.com





Of course, Milwaukee was worse this weekend.


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## Trogdor (May 15, 2022)

NorthShore said:


> Everyone here likes to use Clinton because the map apps say it's closer. I don't know any Chicagoan who actually does that.



If I was already on the Blue Line and was headed to Union Station, I would absolutely do that (provided I didn’t need an escalator/elevator). If I’m downtown and not already on the Blue Line, I wouldn’t.

There’s really no reason to add an extra 3/4 mile walk, or a transfer to a bus on Adams.

If headed to Ogilvie, sure. It’s a longer walk from Clinton (Blue) and the buses on Madison are more frequent.

I have less faith in the frequency of bus service along Adams not making such move a complete waste of time, except maybe during rush hour. If you’re getting into downtown at 6 or 6:30 am as the person a few messages up is probably doing, it’s not going to be rush hour yet. And if you’re unfamiliar with the area, it’s a lot easier to find your way through the block and a half from the Clinton (Blue) stop to CUS than figuring out which exit to use from the quarter-mile-long Blue Line platform that can put you on the surface a block or more from the actual street the station was named after, and then figure out which bus stop to go to.


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## jebr (May 15, 2022)

tomfuller said:


> I am arriving on a flight to O'Hare about 5AM on Thursday 5/26/22. I was hoping to ride the El (first time) from O'Hare to the Clinton stop and walk from there to Chicago Union station. What are my chances of making it to Union Station by 8AM without being assaulted, robbed or killed?



99% chance you'll make it to Union Station by 8 AM. 99.99ish% chance you won't get robbed/assaulted, and nearly 100% chance you wouldn't get killed. The main issues on the CTA are reliability and "quality of life" issues like homeless people sleeping, someone smoking on board, or a panhandler trying to get money.

That said, given your schedule I'd consider taking Metra's "North Central Service" from O'Hare Transfer (accessible via the just-reopened ATS) - there's a train that leaves at 6:17 AM and another at 6:56 AM, both of which would arrive before 8 AM. It also arrives directly into Union Station instead of a few blocks away, which means a lot less hassle (especially with luggage.)


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## NorthShore (May 15, 2022)

Trogdor said:


> There’s really no reason to add an extra 3/4 mile walk, or a transfer to a bus on Adams.



Luggage. Plus, the bus drops you right across the street from Union Station entrance/exit. And the escalator at Clinton is narrow. And, if you want the elevator. Depending upon bus connections/traffic, you might even be at Union Station by the time you get up the stairs at Clinton. And, maybe you want to grab something to eat in the Loop.

Given, if you're just taking Metra and carrying nothing, Clinton can be worthwhile.



> If headed to Ogilvie, sure. It’s a longer walk from Clinton (Blue) and the buses on Madison are more frequent.



There are numerous routed on both streets. You, usually, won't wait more than 10 minutes during the day, often less. 



> I have less faith in the frequency of bus service along Adams not making such move a complete waste of time, except maybe during rush hour. If you’re getting into downtown at 6 or 6:30 am as the person a few messages up is probably doing, it’s not going to be rush hour yet.  And if you’re unfamiliar with the area, it’s a lot easier to find your way through the block and a half from the Clinton (Blue) stop to CUS than figuring out which exit to use from the quarter-mile-long Blue Line platform that can put you on the surface a block or more from the actual street the station was named after, and then figure out which bus stop to go to.



Apps help. And there's plenty of signage. Plus, people here.

Coming from O'Hare? Walk towards the platform exit at the front of the train at the Monroe stop. Stay left and straight ahead at the Mezzanine level. At street level, walk to the corner straight ahead and turn left. Your bus stop is just down the block in sight.

Alighting at Jackson? Walk towards the rear of your arriving train after you alight. You can can take the elevator or escalator to mezzanine level. Exit the fare area. Take the elevator up to the steeet or stay right and walk up the stairs. Continue half a block to Adams. Cross the street. Turn right, the bus stop is down the block. 

So basically, straight ahead and left or behind you and right, depending which stop you choose. Easy peasy.


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## MARC Rider (May 16, 2022)

NorthShore said:


> Luggage. Plus, the bus drops you right across the street from Union Station entrance/exit. And the escalator at Clinton is narrow. And, if you want the elevator. Depending upon bus connections/traffic, you might even be at Union Station by the time you get up the stairs at Clinton. And, maybe you want to grab something to eat in the Loop.
> 
> Given, if you're just taking Metra and carrying nothing, Clinton can be worthwhile.


Last time I used Clinton, there was no elevator/escalator from the mezzanine to the street. And the escalator from the platform to the mezzanine wasn't working. (Shades of the Washington Metro!) This is really a pain if you're hauling luggage.

Another thing one can do is walk up Jackson to the Quincy L where there's an elevator and ride the L around the loop to Clark/Lake (or is it Lake/Clark?). There's a free transfer there using a series of escalators that will get you down to the Blue Line.


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## Deni (May 16, 2022)

jebr said:


> That said, given your schedule I'd consider taking Metra's "North Central Service" from O'Hare Transfer (accessible via the just-reopened ATS) - there's a train that leaves at 6:17 AM and another at 6:56 AM, both of which would arrive before 8 AM. It also arrives directly into Union Station instead of a few blocks away, which means a lot less hassle (especially with luggage.)


Solid suggestion. I'm always wanting to use the North Central Service but the infrequent schedule never lines up with when I need to arrive/depart at the airport. If you need to go from O'Hare to Union Station and the times match up this is your best option. (The infrequency is probably why most people don't even consider it)


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## joelkfla (May 16, 2022)

MARC Rider said:


> Clark/Lake (or is it Lake/Clark?). There's a free transfer there using a series of escalators that will get you down to the Blue Line.


I believe that station is also fully accessible with elevators as well.


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## tomfuller (May 16, 2022)

If my plane is late, I will ride the North Central Service bus since it goes directly to Union Station. I'll be carrying a backpack on my back and a small wheeled suitcase which can be on the step in front of me on an escalator. I may even stop at Lou Mitchell's for breakfast before going into the station. 
I'll be hanging around the station for a long time waiting for the Capitol Limited to board. Transferring to the Pennsylvanian in PGH early Friday morning. Renting a car in Harrisburg to go to my high school reunion in northern PA.


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## Michigan Mom (May 16, 2022)

tomfuller said:


> I am arriving on a flight to O'Hare about 5AM on Thursday 5/26/22. I was hoping to ride the El (first time) from O'Hare to the Clinton stop and walk from there to Chicago Union station. What are my chances of making it to Union Station by 8AM without being assaulted, robbed or killed?


I think you're actually OK. Major airports are fairly active with humanity starting at 5 am or so. It will be closer to 515-530 by the time you get down to the CTA stop. And you're in the secured area until just before boarding your train. By the time you're in downtown near CUS, it's more like 6 am and the morning rush is underway. You won't be assaulted, robbed or killed.


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## SarahZ (May 19, 2022)

MARC Rider said:


> Clark/Lake (or is it Lake/Clark?)


It's Clark/Lake, usually said as "Clark & Lake".


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## NorthShore (May 19, 2022)

SarahZ said:


> It's Clark/Lake, usually said as "Clark & Lake".



But, I still call it "Lake Transfer" (as it was when I grew up.)


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## Fenway (May 19, 2022)

tomfuller said:


> I am arriving on a flight to O'Hare about 5AM on Thursday 5/26/22. I was hoping to ride the El (first time) from O'Hare to the Clinton stop and walk from there to Chicago Union station. What are my chances of making it to Union Station by 8AM without being assaulted, robbed or killed?


99.9%


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## NorthShore (May 27, 2022)

Regarding "ghost trains/buses":









Here’s the CTA’s explanation for the infuriating “ghost” bus and train problem


Everyone hates the now-common situation where train or bus runs appear the Train Tracker and Bus Tracker, but then disappear before they ever arrive.




chi.streetsblog.org


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## Trollopian (May 29, 2022)

NorthShore said:


> Regarding "ghost trains/buses":
> 
> 
> 
> ...



From the link: "More than a month after Streetsblog asked the CTA for an explanation of the the ghost train and bus problem, this week the agency finally got back to us. 'It’s a complex subject,' a spokesperson explained shortly before we received the full statement. 'We’re trying to come up with the most-accurate language for you and your readers.' ”

Well, it took a month. And I don't know if the resulting language is "most-accurate" but it's certainly full of words. Many, many words. Words that took a month to craft.


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## WWW (May 29, 2022)

Sane hours - - -
Probably much better than the odds of doing it in the late evening hours.
In the early am the thugs morons gun toting drug infused idiots are sleeping off their nightly capping of the public -
this unlike New York City (the city that never sleeps).

I would expect that there will be a few airline workers traveling with you - crew members from other red-eye trips and 3rd shift employees.

The O'Hare to Union Depot is about twice as long a ride as the Midway - really really could use an upgraded limited stop trip.
As for arriving timely at or 8am - no problem - a two block walk north to the south entrance (Great Hall) and voila (are we there yet?)

Looking back in review you needed/traveled 3 days ago - oh well wasn't going to waste the writing of this post !


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## EchoSierra (May 30, 2022)

Trollopian said:


> From the link: "More than a month after Streetsblog asked the CTA for an explanation of the the ghost train and bus problem, this week the agency finally got back to us. 'It’s a complex subject,' a spokesperson explained shortly before we received the full statement. 'We’re trying to come up with the most-accurate language for you and your readers.' ”
> 
> Well, it took a month. And I don't know if the resulting language is "most-accurate" but it's certainly full of words. Many, many words. Words that took a month to craft.


My local transit agency fixed this problem easily. The tracker/countdown timer doesn't track/show the bus/vehicle unless it has a firm record of it leaving the terminal station and/or was tracked/detected at the first few stops. If a trip gets skipped, this filter would make sure that it doesn't show up as a ghost trip. It's not rocket science!


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## NorthShore (May 30, 2022)

I think I actually saw a ghost train symbol on the Transit app. Yesterday.


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## tomfuller (Jun 5, 2022)

I'm back here in Oregon ready to say that my trips on the blue line on 5/26 and 6/1 were uneventful. Even though they say to get off at the Clinton stop to go to Union Station, it is very difficult to get a 38 lb. suitcase and a backpack up over 100 steps to get up to the street. I did treat myself to a good breakfast at Lou Mitchell's before going into Union Station. I hung around the station mostly in the Great Hall for many hours before checking my suitcase to Pittsburgh on the Capitol Limited. 
On the return trip, I checked the suitcase and backpack back to Chicago in Pittsburgh. I went back to Lou Mitchell's for breakfast before picking up my bags. I then walked east on Jackson Blvd. to get on the blue line at the Jackson stop. They have elevators and escalators at Jackson to get down to the platform.
The trip on the Pennsylvanian to Harrisburg was the first trip on a single level Amtrak train in over 10 years.


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## WWW (Jun 7, 2022)

In review the Clinton stop on the BLUE Line is it.
Unless getting off earlier and taking a taxi the rest of the way -
or later cross the river and walking back to US from Jackson.

So you have a 2 block with steps versus a 7 block walk ***
*** and hang on to your gear (hat) crossing the river !

Other than steps - once topside the streets are flat level -
then depending on how you enter US there will be more steps escalators
and then the ramps or steps down to the tracks.


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## Metra Electric Rider (Jun 7, 2022)

Last time I was at the intersection - maybe two months ago - of Van Buren and Clinton there was a lot of construction there - obviously I was driving (well, maybe that's not obvious, but I was) and the sidewalks may have been affected. Your mileage may vary of course.


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## neroden (Jun 7, 2022)

I found that with a wheelchair, the best choice for connecting from the Blue Line to Union Station was Clark/Lake, transfer to the Loop, Quincy, walk along Adams St. 

Clinton isn't accessible. Jackson has one very slow and hard to find elevator. The Chicago sidewalks are bad enough in general that you want to minimize the amount of time on them. Getting a wheelchair on and off a bus is a hassle not worth considering if you can possibly avoid it.

Getting a wheelchair across the bascule bridges across the Chicago River usually sucks, but the one on Adams Street is particularly good and the sidewalks near Quincy station are in good chape.


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## Trollopian (Jun 7, 2022)

neroden said:


> Getting a wheelchair across the bascule bridges across the Chicago River usually sucks, but the one on Adams Street is particularly good and the sidewalks near Quincy station are in good chape.


Thanks for boosting my vocabulary, Neroden! "A bascule bridge is a moveable bridge with a counterweight that continuously balances a span, or leaf, throughout its upward swing to provide clearance for boat traffic." There appear to be none in Pittsburgh though it's deservedly known as a city of bridges. A very fine word and, hey, I'm an economist, not an engineer.


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## PaTrainFan (Jun 7, 2022)

Trollopian said:


> There appear to be none in Pittsburgh though it's deservedly known as a city of bridges.


 This is very true!


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## NorthShore (Jun 7, 2022)

Does not Chicago have more bascule bridges than amy other city in the world?


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## Mystic River Dragon (Jun 30, 2022)

Mystic, CT, has only one bascule bridge, but it’s one of the main tourist attractions. You’d think it was the only one in existence, the way they get so excited about it.

Watching the boats line up, the bridge go up, then the boats go through and the bridge come down is either interesting and even somewhat relaxing (if you’re not doing anything else) or slightly annoying (if you just that minute decided to get ice cream, and your favorite ice cream place is on the other side of the bridge).

On a more serious note, I agree that type of bridge doesn’t seem very helpful for wheelchair users. I was using a cane the last time I was there, and even with just a cane, I had trouble walking across the bridge.


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## NorthShore (Jul 8, 2022)

Mystic River Dragon said:


> On a more serious note, I agree that type of bridge doesn’t seem very helpful for wheelchair users. I was using a cane the last time I was there, and even with just a cane, I had trouble walking across the bridge.



I'm curious, and would like to understand better, what the particular challenge is.


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## Mystic River Dragon (Jul 8, 2022)

NorthShore said:


> I'm curious, and would like to understand better, what the particular challenge is.



I don’t know if it’s typical of all bridges of this type, but the one in Mystic is narrow, so with people walking in both directions, I constantly found myself trying to avoid running into someone. It also shakes a bit as you’re going over it. But I’ve been over many bridges that are narrow and shake, so those aren’t characteristics specific to this type. 

Also, just before you go onto the main bridge part, there’s a metal plate in the sidewalk —not sure if that’s related to the bridge or something else.

For me, it was a minor annoyance, and I just had to remember to pay attention so I didn’t trip over something or hit somebody with the cane by mistake.

There was a man in front of me early one morning, and he had worse mobility issues than I did and managed just fine, so I imagine if you lived there and were used to it, you might adjust.

I did not see anyone in a wheelchair going across when I was there, but it did occur to me to wonder how difficult it would be for them. 

I found that people for the most part were kind and moved over for each other.

So now that I’ve read through my reply here, I think the difficulties I was thinking of probably apply to pedestrian bridges of all types, not just this type.


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