# Metra unveils new CUS crowd control plan



## Riverviewer (Dec 17, 2014)

Saw this item in today's Chicago Sun-Times about a new crowd-control plan for CUS "...for avoiding mob scenes during service disruptions...".

It makes no mention of the plan's impact on Amtrak passengers.

Read more about it on the Sun-Times website here: http://chicagosuntimes.com/news/metra-unveils-new-union-station-crowd-control-plan/


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## MikefromCrete (Dec 17, 2014)

It doen't sound like that much of a plan. There will still be crowded conditions, just moved to another area.

Since Amtrak passengers have their own waiting areas, it wouldn't affect them as much.


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## neroden (Dec 17, 2014)

It's becoming obvious that the Great Hall needs to be open 100% of the time, and used for its original purpose: as the waiting room.


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## SarahZ (Dec 17, 2014)

neroden said:


> It's becoming obvious that the Great Hall needs to be open 100% of the time, and used for its original purpose: as the waiting room.


Seriously. They board the Michigan trains from the Great Hall about 60% of the time I'm there. It's actually a nice, organized boarding process, in which they group everyone by destination and then board everyone, via kindergarten walk, based on destination instead of having everyone run out at the same time. I highly prefer it to the normal boarding process.


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## calwatch (Dec 17, 2014)

I don't begrudge the owners of Union Station from renting it out on weekends, but not on weekdays. They need to make money and commuter traffic is markedly reduced on the weekend. It should be a condition that Union Station's Great Hall be open to the public until at least 7 pm weekdays.


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## MikefromCrete (Dec 17, 2014)

The owner of Union Station is Amtrak, so that rental money goes to the bottom line. Commuters hardly ever use the Great Hall, since they usually go right to their trains. Amtrak riders are the more likely users of the Great Hall, since it's a nicer place to wait than the crowded Amtrak waiting rooms. But, it should at least be open during daytime hours for passengers.


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## PaulM (Dec 17, 2014)

SarahZ said:


> Seriously. They board the Michigan trains from the Great Hall about 60% of the time I'm there. It's actually a nice, organized boarding process, in which they group everyone by destination and then board everyone, via kindergarten walk, based on destination instead of having everyone run out at the same time. I highly prefer it to the normal boarding process.


Is this new? I've never seen any boarding from the great hall.


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## NorthShore (Dec 18, 2014)

I actually wonder whether this won't just make the problem worse. Reducing access points rather than increasing them? Really? And they expect people to simply be detoured by a rope cutting off the escalator? Which people won't remove, jump, or practically riot over to use the access point?

Perhaps if they created some sort of temporarily separated inbound and outbound lanes for entering the station and boarding it might help traffic a bit.

Even with the great hall open, it isn't like there is much seating. So it just shuffles the stand around and wait to a larger area.

Handheld bullhorns? Because there us no appropriate public address system to make passenger calls?


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