I've never seen any there.
Chicago Union Station discussion
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I was asking about the Red Cap situation at the entrance to the Metropolitan Lounge. In June 2021 there were only two (2) Red Caps with carts to handle all those who wanted or needed a ride their where their trains were loading. (In previous years, there seemed to be more than enough Red Caps and carts to accommodate all those who wanted or needed a ride.)
Right, Eric. From your question and Zyphyr's response to mine, I don't expect to see any Red Caps curbside.
I'd like to ask a favor, Carjaq. Since you live right "next door", you are a certified neighbor and expert of Union Station. I think that many of us in this forum would like to know what you consider to be be the highlights of the immediate neighborhood. When you have the time, could post to this thread with your personal favorites for dining, shopping, sightseeing, etc. within a few blocks? Thanks!
I can confirm, after visiting, that there are no red caps available curbside to assist arriving passengers
Just like all other Amtrak Jobs, ever since the COVID Pandemic, there has been a shortage of people filling the Red Cap Slots.
Last time I was in Chicago there was only 2 on duty, and as most forum members know, it can get extremely busy during the boarding of LD Trains @ Union Station, especially in the afternoon during the Western boardings and arrivals.
I will add a post of my favorite spots nearby. I’ve lived across the street from Union Station at Metropolitan Place for 15 years.
CDOT (Chicago Dept of Trans) met with our condo association (130 S Canal) last week to tell us what to expect during the major upcoming Canal Street viaducts Improvement project. The viaduct is going to be rehabilitated over the tracks and station areas. It's going to be a huge traffic nightmare for us, with buses and traffic being rerouted, along with nighttime demolition work as Amtrak won't let the city work during the daytime. A website is being set up which you can follow to track the progress. So far, they just have phase 1 up.
Phase I – CDOT Canal St. Projects
Phase I – CDOT Canal St. Projects
We will have a six hour layover on a Sunday in Chicago Union Station. What's around there to do and see? Will we be safe on the downtown streets? How about nearby eateries?
NorthShore
Conductor
Go to Greektown for brunch. Or the Fulton Market District.
The downtown streets are fine on a Sunday. Enjoy a walk along the river or at Millennium Park for free. Or visit one of the fine museums.
I've had four layovers in Chicago over the past few years, varying in lengths. Three of them were strictly downtown. Always felt safe in and around the station, never had any problems. Just down the street is Giordano's which has great deep dish pizza in my opinion -- I usually go there for lunch during layovers. That should take up a decent chunk as it takes a little while to prepare. The Metropolitan lounge isn't a bad place to hang out if you have access.
I've lived across the street from Chicago Union Station since 2008. If you'd like to avoid fast food and have a good meal, here are some restaurant suggestions for the immediate area. These are restaurants we've returned to many times, all within a half mile of the station:
Kindling - fantastic new restaurant at the base of the Sears Tower. Intense wood-fired flavors - even the vegetables!
Proxi - Another one with great flavors inspired by street food from around the world. The chef's tasting menu is a good value.
Beatnik on the River - another global menu with river views
Porter Kitchen and Deck - classic American fare with more great river views
Vinny's Pizza Bar - if you've had enough deep dish, they have a great thin crust in a casual, retro atmosphere under the Ogilvie tracks.
Italian Village - long-time traditional Italian in a kitschy "village"
Greek Islands - We have a lot of Greek friends, and it's their favorite - for a reason. Delicious seafood kabobs.
Taureaux Tavern - It's not as good as Mon Ami Gabi, if you can get up to Lincoln Park, but it's decent French-inspired
Avec - fantastic Mediterranean menu. The one on LaSalle is even better, but further away.
Bazaar Meat - A great grill with river views from above. Downstairs is Bar Mar, also good, but more of a scene. Open air in good weather.
Townhouse - across the river on Wacker, traditional American, casual and very close to CUS
Lou Mitchell's - historic diner for breakfast and lunch. I don't go here much, but people love it.
Bars -
Vol. 39 - Great cocktails in an old library. Nice atmosphere.
AfterBar - nice bar in the new BMO building that caters to an after-work crowd.
Snacks -
HMart - Asian supermarket on Jackson that has a fun variety of snacks to take on the train. They also have an Asian food court with good Korean food.
Metro Spice Mart - Indian market with a fun variety of snacks from that part of the world.
Bon appétit!
Kindling - fantastic new restaurant at the base of the Sears Tower. Intense wood-fired flavors - even the vegetables!
Proxi - Another one with great flavors inspired by street food from around the world. The chef's tasting menu is a good value.
Beatnik on the River - another global menu with river views
Porter Kitchen and Deck - classic American fare with more great river views
Vinny's Pizza Bar - if you've had enough deep dish, they have a great thin crust in a casual, retro atmosphere under the Ogilvie tracks.
Italian Village - long-time traditional Italian in a kitschy "village"
Greek Islands - We have a lot of Greek friends, and it's their favorite - for a reason. Delicious seafood kabobs.
Taureaux Tavern - It's not as good as Mon Ami Gabi, if you can get up to Lincoln Park, but it's decent French-inspired
Avec - fantastic Mediterranean menu. The one on LaSalle is even better, but further away.
Bazaar Meat - A great grill with river views from above. Downstairs is Bar Mar, also good, but more of a scene. Open air in good weather.
Townhouse - across the river on Wacker, traditional American, casual and very close to CUS
Lou Mitchell's - historic diner for breakfast and lunch. I don't go here much, but people love it.
Bars -
Vol. 39 - Great cocktails in an old library. Nice atmosphere.
AfterBar - nice bar in the new BMO building that caters to an after-work crowd.
Snacks -
HMart - Asian supermarket on Jackson that has a fun variety of snacks to take on the train. They also have an Asian food court with good Korean food.
Metro Spice Mart - Indian market with a fun variety of snacks from that part of the world.
Bon appétit!
Interesting to see who is open on Sunday.
lsfinn
Train Attendant
My wife and I used to travel annually on the. Capital Limited to Chicago, arriving in the early AM, and then leave on one of the Zephyr, Empire Builder, or Southwest Chief for the west coast. When we did we'd always take the El to China Town for a Dim Sum brunch. That would keep us happy while we waited the rest of the afternoon in the Metropolitan Lounge for our PM departure.
Depending on the weather, and the timely arrival inbound, the architectural boat tour may be enjoyable. It is (or was when I took it) on the other side of the river, a short walk from the station.
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Chicago restaurants is great info. We'll be there Aug 10th on Empire builder changing trains to the Wolverine and vice versa two weeks later. Looking forward to visiting one.
Great info! Very useful! Thanks.
A few of the restaurants on my list are open on Sunday: Beatnik, Greek Islands, Italian Village, Avec & Bar Mar.
What about the noveau Italian place in the new office building across Canal from CUS, overlooking the pocket park? I think it's named Canal St. Market & Eatery. It has very good reviews and the menu looks interesting.
Awesome! THANK YOU carjaq !
I’ve only been there once and so don’t want to pass judgment yet.
jis
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I'm of two minds about that opinion piece.
On one hand, there's an absolutely crying need for more service. There should be:
*five or six round-trips a day on the Wolverine: early morning (7 or 8 from Chicago, earlier from Pontiac), late morning (a couple of hours later), midday, early afternoon, mid-afternoon (around the end of the business day), evening (a couple of hours later).
*Ditto on the Lincoln Service totally independent of the Texas Eagle. The Hiawatha schedule doesn't depend on the Empire Builder, and neither should the Lincoln Service.
*Two or three trains a day where there's one or two now. The Illinois routes (Illini/Saluki and Illinois Zephyr/Carl Sandburg) are decent about having bidirectional service with a morning and an afternoon train in each direction. But the Blue Water should really be two round-trips. The Pere Marquette could probably support three round-trips a day or more in the high season (summer when Chicagoans go to the Michigan shore in large numbers) and definitely two. And there should be at least one more round-trip on the Illini/Saluki serving at least Champaign.
The author has rightly picked two lines where lots of public investment has been made and the service is faster and more reliable but the frequency of service hasn't grown. The Lincoln Service expanded to four round-trips in 2006 (IIRC) and the Wolverine has been three round-trips for ages.
On the other hand:
1) the Midwest states have bought more trains, and they're working their way into service, so it's not entirely true "that the public money has gone into infrastructure rather than more trains at more times." It's true that they haven't yet translated into more trains at more times on the schedule.
2) there's ongoing work for more trains on the Hiawatha schedule, including the second train to St. Paul. Some of the infrastructure work the writer pooh-poohs -- in particular, a project underway by Milwaukee Airport -- will generate capacity for at least one additional round-trip. There'd be even more Hiawathas -- ten round-trips, IIRC -- if certain northern suburbs of Chicago didn't fight infrastructure projects to add capacity to the line on the ground that it will also (horror of horrors!) facilitate freight trains.
In other words, infrastructure projects are not somehow the opposite of more trains. As acknowledged above, the Midwest projects to date haven't directly translated into more runs on a timetable. But you can't add trains where there isn't enough capacity for them. To return to my first hand, Amtrak and the state DOTs do need to be more proactive about proposing more service and making the host railroads understand that the public requires a concrete benefit beyond faster trains for the considerable public infrastructure money spent improving their lines.
The problem I have with the article is it bringing up the perceived crying need for one-seat service between the airport and convention center (McCormick Place). When I was working, I went to quite a few conventions and not once did I ever go directly between the airport and convention center - it was always via the hotel where I was staying (almost always flying in the day before the convention started). For some conventions, I get that some people will fly in for the day and leave that evening but at least for the ones I attended where I and most people were there for the multi-day content and not a quick visit to a sales exhibit hall, very few people went directly between the airport and convention center. Politicians see a demand for that sort of service that my own experience says is just not there.
Could it be useful if the convention center is also near a lot of hotels?
From what I've observed, most convention official hotels are in downtown Chicago. There's not all that much by McCormick Place. I am sure that's why they built the busway was built between downtown Chicago and McCormick Place in the former Illinois Central freight right-of-way (if you've ever been to a large convention, you know co-ordinating shuttle buses between the convention location and the official convention hotel is a big side-business. When I was a regular convention attendee, it was always the same people doing that no matter what city we were in).
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