Lipinski Pushes for Expanded Service on Metra's Heritage Corridor Line
Congressman Dan Lipinski said he will explore legislative action to pressure Canadian National Railway to allow Metra to run more trains on its line.
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U.S. Rep. Dan Lipinski (IL-3) said he is exploring legislative options to improve and expand service on Metra's Heritage Corridor Line.
Lipinski recently met with officials from Metra and the Surface Transportation Board (STB) to discuss the options available for putting more pressure on Canadian National Railway (CN) to allow Metra to run more trains on the line.
Lipinski, the senior member from Illinois on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, also had requested of CN, the Canadian company that owns and manages the Heritage Corridor Line, that CEO Claude Mongeau come to a meeting to discuss improving commuter service. CN said the company had no one available to participate in the meeting with Metra and the STB, according to Lipinski's office.
“After spending many months and countless hours fighting to get Heritage Corridor riders the service they deserve, I am left with no other choice but to begin exploring next steps, including legislative action that could give Metra more power to force CN to accommodate additional Metra trains on its tracks,” Lipinski said in a statement.
“Early last year I was able to get CN to sit down with Metra to discuss improving on-time performance on the line and the performance has been much improved.
“But for more than two years I have been working with all of the stakeholders along the line to find a solution that allows one more Metra train in the morning and one more train in the evening. This is a modest request that would still put the level of service on the Heritage Corridor far below Metra’s other commuter lines. Metra and two dozen local officials have been supportive in this effort, but CN has continued to drag its feet. CN continues to site a study that they conducted themselves to claim that $150 million of infrastructure improvements would need to be made to add six trains. While that study is questionable on its own, we are now only asking for the addition of two trains, not six.
“Disagreements between Metra and freight railroads in the region have generally been settled in the past through discussion. I am hopeful that we can still come together in the public’s interest so we can improve access to jobs and long-term economic development throughout the region.”
While Lipinski is exploring options for legislative action to empower commuter rail lines in disputes with freight railroads, Metra is considering its options under current federal law and regulations. There is precedent for commuter rail lines bringing disputes with freight railroads to the Surface Transportation Board and working out solutions to improve options for commuters.
The Heritage Corridor Line, running between Joliet and Chicago’s Union Station, with stops in Lockport, Lemont, Willow Springs, Summit and plans for a new Romeoville station in the works, currently operates just six trains a day -- three inbound in the morning and three outbound in the evening. Metra’s other routes offer between 22 and 170 trains a day, leaving a major mass transit gap in the southwest suburbs, despite strong ridership growth on the Heritage Corridor Line over the last decade. In 2012, the line served 682,819 riders, up from 567,342 just 10 years earlier.
Under his leadership, Rep. Lipinski recently was joined by more than 20 local officials, including Metra Chairman Brad O’Halloran, in urging CN to accommodate expanded service in order to expand the commuting options and enhance the employment opportunities and quality of life for the region’s residents.
Rep. Lipinski also led an earlier push to improve the line’s reliability and on-time performance. Working successfully with Metra and CN, Rep. Lipinski helped to improve Heritage Corridor’s average on-time performance from 86.2 percent in 2011 to 95.6 percent in 2012.
Editor's note: The information above is from a press release issued by the office of U.S. Rep. Dan Lipinski.
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John Quinn
8:40 am on Wednesday, March 20, 2013
AMEN! How about some weekend service too???
Deb Mussallem
11:15 am on Thursday, March 21, 2013
I would be happy with just one more in & outbound train. A 3:15 train going out of union station. I would like to have option to get home earlier like some people. I need flexibility. We have aleady have had a population growth and we need to keep attrating new residents. Flexible transportation is a must!
Deb Mussallem
11:15 am on Thursday, March 21, 2013
I am surprise no one is commenting on this issue. Does anyone take public transporation??
Irene Lyewski
12:48 am on Saturday, March 23, 2013
I hope service on the Heritage is expanded soon. It's ridiculous that we are paying what we are for 3 trains to and from Chicago daily, without weekend service, while the BNSF and Rock Island have 20-30 trains daily each way. I would like to see a train added mid-day to and from Chicago. The schedule should then be adjusted to accommodate the real world of working people/parents. The last train in the morning from Lemont to Chicago leaves at 7:20 am. Lemont schools start at 7:30, 7:55 and 8:45. We need a train to depart the suburbs after schools start. We also need a train to depart Chicago sometime in the early afternoon and one later than 6:10 pm. Once you get to Chicago in the morning, the earliest you can leave Chicago is 4:50 pm. If you need to stay beyond 6:10 pm, basically you're stuck with a cab fare in the range of $75-$100.
Edward Andrysiak
11:39 am on Saturday, March 23, 2013
I rode the train to the city back in the fifties. It was the GM&O and there were two cars...no AC either. One left in the moring on the same route as present and came back in the early evening. If you missed the train you could opt to catch the Blue Bird Bus which followed the same route as the train. Maybe a alternat plan here to determine usage and time of day would be to schedule bus runs stopping at the train stations. This could give an indication of the direction to take in the future and just maybe a few busses are an answer...for now. And yes, the bus ride took longer but if your house was on the route the bus would stop anywhere and let you out. Pickup was at designated stops only and Budnicks was the stop here in Lemont.
Justice Willow
5:21 pm on Monday, March 25, 2013
Great, expanded service will allow more Lemont riders the ability to line up and block the doors for those who want to get off the train at other stops. Sit down and wait until your stop is next.