O'Hare vs. Midway (Chicago, Addison, Clinton: transfer, live, cost of)

[reppin_the_847]

I agree! It seems like the same story on the Blue Line every summer! It would be great to have a much faster, reliable train connection from O'Hare to downtown in the future. If we're serious about the Olympics, I'm sure they'll do something about it.

Originally Posted by surlycue

This has been such a PITA. They still haven't even updated the transit site so it shows NO closures on the blue line. Agg. I hate having to take that shuttle for one or two stops but taking a cab gets expensive fast.

[UnderTheLiveOaks]

Originally Posted by reppin_the_847

I agree! It seems like the same story on the Blue Line every summer! It would be great to have a much faster, reliable train connection from O'Hare to downtown in the future. If we're serious about the Olympics, I'm sure they'll do something about it.

While we're all frustrated with the train, "doing something about it" means construction. Construction means delays.

[Avengerfire]

Yeah we have endured like 3 years of Brown Line construction that has affected the Purple and Red Lines as well, but it was worth it enough I suppose.

However I will say:
Personally I would have been much more happy if the money spent on the new Brown Line stations was pumped into updating as much track and ties as possible and repairing/painting the elevated structure itself before new stations were built.

[Drover]

Originally Posted by CarolinaBredChicagoan

While we're all frustrated with the train, "doing something about it" means construction. Construction means delays.

Except they told us last year that it was all sewn up. And their communications about this round of construction has been horrid.

[UnderTheLiveOaks]

Originally Posted by Drover

Except they told us last year that it was all sewn up. And their communications about this round of construction has been horrid.

Understood. Poster said "It would be great to have a much faster, reliable train connection from O'Hare to downtown in the future. If we're serious about the Olympics, I'm sure they'll do something about it."

And, in that sense, they are "doing something about it".

[jlawrence01]

Originally Posted by CarolinaBredChicagoan

Understood. Poster said "It would be great to have a much faster, reliable train connection from O'Hare to downtown in the future. If we're serious about the Olympics, I'm sure they'll do something about it."

And, in that sense, they are "doing something about it".

They are NOT fixing the Blue Line in anticipation of the Olympics, they are repairing the tracks based on recommendations of the NTSB after the accident downtown on the Blue Line.

http://www.ntsb.gov/publictn/2007/RAR0702.pdf (broken link)

Look on pages 15 and 21 that show some of the deterioration of lag screws and tie plates that caused the accident. The report was highly critical of the CTA for its failure to follow up on previously recommended required maintenance.

[UnderTheLiveOaks]

Originally Posted by jlawrence01

They are NOT fixing the Blue Line in anticipation of the Olympics, they are repairing the tracks based on recommendations of the NTSB after the accident downtown on the Blue Line.

Jesus.... My frakkin' point is it's stupid to say "they need to do something about the Blue Line" and then complain when they interrupt service in order to make the repairs that constitute "doing something about it".

[Avengerfire]

Originally Posted by CarolinaBredChicagoan

Jesus.... My frakkin' point is it's stupid to say "they need to do something about the Blue Line" and then complain when they interrupt service in order to make the repairs that constitute "doing something about it".

Don't worry it has been pretty common the last few years as the Brown Line has been under major station work.

These people that complained that the old stations were not pretty enough have been complaining like little babies about the delays and station closings throughout the project.

Advice to the CTA:

Next time do not cater to the demands of spineless wuss transplants. They cannot handle what they bargained for and will never be satisfied.

BTW-I am not saying all transplants are spineless wusses but too many are.

[eevee]

Originally Posted by Drover

Except they told us last year that it was all sewn up. And their communications about this round of construction has been horrid.

so true. I work at O'Hare and a LOT of people were caught off guard the first weekend the shuttles started again. lots of people came in late andI came across more than a few distressed travelers that were worried about missing their flights. I like to think I keep UTD about this stuff since it affects my commute, but this round of shuttle buses really felt like it came out of nowhere. in the past, it wasn't uncommon for many employers to post a memo to employees a week ahead to tell them to leave earlier due to a line cut

I guess I'm confused w/ this latest string of work. a few months ago, it seemed like they had more or less accomplished their promise to get from Clark/Lake to O'Hare in 45 minutes or so so I just assumed the work was all done.

[Drover]

Originally Posted by eevee

I guess I'm confused w/ this latest string of work. a few months ago, it seemed like they had more or less accomplished their promise to get from Clark/Lake to O'Hare in 45 minutes or so so I just assumed the work was all done.

Yeah, they even did a big self-congratulatory marketing campaign and everything. That's part of what puzzles me, that they did this big "yay, we fixed it for you!" campaign when they knew they weren't finished and they'd have to do another round of repairs again this year. Which is something the general public didn't find out about until just now. Creeps.