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A side-by-side showing a deteriorated 108-year-old station and a newly-renovated, 100-year-old station

Chicagoland's Capital Crisis

Article by Tony Coppoletta

Decades of disinvestment has long caught up with Northeastern Illinois (Chicagoland).

Agencies trying to keep up with continually growing demand for more and better transit service are stuck in the position of trying to play catch-up after many, many years of not having the money to keep their systems at a state of good repair. Sacrifices have been made in every corner, and it's time to undo that damage.

In many situations, capital money at CTA, Metra, and Pace has been diverted to fill operating gaps. RTA's "discretionary fund" money, earmarked to fund special projects at the agency's discretion, has consistently been put toward keeping CTA from being unable to meet its necessary budget. Year after year, agencies have managed to scrape by with less money than they should have just to make sure people can get to work, to the store, and to the park.

But now that the latest operating crises have been averted through new, sustainable income, it's time to start focusing on undoing the damage of the past thirty years, bring city, suburban, and regional systems up to a state of good repair.

Note: The capital bill is not all about Chicago and the six counties that surround it--it is a statewide issue. This page is simply here to address the specific concerns of Northeastern Illinois.

Where we are

Before we can even get to the enhancements and expansion of transit service we need throughout Illinois and beyond, it's important we bring existing systems up to a state of good repair.

There are enormous needs across the state's three largest transit agencies--CTA, Metra, and Pace, which, collectively, serve the City of Chicago and the millions of people that live in surrounding communities.

No new capital plan has been passed since Illinois FIRST (in 1999), and those funds ran out years ago. Today, while some capital projects are underway, major funding is needed to accomplish the basic goals necessary to have the existing system function as effectively as it could.

Examples

Despite the remarkable services being provided by CTA, Metra, and Pace, there are a large number of unmet capital needs estimated at around $8 billion just to bring the system up to a state of good repair.

This is only a partial list of some of the needs

Eliminate "slow zones"
Thousands of feet of track on the "L" are ordered "slow zones" by CTA's track inspectors due to deteriorating track conditions. To keep tracks and the ties that hold the rails in place safe, instead of running at 35-55 mph through the city, some sections require trains to creep along at a mere 15 mph, reducing further wear-and-tear. Because of weather conditions and a number of other factors, certain parts of the system have deteriorated more quickly than normal, and CTA can't keep up with regular patchwork alone. The result is a need to do massive track or track tie replacement projects, some of which are already underway.

Part's of Metra's system can suffer operationally from the need for track upgrades.
Upgrade rail infrastructure
On Metra and CTA, a number of bridges and viaducts need replacement. In addition to "slow zones" or "slow orders" placed on areas with structural deterioration, patchwork can only go so far.

Metra also shares its routes and intersects with active freight railways, which can lead to major service delays in places where tracks cross each other. For example, the Southwest Service sometimes sees delays as long as 30 minutes while waiting for a train to clear its path at a "flat crossing," to which a fly-over could solve the problem. In other areas, tracks need major upgrades or replacement.
Upgrade transit facilities
Old stations with deteriorating canopies, platforms, waiting areas, or outdated amenities on both CTA and Metra are in need of replacement.

Outdated, aging, or stations in a state of disrepair drive people away from transit and into cars.

Many facilities remain inaccessible to people with disabilities, and require the addition of modern, accessible amenities such as wider platforms, elevator/ramp access, ADA-compliant lighting, Braille signage at key "decision points," and other important accessibility features.
Replace aging railcars
Hundreds of cars on the "L" are at or several years beyond their expected life. Over 100 cars were made before the Americans with Disabilities Act and were not required to be accessible to passengers with disabilities.

Metra also has decades-old railcars, without modern passenger amenities, which require replacement. Electro-diesel locomotives also need replacing.
Replace aging buses
Some of CTA's buses have well over 1,000,000 miles on them and have lasted through more than a dozen of those notorious Chicago winters. Not only are they old, but imagine the maintenance required to keep a car running after that kind of a pounding.

Pace also needs new buses, and was recently in such need that it had to charter school buses to provide commuter shuttle services in places such as Naperville.
Upgrade signal and communications systems
New train equipment and buses have more advanced operational and diagnostic controls, as well as new communications systems and safety features that will be better in the event of an emergency. New signaling technologies allow railways to operate more safely, reliably, and faster.

Overall, technology upgrades improve efficiency, service reliability, passenger comfort, safety, and the rider experience.

The full list is much longer. Railcar wheel replacement, removal of long-abandoned structure, replacement of leaky station roofs, and re-decking of platforms, and all sorts of other needs plague the region's transit.

Tell the governor and your representatives we need more and better transit.

Footnotes

Hansen, M. and Huang, Y. 1997. Road Supply and Traffic in Urban Areas: A Panel Study ( PDF)
U.S. PIRG. 2008. A Better Way to Go. Executive Summary, p.3 ( PDF)
Chicago Metropolis 2020. 2008. Time is Money: The Economic Benefits of Transit Investment. p.13 ( PDF)
Schrank D. and Lomax T., Texas Transportation Institute. 2007. 2007 Annual Urban Mobility Report.
- Ref. A: Summary Report, Exhibit 1: Major Findings. p.1 ( PDF)
- Ref. B: Summary Report. Table 1: Key Mobility Measures. p.32 ( PDF)
- Ref. C: Summary Report, Exhibit 12: You Should Plan for Much Longer Travel Times. p.13 ( PDF)
- Ref. D: Mobility Data for Chicago, IL-IN. p.1 ( PDF)