Metra seeks feedback on train schedules

Sun-Times file photo

Metra has launched a rider survey to help adjust its train schedules.

The survey, available until June 19 at metra.com/SNP, is part of the commuter rail service's ongoing effort to provide more off-peak service. Metra had long prioritized morning and evening rush-hour trips to and from the Loop, but travel habits have permanently changed as more people shifted to remote work.

Metra wants to use survey responses to better match how people use trains post-pandemic.

The survey is part of Metra's Systemwide Network Plan to study how it should change each rail line's schedule and where it should build new infrastructure. The plan will guide Metra's investments for the next two decades, the agency said.

Metra is also hosting a virtual public meeting at 7 p.m. May 30. Registration is available on the same webpage.

Metra has already begun its plans to shift to more frequent all-day service. In February, Metra set aside $154 million to purchase its first battery-powered trains, which could be delivered as early as 2027. The smaller trains would run more frequently and help provide off-peak service.

Metra's survey comes as state legislators consider combining four Chicago-area transit agencies into one called the Metropolitan Mobility Authority. Those agencies — Metra, the Chicago Transit Authority, Pace and the Regional Transit Authority — have long resisted efforts to combine them. But legislators say it must be done soon, as each agency faces a "fiscal cliff" when federal COVID dollars run out in 2026.

State legislators, holding their own public feedback meetings, are trying to force the issue, offering to provide $1.5 billion to shore up the finances of those transit agencies — but only if they are combined.

Metra said it will hold another public outreach effort in early 2025.