Transit Briefs: CTA, Metro-North, Caltrain, BART, NJ Transit
CTA
The CTA this week unveiled final development concepts for the space under the new ‘L’ tracks between the Lawrence and Bryn Mawr stations, as part of the $2.1 billion Red and Purple Modernization (RPM) Phase One Project.
The CTA for more than a year has worked with local residents, businesses, and other stakeholders to develop design concepts for new public areas under CTA’s Red Line following the demolition of a century-old, 1.3-mile-long concrete embankment wall. The wall was removed as part of the RPM project, which has rebuilt Red and Purple line elevated track structure and is also reconstructing the Lawrence, Argyle, Berwyn, and Bryn Mawr Red Line stations. The 10 blocks of open space are located under the new Red and Purple Line tracks between W. Lawrence and W. Ardmore avenues.
The CTA partnered with Site Design Group, a Chicago-based landscape architecture, urban design, and architecture firm to guide the development of a block-by-block plan for the space.
Design plans include a pedestrian trail, dog parks, playground, fitness area, benches, and flexible-use plaza space for community events. The CTA held multiple public meetings in 2024 to solicit ideas from the community on the types of amenities they wanted under the elevated tracks.
The CTA presented the design plans to the Edgewater and Uptown communities during two public meetings held Tuesday, Feb. 25, and Wednesday, Feb. 26. Block-by-block concepts can be found here.
Construction of the community spaces is expected to begin in 2026 and be completed in 2027.
Metro-North
MTA Metro-North Railroad recently unveiled a sixth locomotive as part of its Heritage Series with a special design that was used until 1964 along the then New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad, usually referred to as the New Haven Railroad.
The Heritage Series was launched in May 2023 to celebrate Metro-North’s 40 years of public service and honor the railroads that independently operated commuter rail services along the lines that now mainly make up Metro-North: the Hudson Line, Harlem Line and New Haven Line.
According to the agency, skilled craft workers at Metro-North’s North White Plains, Harmon, Stamford and New Haven shops restored Genesis-model dual-mode P32AC-DM locomotive No. 222 over the course of several months and wrapped the train in an olive green and a dandelion yellow vinyl, the paint scheme employed on New Haven Railroad locomotives until 1954. The train made its debut run on the New Haven Line, Friday, Feb. 28, departing Danbury station at 7:51 a.m., and arriving at Grand Central Terminal at 9:55 a.m.
The last commemorative locomotive expanded upon the originally envisioned Heritage Series, wrapping engine No. 214 to pay tribute to the Metro-North workforce. Instead of a scheme adapted from one of the railroad’s predecessors, the wrap pays tribute to the Metro-North workforce, featuring 2,000 pictures of past and present Metro-North workers. The employee photographs in varying gradient formed a mosaic of the clock tower at White Plains station representing the Harlem Line, a New York Cityscape representing Grand Central, a view of the Hudson River from the Bear Mountain Bridge for the Hudson Line and Bridgeport’s Black Rock Harbor Lighthouse for the New Haven Line. As a historical nod, one side of the locomotive uses the old two-toned “M” logo of the MTA, and the other side uses the modern MTA logo. Watch the video below of employees working on the locomotive.
The fourth locomotive hit the rails in March 2024, and paid tribute to Penn Central, the 1968 merger of the New York Central and Pennsylvania Railroads, which also absorbed the New Haven Railroad in 1969. In the spring of 1970, the MTA signed an agreement with the Penn Central Railroad Corporation to subsidize the operations of the Hudson, Harlem and New Haven commuter rail lines which would later become the core East of Hudson rail lines that would make up Metro-North Railroad in 1983.
The third rebranded locomotive paid tribute to New York Central, the predecessor railroad that operated the Hudson and Harlem lines. Metro-North’s locomotive No. 211 made its debut run in NYC’s stylish lightning-stripe paint scheme on the Hudson Line on Tuesday, Nov. 14, 2023.
The second rebranded locomotive paid tribute to Conrail, the railroad which is Metro-North’s immediate predecessor. The engine made its debut on the Hudson Line on Monday, Aug. 14, 2023. The design of the wrap mimics the paint scheme applied to older FL9 dual-mode locomotives that Conrail operated for the MTA over the Hudson, Harlem, and New Haven Lines from 1976 to 1982. Metro-North’s locomotive No. 201 is one of 31 Genesis-model P32AC-DM engines the railroad uses to provide service on the northern Hudson and Harlem Lines and the New Haven Line’s Danbury and Waterbury Branches.
The first rebrand paid homage to Metro-North’s original design. Locomotive No. 208, which made its debut in May 2023, was wrapped in silver, blue and red vinyl. The design was created upon the railroad’s founding in 1983 for the railroad’s historic FL9 locomotives and worn by them until the last was retired in April 2007.
All six wrapped locomotives are in service on Metro-North’s Hudson, Harlem and New Haven Lines, and can be seen on any train that normally operates with the railroad’s dual-mode diesel/electric locomotives.
Caltrain
A new poll of likely voters in Santa Clara, San Mateo and San Francisco counties shows “overwhelming approval” for Caltrain, with 82% of respondents reporting a favorable view of the transit agency. Riders of Caltrain report even stronger approval of the agency, with 84% of occasional riders and 91% of frequent riders reporting a favorable view.
High levels of support for the agency, Caltrain says, follow the launch of its new high-performance electric trains in September 2024 that offer a better experience for Caltrain riders and provide faster and more frequent service. It also comes alongside Caltrain reporting its best ridership numbers since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Caltrain saw ridership grow to more than a half million passengers in December 2024, a 41% increase over December 2023.
“Importantly, respondents recognize the need for additional funding for public transit,” with 73% stating there is either some need or a great need for more funding, according to the report.
Nearly two-thirds of respondents in San Francisco and San Mateo counties would support a Caltrain funding measure, with support at 65% and 63%, respectively. A majority of voters polled in Santa Clara County also supported a Caltrain measure.
Caltrain’s high approval and the public’s recognition of the need for increased transit funding “are encouraging signs of public support for Caltrain funding,” the agency noted.
The primary motivations for respondents supporting a measure included increased service, improved regional connectivity and reduced traffic congestion.
“It’s great to see this level of support for Caltrain, one of the Bay Area’s key regional transit systems. These results show strong public support for transit funding and we as a region need to work together to find a way to make that a reality,” said Caltrain Board Chair Steve Heminger. “We must ensure that the promise of electric service is fulfilled, now and in the decades to come.”
“Caltrain is proud to see that the people we serve are overwhelmingly in support of the services we provide up and down the Peninsula,” said Caltrain Executive Director Michelle Bouchard. “The results of this survey reveal that Bay Area residents understand the need to support public transit, and they are seeing the results of the service improvements we have been able to deliver through electrification. We will continue to work with our regional and state partners to explore future revenue options that the public can support so that we can continue to provide the fast, reliable public transportation our riders have come to expect.”
From Jan. 8 to 23, EMC Research conducted a survey of 1,500 likely voters in Santa Clara, San Francisco and San Mateo Counties to gauge voter sentiment. The poll was presented to Caltrain’s Advocacy and Major Projects Committee on Feb. 26.
BART
BART’s customer satisfaction rate has hit its highest mark in 10 years and surged six percentage points in two years according to the latest comprehensive biannual survey of BART riders.
The 2024 BART Customer Satisfaction Survey (download below) found that 73% of respondents are “very or somewhat satisfied with BART” compared to 67% of those questioned in 2022, the last time BART conducted the survey.
In addition to general questions, respondents were also asked to rate 24 service attributes on a scale of one to seven. Ratings for 17 of the 24 metrics improved in 2024. Cleanliness of trains and stations, on-time performance, presence of BART police, personal security, enforcement against fare evasion, and addressing homelessness all showed improvement, according to the survey.
“These results confirm our Safe and Clean Plan is transforming the BART experience and making our system cleaner and safer,” said BART Board President Mark Foley. “We recognize there is still room for improvement; however, our focus on enhancing the customer experience is yielding positive results. It’s encouraging to see the survey responses that echo what I’m hearing from riders as I travel through the system.”
Some other findings:
- 80% of those surveyed said they would recommend BART to a friend or out-of-town guest, up four percentage points from 2022.
- 67% agree that BART is a good value for the money, up three percentage points.
- The average rating for train interior cleanliness increased by 14%.
- The average rating for station cleanliness increased by 8%.
Only the availability of space on trains for luggage, bicycles and strollers and availability of seats on trains declined, “unsurprising given the increase in overall ridership since 2022 and BART’s move to run shorter trains to enhance safety and save on energy costs,” according to the agency.
BART has surveyed its riders every two years since 1996. More than 4,600 questionnaires in English, Spanish and Chinese were distributed onboard a representative sample of train runs last autumn.
The survey results were presented to the BART Board of Directors at its annual Board Workshop on Feb. 27.
BART also asks about customer satisfaction in its ongoing Passenger Environment Survey. That survey is about a rider’s specific trip. The latest customer satisfaction rate from that survey is 83%.
NJ Transit
On Feb. 27 at Newark Penn Station, NJ Transit President and CEO Kris Kolluri announced the launch of several initiatives designed to immediately improve the customer experience.
The Customer Care Ambassador pilot program will deploy Customer Care teams—made up of NJ Transit employees wearing bright orange shirts and vests— at Newark Penn Station and Penn Station New York to provide information and support for customers during weekday peak travel periods (6-10 a.m. and 3-7 p.m.). Additionally, Station Care teams—with employees in bright yellow shirts and jackets—will be utilized to increase the frequency of cleaning at Newark Penn Station, Penn Station New York, Trenton Transit Center and Walter Rand Transportation Center in Camden. Both programs will begin Monday, March 3. Additional lighting improvements, as well as enhanced signage, will also be deployed in these stations.
The Customer Care Ambassadors will be assigned to Newark Penn Station and New York Penn Station to offer additional travel information and support for customers during peak travel periods. The Station Care teams, NJ Transit says, “will enhance cleaning frequency during high volume weekday travel periods and during the overnight periods.” The staffers on the Customer Care and Station Care teams will be highly visible and can be recognized, respectively, by their bright orange and yellow NJ Transit apparel.
“Fostering a positive ridership experience will always remain a top priority for NJ Transit,” said New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) Commissioner and NJ Transit Board Chair Fran O’Connor. “The measures outlined today demonstrate our commitment to making NJ Transit a system that customers can rely on, feel safe in, and be proud to use every day.”
“Providing knowledgeable employees to assist customers and improving cleanliness at train stations at key transportation hubs are essential for enhancing the NJ Transit customer experience,” said NJ Transit Board Member and President & CEO of Newark Alliance Evan Weiss. “By addressing these areas, NJ Transit is enhancing its commitment to its customers in ways they can see and feel every ride.”
“Our customers are at the heart of everything we do. Every decision we make—whether it’s modernizing our fleet, strengthening our financial foundation to reinvest in customer-focused initiatives, or enhancing service reliability—is driven by our commitment to delivering the best possible customer experience,” said Kolluri. “These new Customer Care and Station Care teams are important elements in providing a service that is not only efficient and dependable but also responsive to the evolving needs of our customers.”
“The safety of our customers and the public at large is always our highest priority,” said New Jersey Transit Police Chief Christopher Trucillo. “An engaged police presence, alongside the new Customer and Station Care teams, reinforces our commitment to providing a safe and secure environment for transit customers.”
