Metra
More than 4,100 University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) students have signed up to receive the new U-Pass + Metra, a pass that provides them with unlimited rides on Metra and CTA for a reduced fare price under a one-year pilot program, Metra reported Sept. 19. According to the commuter railroad, UIC students have long been able to sign up for the CTA’s U-Pass program, but now under a pilot program that started in August, UIC students can also choose a combined CTA-Metra U-Pass + Metra pass for the semester. (See Chicago RTA regional system map above.)
Students who choose the CTA-only pass, which is placed on the student’s U-Pass Ventra card, will pay $163 for the fall 2024 and spring 2025 semesters and $125 for the summer 2025 semester. Students who choose the combined pass will pay $349 for the fall 2024 and spring 2025 semesters and $275 for the summer 2025 semester; they will use their U-Pass Ventra card for the CTA and a mobile pass in the Ventra app for Metra trips.
According to Metra, the CTA-only U-Pass program is used by more 90,000 college students attending more than 65 colleges, universities and institutions of higher education across the region. This is on top of the 4,100 UIC students who chose the combined CTA-Metra pass.
Metra said it is tracking participation in the program, as well as the actual use of the reduced fare student passes, including the times of use and frequency. The pilot will help the railroad determine the cost of extending the pass to additional schools and whether it would be financially sustainable.
“I look forward to continued collaboration with UIC, CTA, and Metra to ensure the program’s success through outreach and the launch of a guide showcasing for students the diverse destinations that await through this combined system,” said Mohammed Haq, the former Student Trustee and alumnus who led the effort to implement this pilot program.
“This is just one more way that Metra can draw new riders and hopefully turn them into regular Metra riders after they graduate,” Metra Executive Director/CEO Jim Derwinski said. “We are pleased to be working with the CTA and UIC to offer this benefit to UIC students.”
“CTA’s U-Pass program provides a tremendous benefit to students across Chicagoland, and now, with the new partnership with Metra and University of Illinois Chicago, UIC students have another affordable transit option,” CTA President Dorval R. Carter Jr. said. “This collaboration is yet another example of coordinated efforts amongst the region’s transit providers to expand transit access and improve mobility for residents of the region.”
Caltrain
Caltrain on Sept. 18 announced that it will name one of its 23 Stadler Rail-built KISS bilevel EMUs (electric multiple-units) in honor of U.S. Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.), who is nearing the end of her final term in Congress after serving for 32 years. The trainset, which will be used in Caltrain’s new electrified service between San Francisco and San Jose, is the first to be dedicated.
Eshoo has been a longtime advocate for public transit in general and Caltrain in particular. Most notably, she helped to ensure that Caltrain received more than $1 billion in federal funding to bring the $2.4 billion Electrification Project over the finish line, according to Caltrain, which on Sept. 21-22 will hold community festivals at the Palo Alto and San Mateo stations to mark the start of electrified service. “Eshoo also consistently fought for safety improvements, including funding for grade separation projects, helping to create a new Railroad Crossing Elimination program through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL; also known as the Infrastructure Jobs Act),” Caltrain reported. “Eshoo directly secured over $20 million in BIL funds for projects supporting pedestrian, bus, bike, and transit safety infrastructure investments. Over her distinguished career, Rep. Eshoo has ensured that millions of federal transportation dollars flowed to her district to help support mobility needs for a diverse population that benefits from cleaner buses, new bike paths, safer pedestrian crossings and modernized trains.”
Caltrain’s Electrification Project upgraded and electrified its double-track system from the 4th and King Station in San Francisco to the Tamien Station in San Jose and replaced trains. The regional/commuter railroad awarded Stadler a $551 million contract to supply 16 six-car EMUs in August 2016 with an option to extend these sets to seven-car trains exercised in December 2018. The 110-mph-capable trainsets were built at the manufacturer’s plant in Salt Lake City, and there are options worth $385 million under the original contract to supply up to 96 additional railcars. The EMUs replace trains powered by F40 diesel locomotives—approximately 75% of Caltrain’s diesel fleet—which entered service in 1985. Its newer locomotives will be retained to operate the non-electrified Dumbarton extension and services south of Tamien.
“Caltrain is lucky to have dedicated advocates like Congresswoman Eshoo in Washington, D.C., who understand the importance of public transportation,” Caltrain Executive Director Michelle Bouchard said. “She has shown her commitment to this rail corridor time and time again, and we are proud to honor that commitment by making her name a permanent part of our railroad.”
“Out with the old and in with the new!” said Eshoo about the dedication. “The slow, noisy and polluting trains of centuries past are being replaced with quiet, faster, zero emission, energy efficient electric trains, and it’s a singular honor to have one of the new electric trains named after me. I can’t help but think that the late San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee is smiling down on us today. When so many people said this couldn’t be done, he believed in the Electrification Project and called me ‘electrifying Anna.’ I’m so proud that Caltrain and all of the partners in this fight persisted, bringing us to this date to celebrate the rollout of a 21st century commuter system.”
Metrolink
Beginning Oct. 21, Metrolink will add another 32 weekday trains to its schedule, boosting service by nearly 23%, according to the regional passenger railroad that has 545.6 total service line miles and 67 stations spanning Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, Ventura, and San Diego counties (see map above). The new schedule will offer riders greater flexibility, including more midday options, to better meet the region’s evolving transportation needs, Metrolink reported. It will also streamline connections between lines, reducing wait times for most riders transferring from one line to another and facilitating travel between counties. According to the railroad, the number of connections available throughout the day is increasing by more than 300% and most riders will have wait periods of 10-20 minutes; these operational efficiencies will also allow Metrolink to user fewer trainsets to run more trains.
The Orange County, San Bernardino, and Inland Empire-Orange County (IEOC) lines will see the most significant changes. The San Bernardino Line will welcome 16 new weekday trains, including 10 roundtrips from LA Union Station to Covina. The Orange County Line will add seven trains with all weekday trips operating at least as far south as Irvine, and four new IEOC Line trains will bolster connectivity between Riverside and Orange counties. The final weekend IEOC Line train from Oceanside to San Bernardino has also been adjusted and will leave three hours later.
The Ventura County and 91/Perris Valley lines will each add two weekday trains, while one underutilized Riverside Line trip has been removed. The number of trains serving the Antelope Valley Line will not change, though eight trains that currently operate between Los Angeles and the Via Princessa Station will be extended to and from the Vista Canyon Station. The new schedule will complement Amtrak Pacific Surfliner codeshare trains between Los Angeles and Ventura, which will not be affected.
Many existing Metrolink routes have been shifted slightly earlier or later to more effectively space service throughout the day, Metrolink said.
“Customers and community members have been asking for more frequent trains, midday options and better connections, and we are listening,” Metrolink Board Chair and City of Highland Mayor Pro Tem Larry McCallon said. “The new schedule will allow Metrolink to reach beyond the traditional, Monday-through-Friday commuter windows and deliver a service that appeals to even more Southern Californians.”
Last October, Metrolink expanded service and provided similar train options on the Antelope Valley Line, which coincided with the launch of the free Student Adventure Pass. As a result of the additional service, Metrolink said annual ridership grew by 7% between August 2023 and August 2024 when users of the Student Adventure Pass were excluded.
“The pandemic didn’t just change how and where people work,” said Metrolink CEO Darren Kettle, whose contract was recently extended through September 2029. “It changed how they travel and interact with transit systems. To ensure Metrolink remains a valuable resource for the communities we serve, we are reimagining our role within our region’s broader transportation landscape. We’ll still be here for daily 9-to-5 commuters, but we’re expanding our model to better accommodate a diverse range of customers, including tourists and day-trippers, students and nontraditional workers.”
QLine Detroit
The Regional Transit Authority of Southeast Michigan has agreed to take over the 3.3-mile, 12-stop QLine streetcar service on Oct. 1, according to the Axios Detriot, which reported that the move “could lead to future expansion.” There will be no interruptions to the free service.
“Transferring the QLine from the nonprofit M-1 Rail to the RTA is a step toward a true regional transit system, a crucial service Metro Detroit lacks,” the media outlet said in its Sept. 19 report. “By bringing the QLine under its umbrella, the RTA is better positioned to grow its services portfolio, including the new bus route to DTW and the D2A2 bus connecting Detroit to Ann Arbor.” Additionally, the QLine will be able to “access new state and federal funding previously unavailable with a nonprofit in charge.”
“The move costs taxpayers nothing extra, per the RTA,” according to the media outlet, which reported that “RTA will assume the QLine’s $10 million annual budget, its streetcars and other assets and the service’s approximately 45 employees.” Additionally, it said that the QLine “will continue to receive $5 million in annual tax subsidies that the state agreed to provide two years ago through 2039.”
QLine construction began in 2014 and service launched in 2017; it was backed by “$150 million in philanthropic donations from the Kresge Foundation, Dan Gilbert’s Rock Family of Companies, Penske Corp., and others,” Axios Detriot reported.
RTA of Southeast Michigan began weighing a takeover of the QLine in December 2023.
WMATA
With work now completed at the Judiciary Square Station, all 98 of WMATA’s rapid transit stations now have “more secure, retrofitted faregates to deter fare evasion,” according to the transit agency, which reported on Sept. 19 that the improvements have led to an 82% drop in fare evasion systemwide.
Since the retrofit project began in July 2023, more than 1,200 five-foot-tall gates and taller fences have been installed.
“We have seen incredible results from the taller faregates,” WMATA General Manager Randy Clarke said during a recent visit to Judiciary Square. “We are never going to completely stop fare evasion, but these go a long way in addressing the problem.”
Fare evasion increased to record levels during the pandemic, leading to a loss of $40 million of fare revenue per year, according to WMATA. And it is one of customers’ biggest concerns. In WMATA surveys, “[c]ustomers said it made them feel unsafe and that it was unfair to those who paid fares,” the transit agency reported.
“Tackling fare evasion has been one of the Board of Directors top priorities,” WMATA Board Finance and Capital Committee Chair Matt Letourneau said. “Not only does fare evasion cost us badly needed revenue, it is fundamentally unfair to all our customers who pay their hard-earned money. By cracking down on fare evasion through new faregates and better enforcement, we’ve also been able to make our system safer by deterring those with bad intentions from riding. The Board appreciates the hard work of staff to address this issue and improve our system.”
WMATA said that Transit Police continue to patrol stations for fare evasion and have written more than 10,000 fare evasion citations so far this year—nearly three times the number of tickets written through the same period last year and 2,000 more citations than all of 2019.
Meanwhile, WMATA has issued a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) for a developer “with experience creating vibrant and sustainable communities” for the Capitol Heights Metro Station, one of four stations on the Blue Line Corridor initiative in Prince George’s County.
The approximately five-and-a-half-acre property is a transit-oriented development opportunity to provide new housing and neighborhood-serving retail, and improve connectivity adjacent to transit, according to WMATA. After selecting a developer, the transit agency will negotiate a Joint Development Agreement allowing the developer to develop the site.
On May 17, Maryland State Delegate Jazz M. Lewis announced the state’s $17 million commitment toward transit and site infrastructure to help facilitate and advance development at the Capitol Heights station. WMATA, Prince George’s County and the Town of Capitol Heights executed a Memorandum of Understanding to commemorate a partnership for this opportunity.
“The Capitol Heights Station is an integral part of Prince George’s County Blue Line Corridor vision, a consolidated planning effort to catalyze growth and further private investment between Capitol Heights and Downtown Largo,” the transit agency said. “In advancing this vision, the State of Maryland has provided $450 million to construct a range of new signature facilities along the Corridor, including an amphitheater, market hall, central library and cultural center, civic plaza, youth sports fieldhouse, ‘complete streets’ infrastructure, and the Central Avenue Connector Trail.”
According to WMATA, this RFQ is the fourth of five joint development solicitations expected to be released this year.
“The value that joint development brings not only to Metro [WMATA], but to the region, is immeasurable,” Randy Clarke said. “Through transit-oriented development we are building livable, walkable communities, cultivating a new generation of transit users, supporting sustainability, and connecting people to jobs.”
Since issuing its 10-year Strategic Plan for Joint Development in April 2022, WMATA and its joint development partners have broken ground on six residential buildings throughout the region, totaling approximately 1,900 units including 1,100 affordable units. WMATA said its goal is to have 20 new joint development agreements by 2032.
