What is the Metra?
Metra is the primary commuter rail system in the Chicago metropolitan area serving the city and its surrounding suburbs via the Union Pacific Railroad, BNSF Railway, and other railroads.
In addition, it operates eleven rail lines that serve the six counties surrounding the Chicago Metro area. On an average business day, nearly 300,000 commuters use Metra to get to and from work, access recreation, or anything else they wish to do. There are 242 stations in the system.
It is one of the largest commuter rail systems in the nation, serving a six-county region of more than 3,700 square miles. This complex system is comprised of 11 rail lines operating on 488 route miles. These include 1,100 miles of track, 800 bridges, and 2,000 signals.
The division in 1985 came up with the “Metra” name as a service mark for the entire system short for Metropolitan Rail.
Metra is the commuter rail system serving the Chicago metropolitan area. Additionally, in the U.S. states of Illinois and Wisconsin, servicing Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry, and Will Counties in northeastern Illinois and Kenosha in southeastern Wisconsin.
Changes
There will be some big changes starting with how you purchase and use your train tickets. Moreover, the changes were set to take effect on February 1. Therefore, many ticket windows are closing. New vending machines are installed and certain purchasing options are eliminated.
What’s more the main change will be ticket windows closing on all of the railway agency’s lines. Also, vending machines have been placed at bus stops impacted by the decision. Riders are encouraged to use the Ventra app on their mobile devices.
Lastly, another change will involve 10-ride tickets is no longer available and incremental fares. The 10-ride pass will instead be replaced by five packs of Day Pass, according to the agency, which will be price at 9.5 times the rate of a single-ride fare between zones.
By Alana Wilson
Sources:
Wikipedia – Metra by Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Metra – 2024 Fare Changes
Top And Feature Courtesy of Eric Allix Rogers C00 Flickr Page- Creative Commons License
Insert Image Courtesy of Kenneth Spencer C00 Flickr Page- Creative Commons License
