Metra Ups Service On NW Line As More Workers Return To Office
CHICAGO AREA, IL — With more workers heading back into the office, Metra officials announced Thursday it would ramp up its schedule by adding more trains and stops along the Union Pacific Northwest and North lines.
The new schedules will begin on April 25.
Metra will be adding 21 more trains to its Northwest line, which will bring its total trains from 45 to 66. The new schedule is also meant to better balance passenger loads and allow Metra to improve express service to stations farthest from Chicago, according to a Metra news release.
The schedule has also been adjusted to better accommodate customers with early shifts and reverse commutes, with the first train arriving downtown Chicago at 5:32 a.m. and the first train departing Chicago at 5:05 a.m.
Reverse commuters on the Northwest line will now have six outbound trains departing before 9 a.m., according to the news release.
“We have said since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic that Metra is committed to adjusting its schedules to meet growing ridership and our riders’ changing needs,” said Metra CEO/Executive Director Jim Derwinski. “We are greatly encouraged by the growth in ridership so far this year and we are happy to be welcoming returning riders and new ones to My Metra.”
You can take a look at the new schedule for the Northwest line on the Metra website.
This article originally appeared on the Crystal Lake-Cary Patch
