Red Line South: Better, Faster, Smoother.

November 6, 2013

Elsa Gutierrez Will Gillespie General Manager Traffic Analyst CTA Service Planning & Traffic Engineering CTA Traffic Planning

Why It Was Needed

• Track more than 40 years old and beyond useful life

• Nearly 40 percent of Dan Ryan Branch was slow zone

• Slower trains = longer commutes and increased operation costs to CTA

• Improvements would save up to 20 minutes off daily round-trip commute for South Side riders

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5 Months or 4 Years? 5 Months

• Full closure Cermak-Chinatown to 95th Street

• 20 min passenger savings by end of 2013

• More efficient and cost-effective schedule

• More consistency in construction work – better final product

4 Years • Weekend-only closures of

various portions in stages • Slow zones continue (and

increase) thru 2016 • Would increase project costs

by $75 million • Work is done in segments

which may reduce consistency

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Rail Service Considerations • Passenger Demand:

• Red Line: 255,000 daily passengers • Green Line: 63,000 daily passengers

• Peak Rail Car Requirements • Red Line: 296 cars • Green Line: 90 cars

• Cottage Grove branch only accommodates 6-car trains

• Power and Signal limitations

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New Rail Alignment • Red Line trains operate between

Howard and Ashland/63rd on the elevated tracks south of Roosevelt

• Green Line trains operate between Harlem/Lake and Cottage Grove • Some AM trains turn back at Roosevelt • Some PM trains operate counter-

clockwise around the Loop

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Alternative Service

• Who is impacted? • Where are they going? • What obstacles do they face? • How can we provide

alternatives? 1. Free shuttles 2. Route extensions 3. Route enhancements

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Rail destinations for 69th-95th riders

16%

22%

32%

17%

Other = 13%

Free Bus Shuttles

• Limited rail alternative • Accommodate passenger

demand on Red Line • Simulate Red Line service

with buses – Maintain frequency – Maintain loads – Maintain travel time – Maintain 24-hour service

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Planning New Shuttle Routes

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I/S Pull Tot. In Pull Tot. In Pull Tot.221 10 231 128 2 130 110 2 112

Saturday:2417

Midday Peak6

Midday Peak77

Sun/Hol:Weekday:

Route Description:

Recycle & Recovery:

Span of Service:(first NB trip to last SB trip)

Vehicle Type:

Shuttles will operate direct express service via Garfield Blvd and the Dan Ryan Expressway between Garfield/Green Line Station and 95th Terminal with no interim stopsDuring PM peak, shuttles recycle on the north side via Prairie, 51st, and Elsworth Drive (recovery location). On the south side, shuttles recycle via 95th, Michigan, 99th, and State (recovery location)

60' Articulated buses

Vehicle Hours:(I/S = In Service)

Weekday: Saturday: Sun/Hol:

Vehicles in Service: Midday LowAM Peak PM Peak

Weekday: Saturday: Sun/Hol: 00:4803:53 to 00:48 03:56 00:48to 03:56 to

Interval (begins @ terminal) 4:00 4:30 5:00 5:30 6:00 6:30 7:00 7:30 8:00 8:30 9:00 9:30NB Frequency (minutes) 12.0 12.0 7.0 6.0 4.5 3.5 3.0 3.0 3.5 5.0 6.0 7.0SB Frequency (minutes) 12.0 12.0 7.0 6.0 4.5 6.0 6.0 6.0 6.0 5.0 6.0 7.0Cycle Time (minutes) 49 49 49 49 53 53 53 53 53 53 49 49Deadhead Cycle (minutes) - - - - - 45 45 45 45 - - -NB Passenger Load Per Bus 28 53 56 63 70 71 67 66 73 70 69 58SB Passenger Load Per Bus 7 9 8 9 13 23 31 35 35 31 25 31R95 SB trips depart every 6 mins from 6:30-8:24 so some NB trips will deadhead back to 95th

Shuttle Planning Process

• Origin-Destination (O-D) model data – demand along shuttle routes – northbound & southbound – in 15 minute intervals

• Red Line frequency • Shuttle route cycle length • Bus capacity • Target passenger load

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95th Shuttle (artics) 17:30Northbound

R/T Cycle Time 64Deadhead Cycle TimeBuses Required @ R/T cycle times 7

SouthboundR/T Cycle Time 64Deadhead Cycle Time 57Buses Required @ R/T cycle times 26

Buses on R/T Cycle 7Add'l NB buses deadhead returning

NB Frequency 10.0NB Buses per Departure 1

Add'l SB buses deadhead returning 17SB Frequency 5.0SB Buses per Departure 2

Total Buses 24

Shuttle Statistics

• Bus Requirements: – 61 - 60’ buses (+ spares) – 10 - 40’ buses (+ spares)

• 5,000 vehicle hours (weekly) • Added 1.3% traffic volume

on Dan Ryan expressway • 17,300 daily weekday riders

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Routes Extensions • Extensions and reroutes

focused on maintaining connectivity to the rail network

• Routes were deviated or extended to serve Garfield or the Ashland Branch of the Red Line

• Service to closed Red Line stations was temporarily suspended

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Route Enhancements • Modeled trip decisions of

current customers using O-D transit pass data

• Created a grid of half-mile zones for rider origins

• Focused on north-south routes that feed Ashland branch to minimize additional transfers

• Mostly peak periods • Short-turns focused on

areas with highest demand 12

Number of Daily:

Pre-Construction

During Construction Increase

Passengers 1,500 Trains 236 Buses 304

15,000 1,000% 615 260%

Garfield (Elevated) Transit Hub

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1,256 413%

Garfield Boulevard

Washington Park

U of C

CTA Park

N’ Ride

CTA vacant land

U of C vacant land

Dan Ryan Expy

Site Location and Routing Options

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Garfield Boulevard

• Historic Boulevard • Additional approvals

required to create a temporary cut-through

• Preferred alternative needed to out-weigh other options

• But in the end…

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Initial Shuttle Routing

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Station Improvements

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Station Improvements

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Station Improvements

19

Station Improvements

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Station Improvements

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Wayfinding

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• Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) • Chicago Department of Transportation (CDOT) • Pace Suburban Bus • Metra Commuter Rail • Greyhound Buses • Chicago Parks District • University of Chicago

Agency Coordination

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End of Project by the Numbers

380 million pounds of ballast 7.8 million pounds of rail 60 thousand rail ties 495 announcement speakers 275 security cameras 87 train tracker displays 36 assistance phones 3 elevators = 100% accessible 0 slow zones

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Better Faster

Smoother

DONE

Question & Answer