CHICAGO — Metra will make major increases to weekend service on its BNSF Line, adding six trains on Saturdays and 16 on Sundays to create equal schedules for both weekend days.
The commuter operator will also make some weekday changes as part of a new schedule effective on Monday, April 29.
The new weekend schedule will boost service to 18 round trips from the current 15 on Saturdays and 10 on Sundays. It will provide hourly inbound service from 5 a.m. to noon and 2 p.m. to 7 p.m., and hourly outbound service from 10 a.m. to midnight. The move reflects a post-pandemic pattern, for Metra and other commuter operators, that has seen ridership recover or grow more quickly on weekends.
“We continue to listen to our riders and adjust our schedules to meet their needs,” Metra CEO/Executive Director Jim Derwinski said in a press release. “We’re especially excited to be able to offer more weekend service so that Metra is an even better option for anyone wanting to enjoy all the events and attractions that are part of summer in Chicago.”
Weekend trains will no longer stop at the Stone Avenue station in La Grange, following a pattern for current weekday off-peak service that skips some stops, including Stone Avenue, to improve service speed and reliability.
Weekday changes include adjusted times for off-peak trains that will see trains after 9 a.m. departing Aurora at 5 minutes past the hour, with corresponding changes at intermediate stations en route to Chciago. Other changes will see three earlier inbound trains will depart slightly earlier; the Fairview Avenue station in Downers Grove added as a stop on all off-peak local trains, and stops at Westmont or Halsted Street for other trains. The complete new schedules can be viewed here.
Glad to see this. I hope Metra expands weekend service on its other routes. The two-hour headways on Sundays actively discourages ridership.
How about the no-weekend service routes. North Central Service is 21 years old. If it has proven in 21 years it can support weekday service, it can support weekend service as well. (If CNR cooperates.)
About time! The MBTA’s commuter trains are back to pre Covid levels because they’ve added midday and weekend trains, and making Sundays same as Saturdays. Metra is still 50%. This should start the turnaround.
This is an improvement. IMHO, Metra really needs to have off-peak service at 30-minute intervals on all lines. The traffic on Chicago expressways is abysmal. 30-minute off-peak service would help reduce the traffic. Especially on the lines to the northwest along the Kennedy and Edens expressways, which are currently undergoing a massive reconstruction.