America's weirdest commuter train : METRA ELECTRIC !

Howdy folks

It's been a while since I haven't ride METRA's most unique passenger service, the Electric line and oh boy...
Enjoy!

- TRIP INFORMATION -
RECORDED NOVEMBER 2022
Railroad company: METRA
Train type: Highliner II
From: Millenium station to 47th street (Kenwood)
Time: 0h16
Price: 2$

Massive thanks to my following Patreon for their help :

00:00 : Intro
01:19 : Millenium station
02:17 : METRA Electric
02:35 : Highliner
03:46 : Ticket fail
04:30 : METRA being METRA
06:31 : Boarding
06:48 : Seat check
07:32 : Departure
07:36 : Mid roll ads
08:03 : South Shore line
08:30 : Gallery's ONLY advantage
08:42 : IC Electric
09:03 : Walkthrough
09:57 : Toilets Time
10:20 : Green hell
10:27 : Three lines
10:47 : Vibes
10:53 : How old are ya
11:11 : Flag stop to the 19th century
11:58 : Departure and thoughts
12:25 : Outro

[carstarsarstenstesenn]

Metra has so much potential. A lot of people who use it don't realize how much better it could be if it were modernized. The frequency of trains is also sad

[geddyleesmullet]

A few things to know, the green tint on the windows are done to keep out a significant amount of heat from direct sunlight in the summer, before that on the old Budd CBQ bi-level and C&NW Pullman bi-level car from the 50s both had venetian blinds early on when they were first delivered but removed in the early 60s to the green tint that we have but Metra is now changing the green tint on the windows for a neutral almost grey tint in some of the 90s cars that are being rehabed. Most people who ride the Metra electric stay in the food court or outside in the waiting room by the food court before knowing what train is on what platform for the same issue you had, plus board on the train towards the end of the platform not toward the head of the station at Millennium Park Station. And a recommendation if you plan on riding the Metra again, you should try riding the Metra UP-North toward downtown Evanston or riding the Rock Island Suburban branch toward Blue Island.

[thefareplayer]

As someone who lived in Hyde Park Chicago for a few years, it’s pretty surreal to see you review Metra Electric! You did a great job highlighting some serious shortcomings that often get overlooked by regular riders just used to the service: the unwelcoming, cavernous, dingy basement of a station that Millennium is, the old, wonky ticket machines that frustrate to no end (the mobile ticketing is much easier), and Chicago’s unfortunate exception to the Midwest’s reputation as being polite. Despite these flaws, the service is actually pretty good, at least by American commuter rail standards: modern cars (in years old and reliability, if not design), fast acceleration, stations placed in walkable, vibrant urban areas, very cheap fares, and very frequent service for commuter rail (more like an infrequent metro line than a normal American commuter line). I hope you also had a chance to explore Hyde Park: it’s a gorgeous, diverse, student-oriented neighborhood with great restaurants and magnificent lakeside views.

[crashcast_e]

8:15 NICTD didn't actually eliminate the streetrunning section due to safety reasons; 11th Street is being reduced to a one-lane, one-way street so that the South Shore Line can run a double track, isolated right-of-way. This is part of the South Shore double-tracking project, which intends to reduce travel times and greatly increase frequency along the line, as well as introducing several station improvements. I'd still say that even with the rapid infrastructure projects happening, the South Shore is still by far the most unique, and one of the best commuter railroads in the country.

[Nadia]

The "reversible" seats makes me remember the Retiro-Mitre line coaches of my childhood. The seats were broad as couches, and a small family could squeeze and fit in one.

[gretchenchadwick]

My son is special needs and he loves trains 🚆🚋🚞🚝🚉🚈🚇🚅🚄🚃🚂🚊🛤 they're one of his favorite things in the whole world 🌎! He finds those bi level electric trains very interesting and thinks they are highly underrated rail transportation vehicles.

[thebabbler]

Chicago is a rail fan's paradise.

[trashrabbit]

Such an interesting line, but also so MASSIVELY important for the South Side and Metra. Even though its so slow, and goes so little in terms of length, it is easily the busiest line and has the highest passenger rate compared to all other lines. If Metra could mimic the Electric's abilities; EMUs, excellent frequency (for a commuter/interurban), and really good urban planning and city design to land the route right smack-dab in the bustling centers of major neighborhoods and suburbs. Sadly, a lot of that is due to much of Chicago's sprawl being stroady hellscape where not even a good transit route can save its inherent inefficiency and parasitic sufficiency off of the Chicago core, but it can be a great stepping stone for Metra to rethink its strategies for planning alongside other city officials. Is that a pipe dream? Probably. They just got effing SD70MACs as PASSENGER locomotives, ffs.

[ztl]

Terrible ticket machines and unconcerned attendants definitely tracks with my Metra experience. That said, I personally like the gallery cars, the upstairs level is pretty cozy if you’re a lone commuter with no big bags.

[erichhouchens]

A couple comments about your Metra Electric ride.

Most commuter stations are pretty much basic buildings. The vast majority of users are commuters rushing to their offices in the morning and back home in the evening. Some of the larger stations such as South Station in Boston, Grand Central in New York, Washington Union Station and LA Union are much better.

Having two or three train sets parked at a platform is not uncommon especially in a three branch operation like Metra Electric. It always advised to walk to the far end of the platform. That way you'll be on the right train and you're more likely to find a seat if the train is crowded.

The fact that the line is electrified is the result of a law passed in the early 1900 requiring the line to be electrified. This is because the line ran along the line ran along the lake front, an upper class area, and people complained about the smoke from steam locomotives.

Stainless Steel heaven. That got me a laugh. Stainless steel is used for just about all north American passenger trains. One of the main benefits of this is graffiti is easy to remove as paint doesn't stick to stainless steel very easily and can be removed with a pressure washer. This is why north American passenger trains don't look like the rolling "art" galleries that so many European trains have become.

As far as the cars only being 10 years old, Metra told Nippon Sharyo what they wanted and that's what got built. This is a general move away for gallery type cars among US transit operators over the last two to three decades. Even Metra is now ordering full double decker cars for their diesel lines.

The trains are ugly. Yes they are but the whole purpose of these trains is to move as many people as possible. The flat front end is because each two car married set has a cab at each end for the engineer/driver. This allows the cars to be used in the middle of a train and still allow passengers to walk through from car to car. The LIRR trains, which you made a video on, are even more boxier. BTW - the front window of the first car is generally referred to as the Rail Fan Window (RFW) as it allows you to look out the front like the engineer/driver. Below is a video of the Metra Electric shot from the RFW. This video was actually put out by Metra.

[michaelbruchas]

Hello from Downers Grove - a half block from the METRA BNSF line.
You should also ride the South Shore electric to South Bend, IN.
You should have ridden farther South on the line and gone to the Museum of Science and Industry. Seen the original Zephyr and a GREAT model train lay-out!

[annabelleecho]

I've been riding this train for many years but I never got off at 47th St. I never had a problem except once the south bound train to the South suburbs was running on the opposite track but I noticed before my train arrived.
My sixth grade teacher at Bret Harte Elementary made the announcement to the class. She found out from her husband who was a doctor at Michael Reese Hospital: 50th anniversary of the deadliest train crash in Chicago’s history was about a month ago. Back then the line was called Illinois Central.

[JoeyLovesTrains]

7:20 I didn't know they kept that feature lol. I'm surprised other rail companies got rid of it.

[evero]

As a Japanese, we grew up admired to America; it a shame that the railway infrastructures take second place to cars and airplanes; compared to Japan where many people use trains (obvious by geography, though)
I suppose this would be one of world's tallest train.
fun fact; Nippon Sharyo means Japanese Carriage Manufacturer, and the symbol 「車」means "car" in Japanese and Chinese.
Given that it was made in 2014, they should've had vacuum toilets (that won't clog up) and display onboard :( but I like the fact that they have wifi onboard; (JR are so reluctant on retrofitting wifi on their trains, shame that the Sunrise sleeper train still doesn't have one)

[tobyradabaugh]

I’ve grown up in the Chicago area rode metra a few times and the biggest problem is they don’t get enough funding so the equipment is old and dated but they still keep things clean and make the most out of what they have

[DFWRailVideos]

Those bilevels were made that way to stay consistent with the standard metra bilevels that are made by the same company. Originally the line used old Illinois Central bilevel EMU cars from the 80s which were retired in the mid 2010s as the new bilevels came in. Loving these trip reviews.

Also, if you want better EMUs, come down to Dallas. There’s some pretty wacky one-off design EMUs built in the 90s by Kinkisharyo, with classic rollsigns. About half of the trains have LED signs. The trains have an unmistakable sound that you can’t miss! If you ever decided to ride DART I could give you some tips on what and what not to do.

[WillGrimm]

The reason most stations on the MED have ticket machines is because the Illinois Central originally installed automatic ticket barriers that accepted tickets in the 1970’s as a way to eliminate on board conductors. Metra removed the barriers in the early 2000’s but the concept still remakns

[squrt]

I learned to love trains when I rode the IC Electric (the same line that you're on) between Bryn Mawr and downtown Chicago back in the 60s when I was a wee lad. Great review and love your videos.

[thpass]

Long time subscriber here and it was cool to see you take this line. I remember taking this to Hyde park 55th st for the U of C. I also agree that you should take the UP-N if you want a longer ride and gaps between stations. The BNSF and the metra electric are two of the most maligned lines by commuters for many of the same reasons you showed here. Thanks for the upload and i always enjoy your train vids.

[jamesschock]

My line is the Milwaukee District West Line our station is Chicago Union Station which as you know is magnificent. The green windows are to prevent sun 🌞 glare on sunny days which can be significant. This keeps maintenance costs low so they don't have to have shades or curtains on the windows and don't have to clean or maintain or replace them. I love my Metra Service.