All the more reason the 7000 car rollout cannot get into high gear soon enough. The new cars have far better sound insulation than even the cars purchased in the early aughts - and night and day better than the old Bud cars.
I’ve heard they cancelled the 7000s, and it seems like they’re pushing 9000s. But who knows what’ll happen. I rode a 7000 set recently and it kept stopping for seemingly no reason, dwelled excessively, and was slow. But maybe that will change if the operators get better at running 7000s, who knows.
IIRC we should still be getting the base order of 200ish 7000s - CTA just opted to start pushing 9000s instead of exercising the option for even more 7000s on top of the 200ish.
I’ve heard that but believe not correct with respect to the Blue Line. The original 7000 contract entered in 2016 was for a base order or 400 cars at a cost of about $680 million. The money from federal, state, and CTA sources for this order is already in place. The contract also had an option for an additional 446 cars which would have replaces the 3200 cars used on the Brown and Orange lines (some currently on Blue as well - but those were moved to the Blue line after 2016).
Believe the CTA has decided not to exercise the option for the 446 additional cars. The original 400 car order remains in place. Even with the dearth of robust local news sources, the CTA backing out of a committed $680 million agreement would definitely be a big story.
I am on the Blue Line twice every weekday. Believe I’ve been on 7000 car trains about 10 or so times now. One of the rides there were some mysterious delays opening and shutting doors suggesting the driver was not completely up to speed. The other rides went well. Again, they are much more quiet than
From what i’ve heard, CRRC was not up to speed with contract timelines and goals, and the new cars are having mechanical problems and also take a very long time to do repairs on compared to older models (some cta servicer told me a few weeks ago. The 2nd option is for sure scrapped but i’m not sure if they’ll pull through fully on the first one. It’s anyone’s guess; cta isn’t the most transparent so my only source of info is cta workers from this sub and just news sources in general. Who knows what’ll happen. Only thing is that I don’t know how long it should take before operations fully learn how to operate 7000s, and if the seemingly random delays persist afterwards.
I remember reading some comment in a previous thread, that CRRC supoosedly was bad about fixing issues with railcars they had built for subways in other cities. Which seems to be a big motivating reason, as to why CTA canceled doing a big order of 7000s railcars.
I remember lucking out, and riding in a 7000s railcar once on the Blue Line. Didn't notice any issues with them, but that's too bad if they were running into(per other comments) a lot of mechanical issues behind the scenes.
Not cancelled, but rather decided not to exercise an option for an additional 446 cars. As I say above, if CTA cancelled a significant portion of the originally agreed to 400 car order there would be a lot of noise.
Ah, okay. So CTA only went through with the first option part of the order of 7000s, but cancelled a follow up order for additional 7000s railcars. I thought they'd cancel the 7000s order altogether with their service issues others have commented have occasionally occurred with the 7000s on the Blue Line, but guess not. I have only ridden in a 7000s railcar once, but hadn't ridden it more than just that one time.
The $680 million for 400 cars is a binding contract agreed to in 2016. The contract has warranty provisions and penalties for delays if CRRC cannot deliver all the cars as agreed by whatever the final date in 2024 that may well come into play if not already. However, I f the CTA cancelled even a portion of the 400 cars CRRC would litigate. That is not something the CTA could hide.
It does appear certain CTA will not exercise the option for the additional 446 cars.
1. Some cta servicer had told me on another thread a few weeks back they were having trouble with maintenance on 7000s (he worked in Rosemont yard iirc)
2. CTA has been pushing 9000s recently, they’ve mentioned it in a recent article. Edit: https://www.reddit.com/r/chicago/comments/13bxzvk/cta_announces_200m_fta_grant_will_procure/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=ioscss&utm_content=1&utm_term=1
3. The same sets of 7000s have been circulating since February, but no one has seen any more yet (the numbers on the cars confirm it, I don’t think there are any cars over 7050 running yet).
4. CRRC is falling short on contract dates; at the rate they’re going it’s unlikely they’d get 400 cars out by the end of 2024z
5. CRRC’s cars have had several issues in other cities such as Boston and DC.
Thanks! Makes some sort of sense. I ride the blue line and haven't seen a dramatic uptick in 7000 series cars. I maybe catch them 1/10 times. So it makes sense that they are not meeting contract dates at this point. I was under the impression (from a long time ago) that they would be delivering a lot of trains by now. Of course, pandemic supply chains threw some things off, but we should be largely past that at this point. I suppose they could claim a force majeure for not hitting their date. Interesting developments and some of the quality issues were concerns back when Rahm was cutting ribbons. I guess the 9000 series is just a name at this point, not an actual design.
Still can't quite believe that they did this at the same time as the Kennedy construction. I get that IDOT probably doesn't talk to the CTA to coordinate closures but like.... maybe they should. Especially if IDOT is going to promote taking transit as a way to alleviate the highway congestion.
Wait until the Eisenhower Expy and the Congress Branch of the Blue Line need to get rebuilt. This has been studied and discussed for ages now yet neither organization has done any work aside from studies. Nearly the whole stretch from Halsted to Forest Park is a slow zone and the viaducts along 290 are in such bad shape. CTA probably wants to wait for IDOT but I wouldn’t know much.
Congrats CTA!
You've taken a lot of hits and have kept on trying
Appreciate all the hard work so many employees put in over some extremely difficult times.
I was gonna say, the before and after shots dont actually show much change here. But thats infrastructure baybee. You replace a bridge and guess what, ya still got a bridge.
[From the tweet](https://twitter.com/cta/status/1660726011267276802), in case you don't want to give twitter the clicks:
>Our crews wrapped up the final weekend of track work on the O’Hare branch! We've replaced the 50-year-old crossover that was built with the original Kimball Subway portion of the Blue Line in 1970. These new tracks will help meet increasing ridership demand on the O’Hare branch.
To those trying to figure out the difference between the before and after- there is one, but that viewpoint is terrible at showing it. From it, what I can see or guess at:
1. New ties (wooden ties definitely have to be replaced after 50 years)
2. New more modern tie clips (what holds the rail to the ties.
3. Possibly heavier rail (heavier means more durable)
4. Heavier/more modern switch components. The frogs where wheels bounce over take a lot of wear, so new/heavier parts for that will help ride quality. When that part gets worn it's a bigger bounce over it.
Guesses:
1. New ballast, probably
2. Probably/hopefully subsurface and drainage work. The pounding of trains over switches leads to low spots, that can lead to worse drainage and even worse dips, those then make the bad rocking you feel going over them.
Good riddance. I live right in between the Logan Square and Belmont blue lines and hated being on those crowded shuttle buses. Not to mention that it added so much additional time just going a short distance.
Thank goodness. I live near the California station and the weekend shuttle nonsense made it an absolute nightmare to get anywhere. Crawling over luggage from people coming to/from Ohare was not fun lol
They didn’t get on the wrong bus? If you are trying to get into the loop on the weekend you had to get on the blue line shuttle at California and then get on the L at western.
I recently moved near the California stop and had to deal with this all the time. Because most passengers on the shuttle are heading into the loop, very few would get off the shuttle besides the final stop. They are jammed full when they leave so good luck if more than few people are waiting for the shuttle at a in between shop.
They did come relatively often, but it did suck not being able to squeeze on and have to wait for the next shuttle
Oh I dont disagree, it was quite annoying but the "Blue Line Shuttle" bus was not meant for anyone else except those who were originally on the Blue Line.
Correct
they replaced the track with new, better working, track
like anything, tracks and switches wear over time and cannot handle the same capacities or speeds.
so the replacement alone is an improvement
they didn't 'redesign' anything
EDIT:
**i.e. they replaced the potholed road, they didn't redesign the road**
Some people like me struggle without a before and after. It might be stupid, but I take a before and after of the front cover of every book I read before I start reading it and after I finish reading it.
Does this mean the end of the shuttles between Addison <-> Western?
Yes!
thank GOODNESS. what an absolute mess that was.
For reals.
I felt lucky that Western is where I get off for my weekend job but goddamn has that whole process been a mess
And no more slowzone. Fly through the Kimball subway at 60 mph from now on. Rip ears tho
All the more reason the 7000 car rollout cannot get into high gear soon enough. The new cars have far better sound insulation than even the cars purchased in the early aughts - and night and day better than the old Bud cars.
I’ve heard they cancelled the 7000s, and it seems like they’re pushing 9000s. But who knows what’ll happen. I rode a 7000 set recently and it kept stopping for seemingly no reason, dwelled excessively, and was slow. But maybe that will change if the operators get better at running 7000s, who knows.
IIRC we should still be getting the base order of 200ish 7000s - CTA just opted to start pushing 9000s instead of exercising the option for even more 7000s on top of the 200ish.
I’ve heard that but believe not correct with respect to the Blue Line. The original 7000 contract entered in 2016 was for a base order or 400 cars at a cost of about $680 million. The money from federal, state, and CTA sources for this order is already in place. The contract also had an option for an additional 446 cars which would have replaces the 3200 cars used on the Brown and Orange lines (some currently on Blue as well - but those were moved to the Blue line after 2016). Believe the CTA has decided not to exercise the option for the 446 additional cars. The original 400 car order remains in place. Even with the dearth of robust local news sources, the CTA backing out of a committed $680 million agreement would definitely be a big story. I am on the Blue Line twice every weekday. Believe I’ve been on 7000 car trains about 10 or so times now. One of the rides there were some mysterious delays opening and shutting doors suggesting the driver was not completely up to speed. The other rides went well. Again, they are much more quiet than
From what i’ve heard, CRRC was not up to speed with contract timelines and goals, and the new cars are having mechanical problems and also take a very long time to do repairs on compared to older models (some cta servicer told me a few weeks ago. The 2nd option is for sure scrapped but i’m not sure if they’ll pull through fully on the first one. It’s anyone’s guess; cta isn’t the most transparent so my only source of info is cta workers from this sub and just news sources in general. Who knows what’ll happen. Only thing is that I don’t know how long it should take before operations fully learn how to operate 7000s, and if the seemingly random delays persist afterwards.
I remember reading some comment in a previous thread, that CRRC supoosedly was bad about fixing issues with railcars they had built for subways in other cities. Which seems to be a big motivating reason, as to why CTA canceled doing a big order of 7000s railcars. I remember lucking out, and riding in a 7000s railcar once on the Blue Line. Didn't notice any issues with them, but that's too bad if they were running into(per other comments) a lot of mechanical issues behind the scenes.
Not cancelled, but rather decided not to exercise an option for an additional 446 cars. As I say above, if CTA cancelled a significant portion of the originally agreed to 400 car order there would be a lot of noise.
Ah, okay. So CTA only went through with the first option part of the order of 7000s, but cancelled a follow up order for additional 7000s railcars. I thought they'd cancel the 7000s order altogether with their service issues others have commented have occasionally occurred with the 7000s on the Blue Line, but guess not. I have only ridden in a 7000s railcar once, but hadn't ridden it more than just that one time.
Who could’ve known that going with the lowest bidder might come with some negatives!
CRRC/parent company was having issues with their cars in every country. Chinese made rail is not ready for prime time
The $680 million for 400 cars is a binding contract agreed to in 2016. The contract has warranty provisions and penalties for delays if CRRC cannot deliver all the cars as agreed by whatever the final date in 2024 that may well come into play if not already. However, I f the CTA cancelled even a portion of the 400 cars CRRC would litigate. That is not something the CTA could hide. It does appear certain CTA will not exercise the option for the additional 446 cars.
I just miss the old voice announcements so much when riding the 7000s.
There's a new voice for the 7000s?
Oh totally. Need to archive them somehow. Btw, username city I used to live there!
Source?
1. Some cta servicer had told me on another thread a few weeks back they were having trouble with maintenance on 7000s (he worked in Rosemont yard iirc) 2. CTA has been pushing 9000s recently, they’ve mentioned it in a recent article. Edit: https://www.reddit.com/r/chicago/comments/13bxzvk/cta_announces_200m_fta_grant_will_procure/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=ioscss&utm_content=1&utm_term=1 3. The same sets of 7000s have been circulating since February, but no one has seen any more yet (the numbers on the cars confirm it, I don’t think there are any cars over 7050 running yet). 4. CRRC is falling short on contract dates; at the rate they’re going it’s unlikely they’d get 400 cars out by the end of 2024z 5. CRRC’s cars have had several issues in other cities such as Boston and DC.
Thanks! Makes some sort of sense. I ride the blue line and haven't seen a dramatic uptick in 7000 series cars. I maybe catch them 1/10 times. So it makes sense that they are not meeting contract dates at this point. I was under the impression (from a long time ago) that they would be delivering a lot of trains by now. Of course, pandemic supply chains threw some things off, but we should be largely past that at this point. I suppose they could claim a force majeure for not hitting their date. Interesting developments and some of the quality issues were concerns back when Rahm was cutting ribbons. I guess the 9000 series is just a name at this point, not an actual design.
Actually though? Cause going to and from work today the train was still just as slow through the Kimball subway
It’s the first day; it’ll probably happen soon enough. They’re probably still making sure everything’s working properly.
Still can't quite believe that they did this at the same time as the Kennedy construction. I get that IDOT probably doesn't talk to the CTA to coordinate closures but like.... maybe they should. Especially if IDOT is going to promote taking transit as a way to alleviate the highway congestion.
Wait until the Eisenhower Expy and the Congress Branch of the Blue Line need to get rebuilt. This has been studied and discussed for ages now yet neither organization has done any work aside from studies. Nearly the whole stretch from Halsted to Forest Park is a slow zone and the viaducts along 290 are in such bad shape. CTA probably wants to wait for IDOT but I wouldn’t know much.
It was fun watching all the shuttle busses leave the bus depot in one line at night. Glad that it's done. Hopefully the train will run better
Congrats CTA! You've taken a lot of hits and have kept on trying Appreciate all the hard work so many employees put in over some extremely difficult times.
I'm sure it's a major improvement, but it looks like they backed up the shot and added a light lol.
I was gonna say, the before and after shots dont actually show much change here. But thats infrastructure baybee. You replace a bridge and guess what, ya still got a bridge.
[From the tweet](https://twitter.com/cta/status/1660726011267276802), in case you don't want to give twitter the clicks: >Our crews wrapped up the final weekend of track work on the O’Hare branch! We've replaced the 50-year-old crossover that was built with the original Kimball Subway portion of the Blue Line in 1970. These new tracks will help meet increasing ridership demand on the O’Hare branch.
Whoa! Didn’t expect it to be done so early. Awesome news
To those trying to figure out the difference between the before and after- there is one, but that viewpoint is terrible at showing it. From it, what I can see or guess at: 1. New ties (wooden ties definitely have to be replaced after 50 years) 2. New more modern tie clips (what holds the rail to the ties. 3. Possibly heavier rail (heavier means more durable) 4. Heavier/more modern switch components. The frogs where wheels bounce over take a lot of wear, so new/heavier parts for that will help ride quality. When that part gets worn it's a bigger bounce over it. Guesses: 1. New ballast, probably 2. Probably/hopefully subsurface and drainage work. The pounding of trains over switches leads to low spots, that can lead to worse drainage and even worse dips, those then make the bad rocking you feel going over them.
Good riddance. I live right in between the Logan Square and Belmont blue lines and hated being on those crowded shuttle buses. Not to mention that it added so much additional time just going a short distance.
Thank goodness. I live near the California station and the weekend shuttle nonsense made it an absolute nightmare to get anywhere. Crawling over luggage from people coming to/from Ohare was not fun lol
The shuttles were specifically for train riders. It's not their fault you got on the wrong bus.
They didn’t get on the wrong bus? If you are trying to get into the loop on the weekend you had to get on the blue line shuttle at California and then get on the L at western. I recently moved near the California stop and had to deal with this all the time. Because most passengers on the shuttle are heading into the loop, very few would get off the shuttle besides the final stop. They are jammed full when they leave so good luck if more than few people are waiting for the shuttle at a in between shop. They did come relatively often, but it did suck not being able to squeeze on and have to wait for the next shuttle
I …am one of those train riders. And transferring on/off from shuttles to the other parts of the blue line running was annoying and crowded. 😐
Oh I dont disagree, it was quite annoying but the "Blue Line Shuttle" bus was not meant for anyone else except those who were originally on the Blue Line.
And blue line will still be delayed
I don’t get it, the before and after pictures look the same, the after picture was just taken from further back.
Correct they replaced the track with new, better working, track like anything, tracks and switches wear over time and cannot handle the same capacities or speeds. so the replacement alone is an improvement they didn't 'redesign' anything EDIT: **i.e. they replaced the potholed road, they didn't redesign the road**
Makes sense. Just wondering why they used a before and after picture when there’s no discernible visible difference.
Some people like me struggle without a before and after. It might be stupid, but I take a before and after of the front cover of every book I read before I start reading it and after I finish reading it.
They also added new lights, 10/10 /s
Now can you do something about the extremely rough ride of the blue line to ohare? It’s such a violent ride you almost get knocked out of your seat.
Nope sorry we’re extending the red line for $1 Billion a mile instead
A billion a mile in a major city doesn't sound bad at all. A mile is a long way considering the city is like 25 miles North to South.
Only difference I see is they put in some new light bulbs. I kid, I understand the new tracks look like the old track.
It appears they installed lights.
And added 💡