Metra Reduces Schedule On SouthWest Service Line

MANHATTAN, IL – In response to low ridership due to the coronavirus crisis, Metra will temporarily further reduce the schedules on its three least busy lines, the Heritage Corridor, SouthWest Service and North Central Service, starting Monday, May 4.

According to Metra, on the SouthWest Service, there will temporarily be two inbound trips in the morning and two outbound trips in the evening. The new schedules can be found online.

The SouthWest Service line runs from Manhattan to Chicago, making stops at Laraway Road, Orland Park, Palos Park, Palos Heights, Worth, Chicago Ridge, Oak Lawn, Ashburn and Wrightwood.

The two trains in the morning will leave Manhattan at 6:02 a.m. and 6:52 a.m. The two trains in the afternoon will leave Chicago at 4:30 p.m. and 5:50 p.m.

“We hope our customers understand why we are making these schedule reductions,” Metra CEO/Executive Director Jim Derwinski said in a release. “We are trying to find the balance between providing service for essential workers while stemming the huge losses we are seeing in fare revenue and sales taxes, our two major sources of operating funding. We are being forced to make some tough decisions.”

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During its April board meeting, Metra outlined a preliminary estimate that it will lose about $535.5 million in fares and sales tax in 2020 and 2021 due to this crisis, the company said. There are many assumptions built in to that estimate that are almost certain to change. Metra is expecting about $480 million in federal relief aid. The schedule reductions are expected to save about $470,000 a month in labor and fuel costs.

Metra said the temporary schedule changes are being made due to very low ridership under the current schedules, which are already reduced from the regular weekday schedules. On the SouthWest Service, the five morning inbound and five afternoon/evening outbound trains have been serving a total of about 120 rides a day. Off-peak trains have been serving only a handful of riders each.

All trains will have enough cars for customers to be able to practice social distancing, and Metra will be prepared to add trains when ridership begins to return to normal. Some riders on the SouthWest Service lines may be able to use the Rock Island or BNSF lines as alternatives, Metra said.

Read more:

• Illinois Coronavirus Update April 29: 48,102 Cases; 2,125 Deaths
• 64 Confirmed, Suspected Cases Of Coronavirus At Silver Cross