This will be shruged off as business as usual in Chicago. Having spent most of my life around The Windy City, I suspect that the money was simply looted.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-cta-block37-webjun12,0,3643712.story
Although the blue line has gotten better as of late, it’s still no picnic and takes roughly an hour to get from the loop to ORD…and there is a lot of variance in the travel times. Having a higher speed express train with reliable travel times would help alleviate the frequently horrific traffic on the Kennedy expressway. Not exactly the same, but kinda the same concept as London – where you can take the Heathrow Express or the Tube.
I’m curious to find out which staffer came up with the idea of express L service to both airports. The Blue Line and Orange Line are double track only with a lot of between-track platforms and without adding a third track, a lot of crossing over would be involved for the overtaking of local trains. It may be technically feasible but realistically impossible. Because of the between-track platforms and median-strip operation on the Blue Line, adding a third express track would also be impossible due to lack of space.
If anyone wants to know just how hundreds of millions of transit dollars just “disappeared” they need to know just how Chicago (and Illinois) work.
Here’s an example:
The chief judge in Lake County Illinois (one county north of Chicago and where my house is) was pulled over and arrested for drunk driving.
The chief judge in Lake County Illinois is a cousin to the mayor of Chicago. (Mayor Daley, A.K.A. “King Richard II”)
Two police officers participated in the arrest. Amazingly, the video cameras in both their cars “malfunctioned” and there is no video to document the judge’s condition.
More amazingly, the officer who made the initial stop just passed away from a “heart attack” at age 42.
Amazingly, people can get a lot done if they loot a transit budget for hundreds of millions of dollars and put that money to their own use.