Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday the NATO summit is being held in Chicago.
Security is being increased and there will be police officers from all around the USA there to guard and patrol the city of Chicago.
Does the NATO summit affect railfans in Chicago?
Will you be severely restricted in your viewing and photography this weekend.
Andrew Falconer
Word to the Wise is STAY THE HELL OUT OF CHICAGO THIS WEEKEND. When they close down the Kennedy Expressway aka I-90 between Ohare and Downtown for all the Bigshots and all the Peons are left going WTF do we do they Closed down all the Lakeside Museums like Shedd Aquarium Field Alder and the Museum of Science and Industry. There are going to be Massive Protests down Michigan Ave plus other places. Even if I wanted to Railfan in Chicago this Weekend I Am NOT GOING TO GO. Called I do not want to be a Guest of teh Secret Service for taking a pic of the qwrong thing.
I agree with Ed Benton’s suggestion about staying out of Chicago. But the more important question is, how will the NATO Summit affect Amtrak, the freight railroads, and the commuter carriers serving Chicago?
With all the increased security focused on the ALL the Metra routes, not just the Metra Electric and South Shore lines that run under McCormick Place, it seems that there have been some issues. On the local yahoogroup dedicated to the area (IlliniRail), there was a report of one individual momentairly detained earlier in the week (Monday?) along the Indiana Harbor Belt–not even near an active Metra route–by the local police. After a commanding officer showed up, the situation was resolved with no further issues.
But Metra is not allowing ANY backpacks or parcels larger than 15" square and 4" deep (basically bigger than a briefcase), no food items or no liquids onboard ANY of their trains starting on Friday through Monday. I suppose they are going to have the conductors and onboard personel enforce this–but it sounds like all riders of the Metra Electric and South Shore will be subject to searchs prior to boarding trains (please arrive 15 minutes early to your station…) so there will likely be armed security personel along these routes.
You could probably railfan like normal along the other rail routes not directly effected by the conference, but it seems that Metra has gone WAY overboard on their precautions. As a note, the CTA has no restrictions to the size of backpacks, parcels or food and drink.
Another interesting note is the Homewood Railroad Days event is going on this weekend–on the Metra Electric Line. I thought about going until I saw it was the same weekend as NATO–eh, I will just enjoy a quiet Sunday in the backyard with the BBQ grill instead!
Lance
Lance, although your statement about “Metra going 'way overboard” is true, it probably wasn’t their call–these may have been “precautions” that were shoved down their throats.
I will probably do no more and no less than I usually do–watch the trains from one of the local platforms, if I have time. I don’t expect any problems.
If you’re going to Chicago this weekend it probably isn’t going to be that bad. The Chicago police have been doing a very good job so far. So, it might just depend when and where you’re at. As long as you don’t get drunk and punch a police horse in the mouth I don’t think you’ll encounter too many issues.
Right now, I’m planning to be in Homewood on Sunday and I’m not expecting any issues. Anything beyond that, I’ll just have to watch my step.
This link should provide the latest info about what passengers can and can’t expect.
http://metrarail.com/metra/en/home/service_updates/g8_nato_summit.html
As for railfans, the railroads are, of course, concerned about terrorism threats. The UP Police sent out a flyer to all employees (and retirees, presumably, since I got one). "All suspicious activity needs to be reported to RMCC at 888-877-7267 immediately to ensure accidents are handled swiftly and safely.
"Key incidents to report:
"–anarchy and anti-war graffiti
"–trespassers
"–homeless encampments
"–suspicious activity
"If something looks or sounds different, it needs to be reported. Trust your instincts. The sooner an incident is reported, the more likely it can be resolved in a safe and efficient manner.
"Keep in mind that not all protestors are extremists or violent. The simple act of congregating is not a criminal activity. Regardless of political opinion, employees are asked to respect pr
Why is Metra Electric closing the Blue Island Branch during the NATO Summit this weekend if the trains running on the Blue Island Branch don’t go near the Mc Cormick Center?
That could very well be true, but it seems that only making these rules for the Metra Electric/South Shore would seem to make a lot more sense. These are the two lines that go directly under McCormick Place–the rest of the Metra lines are not even close. Protesters will be allowed to march closer to McCormick Place than any of these other Metra routes.
I heard a radio interview with Chicago Transportation Editor Jon Hilkevitch earlier this week and even he couldn’t understand why Metra was going with these “unprecedented” security measures while the CTA was only adding extra security and not implementing any of the carry-on restrictions.
I have a friend whos highschool-aged son rides Metra from Harvard to Crystal Lake on a daily basis and he wasn’t going to be allowed to take a backpack or even bring a lunch with him during the four-day NATO conference.
But you feel safer, right?
Lance
The G8 summit is going on at Camp David this weekend. People in th area were told that there will be delays due to heaby traffic in the area, including I15 from Gettysburg, PA south to Frederic, MD. We are staying off I15 and out of northern Maryland this weekend. The same will apply to the NATO Summit in Chicago, stay away, it will be a mess.
Actually, even though I’m not doing anything involving railfanning this afternoon, I feel violated.
And I’m in complete agreement with you. There should be enough other precautions between Union Station, or Ogilvie, or LaSalle Street and the N
Going to be intersting today after they caught those 3 with Bombs Mortors and other Weapons IN Chicago Yesterday that were associated with OWS and the Black Bag group. I know right now Spot rates into Chicago for Monday Delivery are running about 500-1000 HIGHER than Last week that give you a clue on what the OTR side thinks of this Summit we remember the WTO in Seatlle in 1999. They are GETTING IT ALSO right now.
We might as well get used to it.
The good news is this security theater is over and things are back to normal.