At the end of a sweaty trek from the office to Ogilvie or Union Station, all most passengers want is for their train to show up — and to get them home on time.
Hungry? Ogilvie’s food court and the French Market offer plenty of options. Thirsty? There are bars and cafes too. Chicago commuters aren’t exactly short on access to refreshments, though they do often face delays and standing-room-only trains during rush hour.
So we have to wonder about the transit agency’s priorities after officials mentioned the idea of adding cafe cars on trains at a recent meeting.
We’d wager there’s more demand for a happy-hour beer than a cappuccino, but either way, this isn’t new territory for the suburban rail line.
Bar cars were a storied staple in Chicago train culture for years, but the agency cut them in 2008 — not over concerns about alcohol consumption on trains, but because the venture wasn’t worth the trouble. Back then, the Tribune reported that Metra said the cars produced less than $100,000
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a year in revenue.Now, beverage service on trains may have a revival. Metra even tested the idea with a recent “Commuter Coffee Rave” that drew positive feedback from attendees.
But not everyone was impressed. Scroll through Metra’s Facebook post and you’ll see another kind of feedback: riders begging for air conditioning that works, trains that don’t break down and schedules that stick.
Hard to argue with that.
We’re a simple people, we Chicago commuters. We just want to get where we’re going. And because of past experience, we don’t expect a lot from suburban trains. If we could get anything we wanted out of our suburban transit providers, we’d settle just for clean, safe rides in and out of the city for a reasonable fare and without those frequent delays.
If suburban trains had an immaculate record, maybe we’d be more open to entertaining the idea of expanding into beverage service. But Metra’s core ridership just wants reliable, affordable service. And if they’re craving caffeine or an adult beverage? Already available to go at the bottom of the Ogilvie escalators.
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