Richard Wronski – Page 4

Metra workers Eliceo Martinez, left, and Rechia Alexander install positive train control safety equipment on one of the agency's trains in Chicago on Sept. 4, 2015.

Railroads say shutdown likely as safety deadline looms

August 18, 2019 at 8:58 p.m.

The Union Pacific Railroad and the BNSF Railway, two of the nation's biggest railroads, say they plan to shut down much of their networks, including commuter service in Chicago and...

Pace bus riders who pay with cash could see a 25-cent fare increase to $2 under a recommendation that is part of a preliminary 2016 capital budget proposal for the transit agency. Those who use Ventra cards would continue to pay $1.75 under the plan.

Pace may hike cash fares by 25 cents

May 22, 2019 at 8:39 p.m.

Pace bus riders who pay with cash could see a 25-cent fare increase under a recommendation floated Wednesday. The proposal would increase cash fares to $2. Pace bus customers who...

Metra's new three-note chimes, which began sounding about two weeks ago, are used as a warning to crews that their trains are approaching a location where the speed limit drops by at least 20 mph, such as at a curve or a bridge.

Chimes on Metra trains remind crews to slow down

August 18, 2019 at 8:25 p.m.

Metra riders are accustomed to the screech of train wheels on tracks, the creaking of old coaches, the drone of recorded station announcements. Now comes a new sound: three-note chimes....

A Metra train leaves the Aurora station heading east on Aug. 19, 2015. Metra's entire 2015 capital budget — the money that pays for replacement of infrastructure and equipment — is $329 million and falling far short of its needs, officials said.

Metra douses Kendall County’s hopes for rail service

August 18, 2019 at 8:22 p.m.

Since at least 2003, some residents of Kendall County have dreamed of getting Metra to serve their fast-growing communities. That's when then-House Speaker Dennis Hastert, originally from Yorkville, helped to...

Renea Poppel at home in February 2009, in Chicago. Poppel was critically injured in a deadly 2005 Metra derailment, and Metra has approvaed a $4.1 million payment to her daughter, who was born prematurely following the crash.

Girl, 9, to get $4.1 million settlement for 2005 Metra crash

May 22, 2019 at 8:35 p.m.

The 9-year-old girl was named Faith for a reason, her family said, because they considered her birth a miracle. Weighing only three pounds, she was born prematurely while her mother,...

Eastbound traffic on the Jane Addams Memorial Tollway moves through a construction zone over the Fox River in February.

Extra work on Addams project will cost another $19.5M, Tollway says

August 18, 2019 at 8:19 p.m.

Unanticipated extra work and contract changes because of delays on the massive Jane Addams reconstruction project will cost the Illinois Tollway more than $19.5 million, officials said Wednesday. The additional...

Metra's new free charging area at Millennium Station will have nine places to plug in. Metra plans to equip its other four downtown stations with charging equipment in the near future.

Metra: First charging area installed at Millennium Station

August 18, 2019 at 8:17 p.m.

For Metra customers who need a quick charge for their phones or laptops, relief is on the way. In response to a Tribune story last month, the commuter rail agency...

McHenry County's representative on Metra's board of directors said he is giving up his position because of time constraints.

McHenry County seeking new representative for Metra board

August 18, 2019 at 8:16 p.m.

McHenry County is seeking a new representative on Metra's board of directors to replace Marc Munaretto, who said he is giving up the post after serving only a year because...

Many Metra Rock Island Line riders will face delays because of major track repairs starting Aug. 17, the agency said Aug. 11, 2015.

Metra: Construction to delay Rock Island Line trains through October

May 22, 2019 at 8:31 p.m.

Many Metra Rock Island Line riders will face delays because of major track repairs starting Aug. 17 and lasting 10 weeks, the agency announced Tuesday. Workers will replace 17,500 ties...

Amtrak said it has partnered with New Orleans-based startup MobileQubes to install four battery-rental kiosks at Union Station, like this one seen Aug. 4, 2015, to help rail passengers keep their phones and other devices powered.

Phone battery rental kiosks arrive at Union Station

May 22, 2019 at 8:29 p.m.

Acknowledging the traveling public's almost obsessive need to keep phones, tablets and laptops charged, Union Station officials on Tuesday announced an alternative for rail travelers and commuters who have been...

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