Copyright 2000 Chicago Sun-Times, Inc.
Chicago
Sun-Times
November 24, 2000, FRIDAY, Late
Sports Final Edition
SECTION: NEWS; Pg. 16
LENGTH: 220 words
HEADLINE:
Metra to study traffic on proposed Crete route
BYLINE:
BY ROBERT C. HERGUTH
BODY:
Plans for a proposed
commuter train line between downtown and Crete, one of three
new routes for which Metra may seek federal funding in several years, are moving
ahead slowly.
Early next year, a new study that examines how
freight and commuter rail traffic might interact on a SouthEast
Service Line is expected to begin, said Metra spokesman Frank Malone. "The first
tiptoe into the second phase (which is about to begin) will be a computer
simulation of the existing freight traffic along the line . . . and proposed
Metra trains," Malone said. "It's one more of many steps along the path just to
determine whether we'd ever go ahead . . . and seek the funding."
The
line, which could cost $ 360 million, would stretch about 40 miles from the La
Salle Street Station to Crete and rely heavily on freight tracks. There are
several potential configurations, but the route could be arranged to serve a new
airport in the far south suburbs.
The rail project, and two other
proposed routes also under review, could be Metra's capital funding priorities
when a new federal transportation bill is drafted in a few years, said Metra
Executive Director Phil Pagano.
Another project, a proposed Milwaukee
District North Line extension from north of Lake Forest to Wadsworth, isn't as
far along, officials said.
LOAD-DATE: November 27, 2000
