Another New Commuter Rail Station for Chicago's South Side Transit Deserts

A South Side Chicago neighborhood with a history of neglect and disinvestment will soon be adding a new train station on the regional commuter system.

1 minute read

October 2, 2019, 6:00 AM PDT

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


Rock Island Line

Russell Sekeet / Wikimedia Commons

"After years of planning, Metra and government officials on Monday announced a timetable to design and start construction of a new station in the Auburn Gresham neighborhood on the city’s South Side," reports Mary Wisniewski.

The new station will cost $20 million, with construction expected to both begin next year. Design, by San Francisco-based T.Y. Lin International, is expected to wrap up by the end of the year.

The station will be the only station on the Rock Island Line between 87th Street and 35th Street.

"Residents and community leaders have called the Far South Side a 'transit desert,' meaning that the area has less access to transit than other areas," according to Wisniewski.

A proposal to subsidize service on the Metra system from the South Side to help the commuter rail system compete with the CTA transit system stirred controversy over the summer and through September. Metra also has plans to add a new station on the Electric Line at 95th Street.

Monday, September 30, 2019 in Chicago Tribune

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