Metra Metropolitan Rail

Overall, I am impressed with Metra. You can literally get so far on this train, for a very reasonable price. ($5 weekend passes are fantastic!) The seats are comfortable, equipped with restrooms that are (mostly) clean, and the conductors are helpful and personable. I have been on all their routes at one time or another and enjoyed myself. However, there were certainly times when I wanted to scream. But it's always the rude passengers who are to blame. You know the ones I mean, they are either shouting full volume on cell phones, drunken idiots or those parents who allow their out of control kids to run wild, throw tantrums and disrupt the peace of everyone on the train. I wish conductors would take better control of these situations. Still, Metra is a great alternative for commuters. more

I have lived in Chicago pretty much my entire life and throughout that life the Chicago Metropolitan Rail system has had a kind of mystique about it. When I was growing up we used to actually play in and around the train tracks. This is insanity when I think of it now, but it seemed perfectly all right then. It is METRA that makes vacationing in the city of Chicago and staying at a hotel in the suburbs an OK thing. They are in the middle of a multi-year project to remodel the local train stations, but the ones that are done are fantastic. Bright, with donut shops and newspaper stands and populated with generally friendly workers, these stations are very comfortable and comforting. The train itself is great. You can sit in the upper deck for a unique view of the passing scenery. It's relaxing and it's the best way to get downtown. The conductors are dressed like something out of an old movie and they tend to be friendly as well. When you take Metra to work on a daily basis you get to know these guys. I used to take Metra to and from work back when I worked downtown. I must say, I miss it, and I enjoy taking it whenever I can. Taking it downtown to get to the Sox game was a great treat this year. With Dan Ryan Expressway construction, Metra is needed and better than ever. more

I don't if I should review Metra as a whole or just the NW line. That's the route I have taken most often. It makes a stop in Park Ridge and it's end of the line is Harvey,Il. I rode to the end one day for fun to check out the sleepy uninteresting town of Harvey. I boarded back on to visit Woodstock a small town I really like to visit a couple of times per year. Also along this route is a stop for Arlington Park Racetrack. One of the funniest thing to me that I have heard while riding this train is when some folks (obviously rich and stupid) are offered a five dollar weekend pass and they choose to pay way more for even one way rides. The conducter even asks are you going to ride again? They say yes. Does having too much money and being a spoiled suburbanite fry your brain? This cracks me up! Overall I appreciate and like Metra as a whole when I need them. more