Why doesn't Chicago build more CTA Trains?

Question

Chicago spends billions of dollars making the brown line beautiful, but lacks other lines. ( as a side note, the brown line predominately caters to the middle and upper middle class)

With the rise in gas prices and the economy up in shambles I could only see the CTA benefiting from such a move.

Here are my thoughts; why not build CTA trains that extend and cover the West side, Northwest, Southwest. Why hasn't this happened in over a 150 years. These areas are lacking good transportation. "Link them all to the existing lines."

It has been proven in Chicago that areas that are near trains tend to boom and remove themselves from economical depression. So by doing this the city may clean up, and provide rapid transit to all areas of Chicago, and not just the middle class.

What Are Your Thoughts??

Answer 1

idk!

Answer 2

Simply put, it is supply & demand.  You can have every area of Chicago covered, but if people won't use it, it isn't worth it.  Take a look at people commuting by car into or around Chicago, you see most vehicles with one occupant only!!  It causes ever increasing congestion & no one wants to be inconvenienced by riding a train that takes as long if not longer to get from point a to point b.  Sadly, extending coverage may cause an increase in fees that some CTA riders can't or won't pay, despite increasing gas prices.  Also, everyone will have to pay for construction costs when our fuel tax money is diverted from much needed road repairs into covering eminent domain, rails, stations, etc.  Hope I helped.

Answer 3

People dont want to drive trains! they want their own personal cars so they can go where they want when they want and in the time span they want. If your on a train you wait for it to leave you go to only their destinaitons its very inconvinient.

Answer 4

if anything new where to be built it would have to be done underground this is risky and costly the days when any rich fool could build a railroad are loooong gone look what its going to cost to expand the south shore and actuly i read some where theat the els cost more then bus but cant rember if matince was the main factor or not the thing is chicago is well served by the cta it may take awile to get there but it can be done what pisses me off is you berly get south of the loop and  cabs are very very few i have a friend that lives in the calaforna/archer area and the only way to get a cab is to  call a day ahead and pray thay show

Answer 5

A large part of the reason is that there's simply no money: projects like the Brown Line managed to get local matching dollars for their Federal funding under the old Illinois First capital program, and Illinois hasn't had a new capital program in about 6 years now, meaning no federal dollars are available.

On top of that, you'd have the already-mentioned property-acquisition issues, plus you'd be poaching commuters from existing bus and in-city Metra lines.

The CTA does have some expansion plans in place for the Orange, Red and Yellow lines, BTW, but without those local dollars, they aren't going anywhere.

Answer 6

To start with to build all those new lines you have to buy the property then demolish what is there and displace the people that you are trying to help and they are crying bloody murder if you do. And every step of the way is a fight against people that are there ,, buildings other people don't want to be destroyed and people that don't want to sell and its a political death for anyone trying to do it. But I agree it should be done..

Answer 7

I don't know about Chicago, but the main reason most cities in the US aren't building more train lines is opposition from automobile manufacturers and  oil refineries.