Star:Line Chicago
@starlinechicago.bsky.social
Suburbanite. Sustainable transportation advocacy, for Chicago and Chicagoland. #BuildTheTunnel
“The smart, transit-oriented [social media] account” -Chicago Tribune
Planning, building, breaking, rebuilding.
“The smart, transit-oriented [social media] account” -Chicago Tribune
Planning, building, breaking, rebuilding.
Pinned
Now imagine if the train came every 7.5 minutes because we took four existing Metra lines, ran them half-hourly, coordinated their schedules, and connected them down the same corridor.
That’s CrossTowner regional rail.
And that’s why we need to #BuildTheTunnel.
🔗 www.yard-social.com/crosstowners
That’s CrossTowner regional rail.
And that’s why we need to #BuildTheTunnel.
🔗 www.yard-social.com/crosstowners
Eric’s ordeal this morning could’ve been a single train that ran every half hour, which is why we need to #BuildTheTunnel
December 7, 2025 at 7:26 PM
Eric’s ordeal this morning could’ve been a single train that ran every half hour, which is why we need to #BuildTheTunnel
Reposted by Star:Line Chicago
CrossTowners 101:
🔵 The Tunnel connects the MED to the UP-N/UP-NW via Union Station. Within the Tunnel, 4 half-hourly “inner” Metra routes would interline, providing a train every 7.5min between 67th and Clybourn
🟢 2 Surface Lines also run thru at Union Station for additional regional connectivity
🔵 The Tunnel connects the MED to the UP-N/UP-NW via Union Station. Within the Tunnel, 4 half-hourly “inner” Metra routes would interline, providing a train every 7.5min between 67th and Clybourn
🟢 2 Surface Lines also run thru at Union Station for additional regional connectivity
December 6, 2025 at 11:53 PM
CrossTowners 101:
🔵 The Tunnel connects the MED to the UP-N/UP-NW via Union Station. Within the Tunnel, 4 half-hourly “inner” Metra routes would interline, providing a train every 7.5min between 67th and Clybourn
🟢 2 Surface Lines also run thru at Union Station for additional regional connectivity
🔵 The Tunnel connects the MED to the UP-N/UP-NW via Union Station. Within the Tunnel, 4 half-hourly “inner” Metra routes would interline, providing a train every 7.5min between 67th and Clybourn
🟢 2 Surface Lines also run thru at Union Station for additional regional connectivity
Reposted by Star:Line Chicago
Good evening, I think we should #BuildTheTunnel
December 6, 2025 at 11:30 PM
Good evening, I think we should #BuildTheTunnel
Going to file away the “the Kennedy Expressway has never stopped improving itself” line for a future response to a future Trib Ed board editorial
Review: Like the Kennedy Expressway, the Joffrey Ballet’s “Nutcracker” has never stopped improving itself.
Review: In its 10th year, the Joffrey Ballet’s ‘Nutcracker’ is the best version of itself
Any hint of clunkiness or awkwardness has been smoothed away in the Christopher Wheeldon version that has become the Joffrey’s beloved, Chicago-set holiday production. And there is a new Stat…
trib.al
December 7, 2025 at 1:13 AM
Going to file away the “the Kennedy Expressway has never stopped improving itself” line for a future response to a future Trib Ed board editorial
Good evening, I think we should #BuildTheTunnel
December 6, 2025 at 11:30 PM
Good evening, I think we should #BuildTheTunnel
Hosting for the holidays and need a break? Take your family on a train crawl for a couple hours! $7 is good all day long anywhere Metra operates on a weekend day.
Find every* walkable bar from a Metra station here: www.yard-social.com/map
(* Please let me know about any outdated information)
Find every* walkable bar from a Metra station here: www.yard-social.com/map
(* Please let me know about any outdated information)
The Yard Social Club Ultimate Train Crawl Map
The meat and potatoes of any train crawl is, of course, the bars themselves. When planning a train crawl, it’s important to balance many factors into your group’s adventure: What kind o…
www.yard-social.com
December 6, 2025 at 10:31 PM
Hosting for the holidays and need a break? Take your family on a train crawl for a couple hours! $7 is good all day long anywhere Metra operates on a weekend day.
Find every* walkable bar from a Metra station here: www.yard-social.com/map
(* Please let me know about any outdated information)
Find every* walkable bar from a Metra station here: www.yard-social.com/map
(* Please let me know about any outdated information)
Not that anyone cares about buses, but it speaks volumes that we’d rather divert buses off of what should be our marquee dedicated bus facility through the heart of the Loop instead of finally figuring out what to do about Christkindlmarket crowding
🚍 EB #20, #60, and #124 and SB #J14 and #56 buses will operate via Washington, Clark, Monroe, and Dearborn, then resume their normal route on Washington.
December 6, 2025 at 2:17 PM
Not that anyone cares about buses, but it speaks volumes that we’d rather divert buses off of what should be our marquee dedicated bus facility through the heart of the Loop instead of finally figuring out what to do about Christkindlmarket crowding
Reposted by Star:Line Chicago
The CTA holiday train is on the Brown line tracks today, so it’s game day if you want a shot at making this photo
December 6, 2025 at 2:01 PM
The CTA holiday train is on the Brown line tracks today, so it’s game day if you want a shot at making this photo
My Subway Builder file is at the “actually Joliet could use two local metro lines” point in case anyone was wondering
December 6, 2025 at 1:31 AM
My Subway Builder file is at the “actually Joliet could use two local metro lines” point in case anyone was wondering
We have a Department of Environment?
December 5, 2025 at 5:38 PM
We have a Department of Environment?
Reposted by Star:Line Chicago
When are our leaders gonna start really questioning why this type of stuff got so expensive? If we don’t, we’ll be able to build less in the future than the inadequate amount we do now
🚨 "CTA State/Lake Station Will Be Demolished in January, Gleaming Replacement to Open in 2029."
Suburban transit Yoda @starlinechicago.bsky.social will likely opine on this development, if he hasn't already...
Suburban transit Yoda @starlinechicago.bsky.social will likely opine on this development, if he hasn't already...
CTA State/Lake Station Will Be Demolished in January, Gleaming Replacement to Open in 2029
At 130 years old, the Chicago Transit Authority's State/Lake Loop elevated station has had a good run, but that run is ending in January.
news.wttw.com
December 5, 2025 at 3:20 AM
When are our leaders gonna start really questioning why this type of stuff got so expensive? If we don’t, we’ll be able to build less in the future than the inadequate amount we do now
Can't argue with that secretchicago.com/cta-chance-t...
December 5, 2025 at 3:32 PM
Can't argue with that secretchicago.com/cta-chance-t...
It’s the holiday season so I am treating myself (getting off the last MD-W and getting an Uber from the heated Elmwood Park train station instead of missing the connection to the 307-Harlem bus by 2 minutes and waiting 55+ minutes in the cold)
December 5, 2025 at 4:22 AM
It’s the holiday season so I am treating myself (getting off the last MD-W and getting an Uber from the heated Elmwood Park train station instead of missing the connection to the 307-Harlem bus by 2 minutes and waiting 55+ minutes in the cold)
Okay, got some downtime tonight, opening up another #BuildTheTunnel AMA, fire away
A new way to visualize CrossTowner regional rail: the 🔵 Tunnel Lines ( #BuildTheTunnel ) create a north-south spine from Clybourn to Hyde Park via Union Station, and the 🟢 Surface Lines add additional connections by thru-running Union Station itself.
🔗 PDF: yardsocial.wordpress.com/wp-content/u...
🔗 PDF: yardsocial.wordpress.com/wp-content/u...
December 5, 2025 at 3:24 AM
Okay, got some downtime tonight, opening up another #BuildTheTunnel AMA, fire away
TL;DR: Willie Wilson’s CTA strategy is tripling cops, doubling staff, and kissing Trump’s ring
Commentary: Our city and region cannot thrive without a safe, clean, reliable and affordable public transit system.
Willie Wilson: It’s time to make Chicago transit safe
Chicago must increase police presence on trains and buses and strengthen mental health and housing resources to deter crime.
trib.al
December 5, 2025 at 3:11 AM
TL;DR: Willie Wilson’s CTA strategy is tripling cops, doubling staff, and kissing Trump’s ring
Betteridge’s Law but we should have more downtown Christkindlmarkets instead
Should Christkindlmarket move? The mayor floats the idea, but vendors and organizers are not so sure. buff.ly/FlfP2WA
December 5, 2025 at 2:50 AM
Betteridge’s Law but we should have more downtown Christkindlmarkets instead
SCOTUS reform idea: 17 justices, each serves a single 17-year term, staggered for one vacancy a year. A single President can never appoint a majority of the court, justices can still (theoretically) serve without political influence, each Presidential term has a fixed number of appointments
Yep, the Supreme Court really is just a House of Lords—a purely political branch with bizarre veto power, wielded capriciously and without accountability. Time for massive reform.
December 5, 2025 at 2:22 AM
SCOTUS reform idea: 17 justices, each serves a single 17-year term, staggered for one vacancy a year. A single President can never appoint a majority of the court, justices can still (theoretically) serve without political influence, each Presidential term has a fixed number of appointments
The good news is that all the BlueSky criticism is just conjecture by amateurs, imagine if there was a monumental station just around the block from State/Lake that was constructed less than a decade ago for a quarter of the cost even inflation-adjusted, wouldn’t that be embarrassing for the city
December 5, 2025 at 2:12 AM
The good news is that all the BlueSky criticism is just conjecture by amateurs, imagine if there was a monumental station just around the block from State/Lake that was constructed less than a decade ago for a quarter of the cost even inflation-adjusted, wouldn’t that be embarrassing for the city
I think the distinction is important: we nerds are not against investing $444 million in station upgrades, we are against investing $444 million in station upgrades but only getting a single station upgraded
If you unveil a new train station and every transit nerd on this website lines up to call you an idiot, they are right.
December 5, 2025 at 1:44 AM
I think the distinction is important: we nerds are not against investing $444 million in station upgrades, we are against investing $444 million in station upgrades but only getting a single station upgraded
At what are apparently Chicago-acceptable costs – $444m per station (State/Lake) + $1B per mile (Red Line Extension) – we could still #BuildTheTunnel for less than RLE
(5 stations (not counting Division/Elston) x $444m = $2.22B, 3.1 miles of tunnel at $1B = $3.1B, $5.32B vs $5.75B RLE)
(5 stations (not counting Division/Elston) x $444m = $2.22B, 3.1 miles of tunnel at $1B = $3.1B, $5.32B vs $5.75B RLE)
December 5, 2025 at 1:14 AM
At what are apparently Chicago-acceptable costs – $444m per station (State/Lake) + $1B per mile (Red Line Extension) – we could still #BuildTheTunnel for less than RLE
(5 stations (not counting Division/Elston) x $444m = $2.22B, 3.1 miles of tunnel at $1B = $3.1B, $5.32B vs $5.75B RLE)
(5 stations (not counting Division/Elston) x $444m = $2.22B, 3.1 miles of tunnel at $1B = $3.1B, $5.32B vs $5.75B RLE)
Reposted by Star:Line Chicago
Reposted by Star:Line Chicago
If you unveil a new train station and every transit nerd on this website lines up to call you an idiot, they are right.
December 4, 2025 at 11:37 PM
If you unveil a new train station and every transit nerd on this website lines up to call you an idiot, they are right.
Is it helpful to talk about “🔵 Tunnel Lines” and “🟢 Surface Lines” (map 1), or does everyone like the “rainbow map” (map 2) more?
A new way to visualize CrossTowner regional rail: the 🔵 Tunnel Lines ( #BuildTheTunnel ) create a north-south spine from Clybourn to Hyde Park via Union Station, and the 🟢 Surface Lines add additional connections by thru-running Union Station itself.
🔗 PDF: yardsocial.wordpress.com/wp-content/u...
🔗 PDF: yardsocial.wordpress.com/wp-content/u...
December 4, 2025 at 11:19 PM
Is it helpful to talk about “🔵 Tunnel Lines” and “🟢 Surface Lines” (map 1), or does everyone like the “rainbow map” (map 2) more?
The corollary to induced demand is that taking cars off the road through mode shift - in the absence of e.g. road diets - will not actually change overall VMT, since new car trips will backfill the relieved capacity just as they would if highway capacity was otherwise increased
Hard news for transportation system reform advocates: Per @alextburns.bsky.social "carrot" measures will not deliver substantial GHG reductions from the transportation sector; what's required is reallocating road space for other transportation modes or other uses. usa.streetsblog.org/2025/12/02/o...
Opinion: One Less Lane Ought To Fix It — Streetsblog USA
Federal inaction means states must lead on reducing emissions — but their reluctance to reallocate road space for cars may doom climate goals.
usa.streetsblog.org
December 4, 2025 at 7:13 PM
The corollary to induced demand is that taking cars off the road through mode shift - in the absence of e.g. road diets - will not actually change overall VMT, since new car trips will backfill the relieved capacity just as they would if highway capacity was otherwise increased
🔎🐜
The CTA State/Lake elevated station will close next month for demolition and construction of a new station that could take at least three years to complete.
CTA State/Lake station closing until 2029 for construction beginning next month
chicago.suntimes.com
December 4, 2025 at 6:34 PM
🔎🐜