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Metra: No fare hikes in 2013 unless economy tanks
Updated: October 24, 2012 10:02PM
Metra ticket fares won’t go up next year unless the economy takes a dive, the commuter rail agency said Friday while unveiling its budget.
Metra’s $713.5 million budget doesn’t include a fare increase, but there are several scenarios in which it might be the best option, the agency said.
A bad economy would mean sales tax and revenue money would be down and “could cause a fare action in 2013 to maintain service levels and cash levels,” Lynette Ciavarella, Metra’s capital planning director told the board.
Some major projects planned for next year include replacing deteriorated locomotives and cars, an $18 million effort, as well as a $19.2 million project to install so-called “Positive Train Control.”
Metra has until the end of 2015 to implement positive train control across the system, as it is federally mandated. Experts argue the system could prevent derailments and other crashes caused by engineer error.
Spokesman Michael Gillis said the process of installing the system is “incredibly complex and costly” but that “we are working on it and we are fully committed to having it done by 2015.”
The implementation involves the use of GPS satellites and a system to monitor when a train has a missed signal, may be traveling too fast or is in danger of colliding with another train. The system would override the train engineer in such cases.
It would help in terms of signals, and if an engineer surpassed a speed limit, it would be able to brake the train, Gillis said.
Metra is using federal money for the project, and hoping to get state bonds to help cover the costs. The installation ranges from $150 to $200 million to cover the entire system.
Metra’s board will vote on the budget next month after holding public meetings.
