What is Metra used for?

Geographically, Metra is one of the largest commuter rail systems in the nation, serving a six-county region of more than 3,700 square miles. This complex system is comprised of 11 rail lines operating on 488 route miles, including 1,100 miles of track, 800 bridges, and 2,000 signals.



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Due to the complicated and patchwork nature of commuter rail at the time, the division in 1985 came up with the “Metra” name as a service mark for the entire system (short for “Metropolitan Rail”).

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CTA is City of Chicago based. It tends to stay in Chicago and goes into the nearby suburbs. Metra is basically suburban. It is designed to take suburban residents into the city… mostly to the Loop.

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Metra has 11 lines with 241 stations radiating from downtown Chicago to the six-county area of northeast Illinois.

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Alcohol. Alcohol is generally allowed on Metra trains, in moderation. Metra reserves the right to refuse service to anyone who is intoxicated or impaired. Unruly behavior will be not tolerated and all riders are required to conduct themselves in an appropriate manner.

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Train crews also may deem it necessary to sound a horn as a warning when there is a vehicle, person or animal near the tracks. Track construction, workers within 25 feet of a live track or malfunctioning crossings, also require crews to sound the horn.

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Traditionally Metra trains have been viewed as safer, cleaner, and more orderly than the CTA 'L'. Conductors patrolling the cars on a regular basis discourages crime and problematic rule-breaking such as smoking and littering, which unfortunately seem to be fairly common on CTA trains nowadays.

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METRA is a Chicago area heavy rail commuter railroad. Amtrak is a nationwide passenger non commuter railroad that serves all the states in the so called “lower 48”. There are 10 trip and monthly tickets on certain corridors for frequent riders.

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Electric trains have always had no direct carbon emissions because they are run entirely by internal electric motors. However, the means of generating the electricity used to power these motors was predominately by burning fossil fuels or coal, both of which produce a large amount of carbon emissions.

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Under the Train Horn Rule (49 CFR Part 222, issued on August 17, 2006), locomotive engineers must begin to sound train horns at least 15 seconds, and no more than 20 seconds, in advance of all public grade crossings.

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- One long whistle-like sound can be heard when the train is coming to a halt, and the engineer applies the air brakes. - Two long honks mean that the train has released the brakes and is ready to continue its journey.

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The reason for the different horn sequences are for other employees to know why the horn is being sounded, three short blasts, means the train is backing up, two long blasts means the train is going ahead. One long blast for stopped with the air brakes applied.

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Metra. Metra (Metropolitan Rail) runs 12 commuter/suburban train lines from several downtown Chicago terminals. Rush hour service is frequent; otherwise trains generally operate every 1 to 2 hours and most routes run daily.

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