Project Management Oversight (PMO) Capital Projects

Metra investment in innovative, cleaner energy locomotives will be funded in part by this project which will procure locomotives that produce zero mobile emissions. This multi-year, multi-phase project will acquire state-of-the-art technologies and pilot their performance capabilities given Metra’s track profile and the Chicago region’s inclement weather patterns. Metra estimates that replacing one old diesel locomotive with a zero-emission locomotive will reduce nitrogen oxides (NOx) emissions by more than 30 tons per year, thus significantly reducing the agency’s greenhouse gas footprint and greatly improving air quality in the region. Funds programmed in 2022 will finance engineering and design services for yard facilities to prepare for the new technology.

This project will fund Metra’s portion of a larger station renovation/expansion in Elmhurst. It will leverage CMAQ funds obtained by the Village of Elmhurst to construct a larger station to accommodate the growing ridership.

Phase 1 and 2 design and construction are complete. The Phase 3 design task wasissued an NTP in August 2018. The Phase 3 design was completed in July 2019. ThePhase 3 construction contract and construction management contract were bothawarded in September 2020. Construction started with site work in March 2021and is ongoing. Current activities are related to obtaining permits. The estimatedproject completion date for construction is December 2021 to allow enough timefor phase 3 construction.

The CTA's Forest Park Blue Line Upgrades Project is the first of four phases of the Forest Park Branch.This project will provide for new trackwork from Halsted to IMD, an accessible station at Racine,advanced utility work, and a new substation and traction power equipment upgrades at Hermitage. Thiswork will enhance service quality via speed, reliability, and comfort, and improve operational efficiency onthe Forest Park Branch of CTA's rapid transit Blue Line service.

CTA will continue investing in the rail car fleet maintenance program. This program is intended to correct critical defects and operational deficiencies discovered during inspections of rail cars. CTA’s scheduled maintenance program consists of planned work to maintain rail car performance. While major overhaul work is performed on a quarterly and mid-life cycle basis, additional focused maintenance work is required at certain intervals of the car’s life, outside of the overhaul cycle. When certain maintenance tasks are needed to repair or replace a component before it reaches its end of useful life and fails with an increased frequency, specific component campaign work is conducted.The major systems that must be maintained on CTA’s rail cars include the following:Propulsion, Safety, HVAC, Braking, Battery/Charging, Signage, Doors, Windows, Traction Power, RCA, Lighting, Automatic Train Control, Communication , Suspension, Car body/Structure. CTA’s Rail Terminal Shops are responsible for the maintenance that may result in replacement of a variety of components such as: traction motors, HVAC components and packages, lights, public address system components, trucks, wheels assemblies, hydraulic units, couplers, drawbars, and numerous other mechanical and electrical components. CTA’s Heavy Maintenance Shop is responsible for the rebuild/repair/manufacture of components for the railcar fleet such as wheel assemblies, truck assemblies, traction motors, air comfort units, electronic devices, control units, and associated devices including solid state and microprocessor-controlled units.

State of Good Repair projects and replacing obsolete equipment on CTA rail signal system

Life Extending Overhaul - Up to 430 Standard (1000 Series) - This project will overhaul the engine and other major sub-components to provide the minimal amount of work necessary to keep the fleet going. By end of FY2020 630 buses will have met their estimated 12 year life expectancy. This extension would extend the bus life by four years. The life extension for the 40 foot 1000-1629 New Flyer Bus is essential to keeping a majority of the CTA fleet running in optimal condition. The current fleet of 40 foot NF buses is over 1000 buses. This project is essential to meet availability requirements for CTA. These buses were purchased in 2006-2007 and this life extension is essential to maintaining peak availability requirements at all 7 bus garages.

Metra’s track renewal crew will rehabilitate dozens of miles of track along the Milwaukee District West (MD-W) Line in 2022. The project will be the most comprehensive investment in track conditions since Metra acquired the MD-W in 1987. Metra forces will Replace ties, clean or replace ballast, and replace switch components to provide smoother, faster, and safer track conditions. Metra partners with the Canadian Pacific Railroad to fund improvements to particular portions of the MD-W as freight train traffic degrade track conditions more rapidly than Metra trains.

This project involves upgrades to protected grade crossings to improve safety and reliability of grade crossing protections. Metra has approximately 300 active grade crossings with warning devices. This project will fund upgrades of circuitry at these grade crossings to the latest technology. Metra will install monitors to remotely check the condition of the grade crossing protection system. When a monitor detects an anomaly, the system will send notice to the back office and dispatch a signal maintainer to perform repairs.

The bridge that carries the Milwaukee District North Line over Milwaukee Avenue near Kilbourne Avenue was built in 1899. It will be replaced with a new bridge with new abutments. Grayland Station, just south of the bridge, will be rebuilt with longer platforms, new public address equipment, visual information signs, shelters with on-demand heat on each side, new lighting and new stairs and ramps, making it fully ADA-compliant.