Metra May Rename Train Lines: 'No Logical Or Consistent Pattern'

CHICAGO ? Metra is asking riders what they think about potentially renaming its lines to make the rail system easier to understand.

A survey about renaming the lines can be found at metra.com/LineNames and outreach events will be held from 3:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. March 11 at Chicago Union Station, March 12 at Ogilvie Transportation Center, and March 13 at Millennium Station and LaSalle Street Station.

The effort is spurred in part by the coming transition to Metra of the Union Pacific North, Northwest and West lines. Union Pacific Railroad owns those lines but no longer wants to run passenger trains. Metra has been hiring many of Union Pacific?s workers and this spring will begin to directly run the service, with ?Union Pacific? phased out of the line names.

?Renaming the three UP lines presents Metra with an opportunity to reconsider all its line names, which follow no logical or consistent pattern,? Metra said in a news release. ?The result can be confusing for new users, and for those who have limited proficiency with English.?

The survey will ask riders to choose between three options:

• Retaining all the current names and colors except for the three Union Pacific lines;
• Using a single color for all lines and labeling all lines with an ?M? for Metra paired with a number ? M1, M2, M3, etc.
• Using a single color for lines that share a downtown station and labeling them with a letter to indicate the direction they go from downtown paired with a number ? N1, N4, W2, etc.