Metra Electric Offers Riders Discount In April

CHICAGO HEIGHTS, IL — Metra is offering weather-weary riders of its Electric Line a 15 percent discount off April monthly passes in recognition of the two weeks this winter when passengers had limited or no service.

The discount is a rare move — Metra has offered only one other in 2003 — in which the transit provider acknowledged the burden the lack of service has had on riders.

“We are taking this rare step of providing discounts because of the unusual severity and length of the service disruption on the Metra Electric Line,” Metra CEO and Executive Director Jim Derwinski said in a statement. “We know our Metra Electric Line customers have endured a rocky two weeks, and we want to thank them for their patience and understanding as we worked to restore normal service.”

There are caveats to purchasing the discounted tickets.

The discount applied only to paper monthly passes and not to those who buy them on the Ventra App. Online buyers will need to temporarily switch to paper tickets in April because Metra officials said they can't create the discount in the app. To buy these passes, riders will have to visit an agent at the Millennium Station or the Van Buren Street Station, or buy them through Transit Benefits providers. The monthly passes are valid only for that month.

Metra's Electric Line was shut down from Jan. 30 to Feb. 12. For six days, the train offered little or no service, and it ran on a limited schedule for five days. For three days, trains were fully operational, but two of those days fell on the weekend, officials reported.

On Jan. 30, Metra officials said the extreme freezing temperatures caused wires to contract and the trains couldn't connect to them for power. Later that night, a Canadian National freight train derailed and knocked power out at two substations and wrecked two miles of wire. On Feb. 11, an ice storm covered 120 miles of wire and track with ice as thick as a half-inch, which created a host of problems for the train operator.

For more information about the discount, visit Metra's website or call 312-322-6777.

Photo by Lorraine Swanson/Patch