Dreaming...

So, whenever I have some spare time, my mind naturally drifts towards fantasies...of Chicago transit system expansions. If we lived in a country that valued public transit, a lot of these expansions would have already been built. But since we live in America, transit falls into disrepair while brand new freeways are built in greenfields.

Chicago is blessed with an extensive network of railroad right-of-ways, many of which are abandoned and not in use. These ROWs could be utilized to built rail transit lines without requiring expensive property acquisition or destruction of existing neighborhoods.

Here's a couple other dreamers and their plans for CTA rail expansion.

http://www.gapersblock.com/detour/a_cta_map_for_2055/
This is a quite extensive proposal adding six new lines or extensions. Never going to happen, but its nice to think big. One can always hope.

http://community.livejournal.com/chicago_el/492948.html
This proposal is basically the Mid-City Transitway which is a real proposal currently undergoing analysis. It forms a circle/circumferential line which links up with the existing radial lines. It follows an existing ROW so construction costs would be relatively cheap.

http://www.Grayline.20m.com
This proposal involves conversion of an existing commuter rail line to a CTA-style rapid transit rail line. All the infrastructure is essentially already in place. It simply requires cooperation between the CTA and Metra. (Easier said than done.)

Perhaps if Chicago is awarded the 2016 Olympics and/or Obama wins the presidency, additional funds will be found to expand CTA service.