'Reverse commute' train service a hit

An experiment in train service for commuters working in Lake County has become a bigger hit than even supporters expected.

Ridership on Metra's Sunrise Express, a special train on the Union Pacific North line, topped 300 at the end of November. Most were Chicago residents working in Lake County.

About 110 riders, more than double what was reported in April, also use an early service originating in Waukegan at 4:20 a.m. to get to work in Chicago by 6 a.m.

Ridership on the Sunrise Express, the so-called reverse commute train, has more than quadrupled since it made its debut April 2.

An on-board survey conducted in October by the rail agency showed 83 percent of riders were Chicago residents. Two-thirds were new passengers and about a fourth were teachers or school administrators.

"It is well received. Particularly when they were doing work on the Edens, we saw a spike," Lake Forest City Manager Robert Kiely said.

The service was instituted after two years of lobbying by Lake County legislators, led by state Sen. Susan Garrett, a Lake Forest Democrat, local businesses, governments and other interests known collectively as the Lake County Commuter Coalition.

Businesses had been concerned for years about a lack of transportation options for employees and potential employees.

"That was part of the success. There was a commitment prior to the service being started that there would be demand for it," said state Rep. Kathy Ryg, who worked with Garrett on the measure.

The $500,000 operating cost was funded by a federal Job Access Reverse Commute grant that was matched by the state government. The service initially was scheduled to run for a year and is evaluated monthly.

"There's teachers, there's government employees, Great Lakes Naval Base and companies that use it," said Bill Baltutis, head of the TMA of Lake-Cook, a consortium of businesses dealing with transportation issues.

"This is more evidence there is growing need for increasing mass transit usage."

The numbers are expected to continue to climb with major work planned for spring on the Tri-State Tollway.

"We can now make a very strong case to continue this based on the number of commuters this train may be able to sustain itself without relying on state or federal funding," Garrett said.