Back to drawing board for Metra UP North Line

Metra is not only delaying its controversial plan to rebuild 22 bridges on the Union Pacific North Line, it's going back to the drawing board.

Officials confirmed Friday that when the project restarts next spring, two tracks will be open instead of the one track that delayed trains, disrupted longtime schedules and infuriated passengers this summer and fall.

But how to engineer the two-track option, how long it will take and the cost still are up for debate.

Originally, construction was estimated $185 million over eight years. Metra had established a revised schedule that inconvenienced numerous riders such as Robert Ferencz of Highland Park who spoke to board members Friday.

Instead of “no disruption of service as promised by Metra, riders faced lengthy gaps between service in the morning rush and overcrowded trains, Ferencz said. “Common sense needs to prevail.

Pace Director Jim LaBelle, who lives in Lake County, challenged a report stating September had been a good month for on-time performance.

“September was an awful month for the UP North, he said.

Although staff spent a long time preparing for the project, board members only learned about the details in June.

“We need everyone involved at an early point, LaBelle said.

Next month, officials will discuss how to rejigger the work. One issue will be cost as planners had anticipated a one-track system would save about $80 million. Now the question is how to operate two tracks cost-effectively.

Meanwhile, Metra has reverted to its old schedule for the line, which runs from Chicago north along the North Shore into Lake County and up to Kenosha.

“It just didn't work out, Acting Executive Director Bill Tupper said. “Once the first train was late, it held up trains behind and never caught up.