BEVERLY — Attention Metra commuters: The midday express service on the weekday Rock Island District Line will revert back to local service Sept. 11.
The pending change announced Wednesday will end a yearlong pilot program on the line that serves Auburn Gresham, Beverly, Brainard, Bronzeville, Morgan Park, Washington Heights and several south suburbs.
The express service that will soon end included three inbound and two outbound trains that ran between suburban Blue Island and the LaSalle Street Street Station. The express trains shortened travel times for these riders by 15-20 minutes, Metra said.
One midday express train will remain. Train 518 will continue to depart Joliet at 2:21 p.m. and express from Blue Island to the Downtown station.
“Unfortunately, we weren’t able to achieve ridership numbers that made the midday express service financially sustainable,” said Don Orseno, Metra's executive director and chief executive officer.
Other minor changes to the Rock Island Line's schedule are also slated as a result but will impact weekday commuters by only two or three minutes. There will be no changes to the weekend schedule.
"We will continue to explore cost effective ways to enhance service on all our lines,” Orseno said.
For additional information, please visit Metra's website. Printed schedules will be available the week of Sept. 4.
