Lee Crooks has me hooked on saying his occasional announcements, including the infamous "Doors Closing" phrase. Sounds so different, considering that it was updated, with this new fleet of CTA railcars, along with the others.
When I was living in the Chicago, I usually took this line for either my amusement or for going to Rosemont and Forest Park to meet up with my dad for business purposes, since we often do events for and around each city. The Blue Line and the rest of the CTA certainly takes me back, despite all the negative people and weird sights among other passengers.
I just hope CTA dosent do a back handed move and decide to equip the Blue with the 5000s from the Red Line so they can assign these to that Line. Screw that!!! The Red has its new cars Give the Blue Line something to be proud of for a change!
But you already know that’s what they’re going to do lol...the best cars must go on the lines that showcase the attractions along the line, just the way it goes 🤷🏾♂️
@@Firefox_42 yeah, and the older cars honestly give off that “we don’t really care about modernizing the system” vibe to tourists that travel to Chicago and have to use the CTA trains to get around.
Why would they build the train locally to have a higher floor than the platforms, or build the platforms to be shorter than the floor height of the trains?
@@ivanoffw The train have exacting spec that's accurate to the 10th of an inch. The platforms and rails not so much. So you need to have a way to compensate, normal on modern rail trains. Chicago hasn't had a modern rail till now.
I grew up on the Blue Line and used to take these trains every week downtown. I never dreamed that the Blue Line would one day have such beautiful trains!
Thats good that they placed protective covers to prevent thefts of the maps. Im sure its the same or a few indivduals who are selling them on Ebay! These maps keep popping up on there for sale!
The Congress branch of the Blue Line needs track reconstruction like what the CTA did with the Red Line South reconstruction, that way Blue Lines can clear the Congress branch faster than 30 minutes and the Blue Line can accommodate to newer rail fleets with out going even more unbearably slow on the Congress branch.
So glad they recruited Lee Crooks again instead of dubbing all the computer announcements with a stupid computer voice like Washington DC Metro did with their 7000 series trains Also glad they preserved the classic iconic door chime rather than replace it (also something Washington DC did)
Omg the new announcements and door chimes on the WMATA 7000 series SUCKS. I *hate* it when transit systems use text-to-speech for their announcements. It just sounds cold, unfriendly, and un-human, which is not what you want your transit system to sound like. And the door chime on the 7000 series is terrible, too. I wish they would keep the old door chime and get an actual person to record the announcements. The CTA ‘L’ has 2 more lines than DC and 54 more stations, so if they can pull off human announcements, I think WMATA can (and should). Not to mention NYC.
@@crazyexpresso NYC has way more lines and stations than either the CTA or WMATA, but they still use real human voices for their announcements, which is quite a feat. Granted, they use spliced-together audio files to put together announcements so they don’t have to manually record each announcement, but it’s still great that they use real voices for their announcements.
It's been said that the Orange Line would be first to receive assignment of the 7000s. However, if this first-ever revenue run on the Blue Line is any indication, the Blue will be getting them first. And it should.
@@tvorfreddy I get what you're saying. But you gotta remember that the 3200's that have been doing runs on the Blue Line for the past 2 years (I think) were "borrowed" from the Ravenswood Brown for the most part. Also, this shift of the 3200's to the Blue Line completely depleted the Orange Line of the few remaining 3200's they were running. If I'm not mistaken, the shift of the 3200's and of a few 5000's to the Blue was pretty much done out of necessity because the 2600's were just plain "shot"; they were on their last leg. So the newer equipment was needed to supplement the aging 2600's. And then too, when the Orange Line was first opened in the early 1990's, that line was run exclusively by the then brand new 3200's. That assignment remained solid until around late 2012 - 2013. The Blue Line on the other hand NEVER saw 3200's or 5000's until recently. From the mid-1980s that line has operated with mostly 2600's (then brand new) with a few Budd 2200's in the mix. I know it sounds unfair, but the Blue is LOOONNNNNGGGGG overdue for brand new equipment. But I don't think you have to worry; the Orange Line IS going to get it's share of 7000's.
@@TheChicagoL understandable but the only the thing the blue line also needs is a repair on tracks of the Douglas branch I’m just a lil bit concerned on how these trains will preform on that side of the line other than that I really don’t mind seeing these trains on the blue line and let’s hope orange will receive them as well both lines serves to and from the airport and it’ll be great for tourists who’s new to the city to experience the smooth quiet rides on these new equipment rather then the loud 2600 series.
I take the blue to the red when I use the system. Look forward to checking it out. Now...CTA...I BEG OF YOU connect to Union Station for lord sake. At least in NY Plenty of cross over options between commuter lines and the subway.
Example from just today. I took New Jersey Transit from X to New York Penn station. I arrived at 1100 hrs. My Long Island Railroad connection, a very short walk from Track 4 to Track 17 and I was on my 1119 hrs. Train. Impossible at Chicago Union station. Don't get me wrong...I really like my commute on METRA but to get to my destination in say Chinatown I need to get to the blue line, blocks away and change to the Red line through a rather unpleasant tunnel and multiple staircases.
In my opinion CTA should do what they did with the red line reconstruct the whole congress branch in other words do the red line south reconstruction but its the blue line reconstruction
Yeah I feel with the way it’s deteriorated the best thing to do would be to just rip the whole bandaid off. But of course that’s contingent on the IDOT’s project to realign/rebuild the Ike, and they’ve been dragging their feet on that for years. What if the CTA reconstructs the branch and then IDOT decides to reconstruct the Ike right after, forcing CTA to rebuild track they had just laid?
I thought so at first that they sound like the MBTA's Blue Line cars but it's actually a different propulsion. When the 7000 accelerates, the pitch goes from a low to high pitch then starts over and starts over twice. It's not like the 5000s although the beginning of the sound is familiar. Watch my other videos of the 7000s on the Red Line, the one with the Howard action. In the middle of the video I took a clip in the subway. You can hear it a lot better.
I think the money spent on these new China CRRC Shifang trainsets would've been better spent on fixing Chichago's crime problem and building new metro lines
It would take a million times the money spend on the trains to fix those two problems. And I don't think Chicagoans are up to paying a million a year in property taxes.
@@seanxu13 I don't think anyones up for paying taxes anytime soon since *TAXATION IS THEFT* and businesses such as Amazon.com Inc. will only campaign for higher taxes if it hurts their competitors more... And no I don't think it would "tae a million times the money spend" to fix Chichago's crime problem, all they need to do is read >10 pages of the book "More Guns, Less Crime" by John R. Lott. and published by the University of Chichago Press.
I'm going to miss the 2600 Series, and 3200 Series, idk why CTA will retire them, they are working perfectly fine with barely any flaws, and all these features seem like an actual trainwreck in the city of Chicago with it's violence.
I would assume not for 15+ years. Red Line is all 5000 series ~10y/o. Blue, Orange, Brown will probably get updated first (unless they do a reshuffle).
So they have the money to replace the rolling stock, but not enough money to replace the tracks? Isn't the cost of replacing/repairing the tracks cheaper than buying many new rail cars with features such as kneeling like a bus?
The issue is actually more complicated than you think. They are waiting on IDOT to finish the Jane Byrne interchange project that is taking forever so that they can come up with a plan to reconstruct I-290. There is a proposal to move the Congress branch to the middle of the Expressway from Central to Harlem. Right now it's running on one side of the Ike and the exit lanes are in the left lanes, which causes a traffic bottle neck for miles. IDOT wants to get rid of that which requires the CTA tracks to have to be moved to the middle.
Only place to get enough tracks to replace all the old ones are made in China; the US simply don't have the capacity. The trump tariffs put a stop to that.
I talk a lot of shit about the CTA but these don't look half bad! (I don't want to know how much they're paying for them though...) It's like they finally entering the early 2000s. How come American metro train cars make so much noise when they brake? I noticed that in Paris and London, even the old looking subway cars make barely any noise on the tracks. I mean we should probably first work on closer stops, adding more trains, and adding new lines or at least light rail alternatives to connect the various lines, but I hope they address the sound issue at some point. Would you be willing to start narrating your videos and talk a bit about the trains, history of CTA, and stuff like that for some of your videos? Maybe bringing some PSA to Chicago transit will help them get some more funding lol.
$632 million order for 400 rail cars is the price. The noise is the design of the train being so old. The new ones are AC electric motor with active suspension.
@@seanxu13 I'm not too familiar with the average costs elsewhere. Do you know how it compares to a cost of trains in, say, Seoul or Paris? I hate that the CTA actually shut down stops from the past, and now distances between stops within a line can be a whole mile, and between lines they can be many miles apart. I love the Paris Métro and they have an average distance of 500 m, and I would love to walk at most 250 m to get to a train. Also why don't we have any light rail if something like the circle line is "too expensive" (but Carter's pensions apparently aren't)??
I guess the chances of the 5000 series being in the Blue Line are none, zero, zilch, nada because of weight restrictions for the time being until Blue Line Forest Park gets overhauled which will probably cause Blue Line trains to divert to the Pink out to 54/Cermak which wouldn't surprise me!!
They should just do what they did with the Dan Ryan Red Line and close it for a couple of months for a complete rebuild. Blue line trains can continue on the Douglas Branch (Pink Line) and addition green line trains can be run along with shuttle busses. The tracks along the Eisenhower are getting really bad. Last time I checked the main thing holding up fixing the tracks was IDOT. Hopefully something will happen sooner rather than later.
I think that these trains will be replaced in 5-10 years because I think that they will have reliability problems, which is pretty known for Chinese trains.
As I've mentioned in previous videos of the 7000s most of the parts of the train come from American companies, with the truck, motor, and cab signaling components coming from Siemens. All CRRC is doing for the most part is assembling the rail cars and providing the shells.
I guess the Sifang treats this train much better than their domestic versions. That is we Chinese always joke about our country's products. Even in China Sifang is not good at metro trains, their high-speed trains are more reliable than their metros. CRRC Changchun's metro is better and they have more domestic market share in metro trains than Sifang.
The CTA is mostly focused on the Red Purple Modernization project right now. They are replacing a 100 year old embankment with a new 'L' structure between Lawrence and Bryn Mawr. We're talking about repairing a 60+ year old rail line vs a 100 year old embankment that is also falling apart.
There's also conflicts in planning. IDOT wants to rebuild the Eisenhower Expressway. Without coordination a Blue Line rebuild before the Highway rebuild would mean delays on the line even with new tracks while highway construction takes over. The best and most likely option is the CTA/IDOT coming to an agreement on the timeline and work that needs to be done to reduce unnecessary delays from construction most likely shutting down the branch completely while construction takes place.
The sounds of the expressway fade out the sound of the propulsion. You can hear it better in my video of the 7000s testing on the Pink Line. They have a Siemens propulsion.
The New York style seats on the trains suck. The homless have been sleeping on them since they came out several years ago. The seats get smelly and soiled. They should of kept the double seating when they replaced them. It was uncomfortable sitting in those seats. allowing bikes on the train was getting in the way !
Mainly conditions. Chicago Summer is no joke so for safety, the CTA has to slow down trains. It also not actually that slow. Chicago runs trains up to 55 miles an hour in normal times. The Metropolitan Line only runs 5 miles faster at 60 mph
Look how it waddles! The 7000 Series wouldn't survive the Red or Green Lines higher platforms bcuz it's too damn heavy. It rocks back & forth entirely too much.
It’s simply the fact that I’ve loved them for so long that I just don’t see the others the same. And I can’t forget the red white and blue cta scheme they had which makes me like them even more so.
Its made in Chicago by union workers. Just design in China. We design planes and made in China. It just happens that trains are the main transit system in China.
@Ploke Newo78 yes and all the profits go to France. Learn a thing or two from the competitors. Look at China. It has overtaken USA in almost every field
The design was specifically chosen to match the old ones. Down to the seat with cloth and plastic sides. The city don't want you to see what the latest trains design looks like in China and complain.
@@seanxu13 but the thing is that the Chicago metro looks so outdated... why can’t Chicago have a nice working system like ones in China or the rest of the world?
@@thechickenstew3716, not everyone wants a Copypasta system. That’s why cta has four lines going ABOVE Ground. With only TWO underground in the city’s central area. That’s better than having all 6 underground exclusively.
@@videonut1988 not everyone wants an archaic outdates system that constantly needs repairs. most ppl don’t care that the trains are there as long as the work. but in chicago’s case… they dont always work.
Still the same "new" wagons, and they are at least as noisy as the previous models. What does this have to do with the twenty-first century, nothing! Loud, swinging, waving carriages and stations as if from the 19th century.
Assembled in the US, but mostly made in China. The EU is thinking of restrictions for companies with ties outside Europe. They would be scrutinized and many if not most Chinese companies wouldn't get the contract as they are often using price dumping tactics. And we should definitely not support the CCP!
@@oskarsrode2167 Actually, TrainMaking is not a kind of industry with high technological barriers. Almost every country with sufficient wealth could start its own train maker. It was only because Americans don't think train making is important and it makes much more sense to buy from others instead. Cuz Americans don't have a railway market large enough to justify running its own train makers.
@@oskarsrode2167 Secondly, train making is overcompeted. With the Rotem🇰🇷, Hitachi from Japan🇯🇵, CAF🇪🇸,And Alstom and Siemens. There are too much train makers. Also, unlike cars who go everywhere, Train are made specific to their own rail system. Therefore their aren’t lots of demands for railway to support them all. In facts Bombardier ended up sold its rail division to Alstom.
@@oskarsrode2167 Thirdly, every countries(Japan,Korea) protect their own train making Jobs, that's why all those train making names did not end up insolvent
