Most uninteresting Metra line?

The RI express is nice, but nothing like HC. If you feel like the RI will run late, skip it and stick with HC.

I don't see anything for either electric line - new coaches on Metra Electric and an interurban ride on South Shore always makes for a good time.

The RI trip to Blue Island and back should not be a problem. You could probably even go further south than Blue Island....Tinley Park would be a better neighborhood to sit around waiting for another train. Off-peak inbound trains regularly run up to 5 minutes or so late enroute, but arrive close, if not on-time into LaSalle Street Station. A walk to Union from LaSalle takes 10 minutes tops.

10 minutes on foot? I'm a fast walker, but not a runner. I'll keep an eye open for any announcements or signs at LaSalle concerning possible delays before I take the preliminary jaunt.

I've also seen mixed reactions about Blue Island as a place to wait. I'm not a conspicuous railfan by any means. I don't wear NRHS baseball caps nor am I wired with scanners and cameras. But it still might not be the best idea for an individual not familiar with the area to hang out.

I wouldn't worry about it, I eat lunch there every few weeks. There's always a few metra employees around, between BI tower and the two stations, as well as a ME layover. I've never felt remotely threatened by anybody. I also have a nice car, and it's never been messed with either. In that part of Chicago, I'd be more worried about Harvey, Riverdale, or Dixmoor.

Blue Island in the area of the Vermont Street stations is a perfectly safe place to wait for a train. If you've heard of Blue Island as being an "iffy" area, your sources were probably referring to the area around Blue Island Junction, where you will not be going.

A walk between Union and North Western stations can take 10 minutes. I would say the time between Union and La Salle is more like 15 to 20 minutes.

MetraRy wrote:I find the md-w line to be a pretty intresting line. Especially the in city portion.

I agree! I don't know why the OP hated it.

Admittedly, the outer portions of many of the lines are dull. For example, although I don't live in the area now, I'm from UP-N and UP-NW territory. UP-N is great until you get far north. Then it's pretty horrible.

Conversely, riding UP-N southbound can be an uplifting experience. First you leave "da hood" of the south side of Waukegan & North Chicago & Great Lakes. But then you hit the North Shore, and your outlook becomes brighter.

So, I would conceed that Medinah is not the most happenin' point on MD-W, but I still enjoy the urban parts.

Kangaroo_of_72 wrote:Admittedly, the outer portions of many of the lines are dull. For example, although I don't live in the area now, I'm from UP-N and UP-NW territory. UP-N is great until you get far north. Then it's pretty horrible

Actually, the ride gets a little better north of Waukegan (and faster too, since the stations are a little more spread out, giving the trains a chance to "stetch their legs" as they push the 70mph speed limit), as the area becomes more rural going toward Kenosha. While riding through rural suburbia may be boring to some, I actually find it rather relaxing, but, to each his own...