Ridership and On-Time Performance

Metra Riders

Ridership Data

Metra oversees all commuter rail operations in northeastern Illinois region, with responsibility for day-to-day operations, fare and service levels, capital improvements and planning. The Metra system is comprised of 11 seperate lines radiating out from Chicago's Loop, and serves more than 100 communities at 242 rail stations.

On-Time Performance Reports

For Metra and other commuter railroads, developing train schedules is not an exact science. We don’t always get it right. That’s why we periodically adjust schedules to better reflect actual operating conditions. However, there will always be variations that can cause trains to be delayed.

That’s because Metra’s schedules are designed to be most successful in “best case,” normal operating conditions. In other words, if Metra picked up the exact same number of people every day, from the same exact location, and they all used the exact same doors, in the same weather, with the same equipment, etc., then it would be easy to stay on schedule and hit every stop within a minute of the schedule. To not design schedules based on these conditions would result in increased idling time in between stations and longer overall train trips on days when conditions are normal.

Unfortunately, every day, there are scores of unpredictable variations from those perfect conditions that can have small but cascading impacts on Metra’s schedule. These variations can occur for a host of reasons – from the need to deploy a wheelchair lift, to an unusual number of riders at one or more stops to a medical emergency. Other factors that impact schedules include rain and snow, which can easily slow boarding, freight interference issues and mechanical problems. The list goes on.

Like other commuter railroads, Metra considers a train to have operated on time if it reaches its final destination within five minutes and 59 seconds of its scheduled arrival. That standard filters out some of the delays that are beyond a railroad’s control, so the resulting rate is a truer reflection of the railroad’s efforts to control the delays that are controllable. The goal is to use this information to ultimately improve service. And, we believe this approach provides us with relevant information to measure how we are doing and where we need to improve.

But that doesn’t mean that we don’t strive to keep on schedule at all of our stations and stops. We understand that delays at intermediate stops can be just as important to our customers as our ability deliver a train to its final destination on time.

Our goal is to work as hard as we can to provide safe, reliable and comfortable service, while providing honest and accurate information to our customers about the status of their trains.

That is one of the reasons Metra has made significant investments in technology aimed at helping our customers access the real-time data they need to make informed travel decisions.  Today, our customers have a variety of ways to learn if their train is on time.

Our email alerts allow customers to select a window during which they want to receive real-time information about operational issues. The Ventra app features transit trackers for all three agencies, providing real-time information about Metra trains, CTA buses and trains and Pace buses. Our customers can follow each of Metra’s 11 rail lines on Twitter and get up-to-the-minute status updates on their train schedule. And, of course, customers can call Passenger Services at 312-MY-METRA (312-696-3872) with questions about their train schedule.

The Monthly On-Time Performance Report provides an analysis of train delays as reported for all Metra commuter rail lines. On-time is defined for this analysis as those regularly scheduled trains arriving at their last station stop less than six minutes behind schedule. Trains that are six minutes or more behind schedule, including annulled trains (trains that do not complete their scheduled runs), are regarded as late. “Extra” trains (trains that are added to handle special events but not shown in the regularly published timetables) are excluded from on-time performance calculations unless shown in the special-event schedules that include all intermediate station stop times and are distributed publicly via Metra’s website or on paper flyers. Cancelled (not annulled) trains and non-revenue trains are also excluded from on-time performance calculations.