(The following story by Monifa Thomas appeared on the Chicago Sun-Times website on March 17.)
CHICAGO — The Clyde station on Metra’s Burlington Northern Santa Fe line to Aurora will close for good April 1, but the change won’t significantly alter travel times on the commuter rail agency’s busiest route, according to schedules released Friday.
Metra is closing the dilapidated Clyde station at 29th Street and Austin Boulevard in Cicero because it only serves about 50 commuters a day and would be too costly to renovate, Metra said.
Commuters who use the Clyde stop will be directed to the LaVergne station seven blocks to the west at Ridgeland and Windsor avenues. The Cicero station at 26th Street and Cicero Avenue is also an option.
Both stops are scheduled to get new platforms and other station enhancements at a cost of $3.8 million.
Sunrise Express to aid L riders
New schedules for the BNSF line, effective April 1, are available on Metra’s Web site, www.metrarail.com.
In most instances, Chicago to Aurora travel times will be shifted no more than two minutes after Clyde closes.
Metra also has posted revised schedules for the Union Pacific North line that will take effect April 2, when Metra introduces its new Sunrise Express service for reverse commuters and CTA riders affected by the Brown Line reconstruction project.