The Way I See It!

Guest Blog - Cudahy Conservative On Trains

Posted by Randy Hollenbeck on May 13, 2010

Chicago, KRM, Metra, Trains, Guest Blog

Trains-portation…. Or TrAHHHH-nsportation!

The romantics in us all look back at an era gone by when trains were the ultimate form of travel.  You might have heard lately the advertisement for traveling on a train, as you can sit back and relax, stretch out even.  The buzz around train travel here in Wisconsin is head-n-shoulders above anywhere else.  High level politicians to small city mayors are crying the wonders of train tracks.  I have to ask myself if they really ride the train themselves.

These personal recommendations followed by mother’s group magazines saying what a great experience it is for families, led me to try to take a trip down to Chicago.  I thought back on my travel on trains around Europe and said, “Yes! This is something my children and I can share.  What an amazing experience this will be.”

Right away I was starting to wonder in the back of my head why I was driving down the highway to go to a train and not just straight to Chicago, but my memories flooded back on how nice it was to sit and relax on the safe, clean trains I had been on in Europe.  Ok no exit sign for the train station in Kenosha, but I already had what exit number in my head.  This wont be so bad, I said as we exited after 30minutes on the highway (all the while I was wondering in the back of my head what the buzz was about a train that only rain 2 times a day from Kenosha).  We kept driving and driving east.  My wife asked me if we were lost, and I said no and that if we keep going east we will find it or drive into the water.  Still no signs of the station, but I kept driving.  Finally we got to Route 32 and I surmised that we had to turn instead of going into the water since I could see the tracks.  Amazingly we turned down a street and then saw a small train station next to what looked like a police station grouped with other larger buildings hiding the station.  So we got there, and I wasn’t deterred.  At least the website said that there was free parking.  Well, apparently free parking was for family days and not during week days.  We pile out and load up the stroller and go to buy our parking ticket.  Luckily I asked the parking person, which was just the restaurant/deli person selling them, where the train tickets were.  He told me you pay on board, and I was lucky we had enough cash in hand to do this as the ATM wasn’t working.  We went to the elevator since we had the stroller.  While smelling worse than any porta-john ever, the elevator didn’t work.  A nice woman handing out pamphlets told me that a person in a wheel chair had to be carried up the stairs by some passengers earlier.  So we cautiously carried the children up the stairs and then the stroller after with bags in hand.  Yes, we made it and boarded the train.  I wasn’t the only one that wondered if this really was the train we had to get on, since people were asking me that question as well.

The train cars were double level, the top had single seats which were disappointing because I’d like to sit as a family and take in the view.  We stayed on the bottom near the handicap seats so we could be near our stroller and keep it out of the way.  The baggage was supposed to be put up above your seat.  I started to feel like these weren’t the trains I had been on in Europe.  I had thought, the romantic side of me that is, that the kids would sit back and watch the scenery.  After taking in where they were and that they weren’t locked down in a seatbelt, all they wanted to do was walk around the train cars.  I shuddered at the sight of my toddler crawling on the floor when she tripped as it seems that these floors haven’t been cleaned to a shine in a very long while.  Well, I thought, at least we are only about 30-40minutes away from Chicago.  I was wrong.

It is a very long ride from Kenosha to mid-town Chicago when you stop basically every 5 miles.  Now add in restless children and that is torture.  In Europe when you take the train you are guarantied some amazing views of the countryside.  I don’t find the same here in the US overall.  While there was a stop at what appeared to be a nice military college, mostly the view was pretty awful, even for those who like junkyards.  If you think about it, how many people really prefer to live right next to a commuter train track.  So you are left with homes and businesses that are a hard sell and tagged with not very pretty paint.  After that long trip, we finally got to the main station and loaded off.

While the buzz around riding a train is appealing, the experience is not what it is cracked up to be.  The trains that we were on were definitely only commuter trains.  No frills.  They are worn out from the amount of people and time they have carried.  In my opinion this isn’t the way to travel with a family and wasn’t relaxing.  It would have taken half the time to get to Chicago or less if we drove the car.  Seeing that the trains were not full, this wasn’t even a green way to travel.  The train goes whether it is full or not.  You could make the case that we saved money since the train ticket is so cheap.  Is it?  These commuter trains are supported through taxes and that is why the ticket is cheap.  There were many more people that got on at Waukegan, but I wonder if Wisconsin taxes are supporting this train line to the benefit of Illinois/Waukegan commuters?  I would not recommend making this train trip to families with small children.  On the other hand, a case could be made if you had older children but I don’t think they will get anything out of the experience.  Teenagers definitely would not take kindly to the trip, other than being left alone to text or play a game – which can be done in more comfort riding in a car.

I would rather spend less time traveling and more time at my destination.  In those immortal words – Don’t Believe the Hype.  Try for yourself and don’t feel bad if you don’t really like the experience.  You’re normal.  It works for commuters from Waukegan, but don’t try to sell me that half of Cudahy will commute to Chicago.