Following a search, police issued an all-clear at about 7 p.m., Metra officials said
Published January 15, 2021 •
Updated on January 15, 2021 at 8:28 pm
A Metra maintenance facility on the Far South Side was evacuated Friday as police investigated a possible bomb threat.
An employee reported a “suspicious package” at the Kensington Yard District facility, at 12231 S Indiana Ave., Metra officials said.
A Chicago police K9 unit was called to that block about 2:45 p.m. to investigate a telephone threat, a police spokeswoman said.
Local
Metra police find no bombs after reports of suspicious package at maintenance facility
By Sun-Times Media Wire
CHICAGO - A Metra maintenance facility on the Far South Side was evacuated Friday as police investigated a possible bomb threat.
An employee reported a suspicious package at the Kensington Yard District facility, at 12231 S Indiana Ave., Metra officials said.
A Chicago police K9 unit was called to that block about 2:45 p.m. to investigate a telephone threat, a police spokeswoman said.
After searching the area, police found no bomb and issued an all-clear alert about 7 p.m., Metra officials said.
All Metra Electric trains near the building were initially stopped but began operating again with delays around 4 p.m.
Posted12/28/2020 5:30 AM
Uncertain what 2021 will bring after a year of empty Metra trains, roads, airports and state coffers, thanks to COVID-19?
Fear not. Five experts have gazed into their crystal balls and offer predictions starting with domestic air travel bouncing back in June.
Airlines suffered a hit in 2020, but the confidence imbued by the (COVID-19) vaccines will encourage many who had previously been reluctant to once again take to the skies, DePaul University professor Joseph Schwieterman said.
There are nuances. Travel to densely populated cities will lag behind sunny vacation spots. People will still have hang-ups about traveling to major cities through late 2021, despite vaccines, added Schwieterman, director of DePaul s Chaddick Institute for Metropolitan Development.
It’s getting real folks. After many years of lobbying by transit advocates, next month Cook County is launching the Fair Transit South Cook pilot. The program will bring more affordable and convenient service on the Metra Electric District and Rock Island District commuter rail lines for South Side and south suburban residents. The pilot halves the cost of a ride on these lines, and increases frequency on Pace’s 352-Halsted route, which links the 95th Street Red Line stop with the Pace Chicago Heights Terminal and will eventually be upgraded to Pulse express bus service.
I caught up with Cook County president Toni Preckwinkle to discuss the history of this effort, its benefits for South Side and Southland residents, and the city of Chicago’s resistance to participating in the program by providing free, county-subsidized transfers from Metra to the CTA.
Ashlee Rezin/Chicago Sun-Times,
The Chicago Transit Authority’s planned Red Line extension has made a “significant” step toward securing about $1 billion in federal funds, the transit agency announced Monday.
Without the Federal Transportation Administration’s preliminary approval of the CTA’s plans, the project likely would have hit a dead-end, CTA officials said.
But officials also said train service on the 5.6-mile extension if the federal money is approved is set to begin in 2029, three years later than originally planned. The earlier date was a preliminary estimate and based on “limited information,” according to the CTA.
The CTA now has two years to complete the next phase, which includes finalizing the project’s environmental impact statement and drawing up preliminary engineering documents.