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Microcap & Penny Stocks : TGL WHAAAAAAAT! Alerts, thoughts, discussion. -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: StocksDATsoar who wrote (142157)	2/18/2005 11:47:56 AM
From: Taki	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 150070

WOW.(COMTEX)B: Speedy airport train being pitched by CTA B: Speedy airport train being pitched by CTA Feb 18, 2005 (Chicago Tribune - Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News via COMTEX) -- Striving to emulate the airline-to-rail links in London and Hong Kong, the Chicago Transit Authority is seeking a consultant to develop a business model to operate premium express trains from downtown to O'Hare International and Midway Airports. The elevated trains wouldn't race along at 260 m.p.h. like the airport trains in Shanghai, but non-stop trains would cut the 45-minute ride from the Loop to O'Hare to about 20 minutes, transit officials said Thursday. The 25-minute trip to Midway would be made in at least half the time. Riders would pay $10 to $15 for the faster service on the Blue Line to O'Hare and the Orange Line to Midway, according to early CTA estimates. Bypass tracks would be built to enable the express trains to go around all-stop trains. Passenger amenities would include express ticketing and advance baggage check-in at airline counters inside the proposed transit transfer superstation at Block 37 in the center of the Loop. Plans also call for more comfortable trains, equipped with storage racks. The station would cost more than $213 million. Final negotiations are in the works between the city and Mills Corp., which would build the station below residential, office and hotel towers on Block 37, bounded by State, Randolph, Dearborn and Washington Streets. The CTA is advertising for bids by consulting firms to flesh out the airport-express concept and create a business plan that includes recommended fare structures, train schedules, financing and other operating details, said CTA spokeswoman Noelle Gaffney. CTA officials declined to provide cost estimates to avoid influencing the bids. CTA President Frank Kruesi has said the airport-express train is a high priority for the agency, despite an operating deficit that could lead to deep service cuts as early as July. "The preliminary forecasts indicate this project would generate operating revenue from the farebox that is greater than the costs," Gaffney said. Most transit operations require a subsidy. "Other cities are paying big bucks to build the kind of airport rail service that Chicago already has at its two airports. We are trying to make our service faster and more competitive" with automobiles and taxis, especially during rush periods, Gaffney said. The entire superstation and airport-express train would be contingent on funding. It would be paid for through a combination of federal grants, city and CTA contributions, bonding and private investment. By Jon Hilkevitch To see more of the Chicago Tribune, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to chicagotribune.com. (c) 2005, Chicago Tribune. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News. For information on republishing this content, contact us at (800) 661-2511 (U.S.), (213) 237-4914 (worldwide), fax (213) 237-6515, or e-mail reprints@krtinfo.com. -0- * end of story *