# WTF, Metra? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 24, 2009, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-metra/522449 "2009-12-24T15:30:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Kaio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c68b51/32.png) [@Kaio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kaio)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2009, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-metra/522449/1 "2009-12-24T15:30:10Z")
Mild, but… The Metra from my neighborhood to Ogilvie takes 15 minutes. The El takes an hour. Metra, for our convenience, has hourly trains to Ogilvie today, a couple blocks from Union Station. Except that ONE damn hour when I need it. It skips straight from 11:10 (arriving 11:25) to 1:10. My train leaves Union at 2:15. So I can either leave obscenely early, and then cool my heels for THREE HOURS at Union, or leave late and run a very real risk that any Metra delay at all will make me miss my train. Or leave somewhat-less-obscenely early (by all of a half-hour) and spend an hour getting there. With twice as much walking (about half a mile) at the end of the trip. With a very large suitcase. Weather is iffy enough that I may not know about travel delays until after I’ve left. It may or may not be freezing rain when I’m walking to Union; it’s supposed to _sometime_ today, just no one knows when. Hate you, Metra. :mad: ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2009, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-metra/522449/2 "2009-12-24T20:58:47Z")
I’d write a polite inquiry. It’s entirely possible there’s an excellent reason for the skip or that they’ll adjust if they get enough complaints. ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2009, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-metra/522449/3 "2009-12-24T21:33:11Z")
[stoopid question]Are you sure there isn’t a mistake on the schedule? It’s happened to me on the Metro North (a line out of NYC) before. Might be worth a quick phone call. ---
**Author:** ![threemae](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/5f9b8f/32.png) [@threemae](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/threemae)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2009, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-metra/522449/4 "2009-12-25T02:41:05Z")
To sum up: you’re pitting a train schedule. And, that train schedule makes you hate the Metra? There’s a limit to the number of trains the Metra has. They could run them constantly but then they’d have to charge more money. This pit is weak-sauce. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2009, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-metra/522449/5 "2009-12-25T03:15:37Z")
Or, they could run them hourly and not skip the one hour that he needs. Let the man bitch. ---
**Author:** ![Kaio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c68b51/32.png) [@Kaio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kaio)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2010, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-metra/522449/6 "2010-01-02T04:17:29Z")
Ha. Wo-man, but bitching all the same, thanks. 😃 It was fine enough… took the earlier train, took my sweet time walking from Ogilvy to Union, had way more than enough time to wait in line at the ticketing kiosk, and cooled it in the waiting lounge for a couple hours. At least the train left on time this year (it very much did NOT last year, and the delay wasn’t posted until just before I got to Union); and everyone in the lounge was fairly cheerful. Of course it’s a weak rant. I was venting. The world wasn’t coming to an end; I was inconvenienced. Not worth deploying an army, but sometimes it’s just helps to bitch a little. Next up… why the return trip can’t have a more reasonable departure time. 5:14am. No wait, 6am. No wait, 6:30am. No wait, 7:15am. No wait… We left at 8. (I’d gotten up at 3am.) 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Gfactor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@Gfactor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gfactor)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2010, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-metra/522449/7 "2010-01-03T00:27:34Z")
I’m going to move this from the Pit to Mundane Pointless Stuff I Must Share. **Gfactor** Pit Moderator