Movie: The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974)

This movie starts by showing someone being trained how to operate a train according to international standards, something that is more rare than it should be in the US. The recent remake leaves this part out, only one of the many ways that the first version is superior to the second.

This movie is more of a character study than an action film although the fact that this how people actually act makes the action more realistic. This movie is not for the overly sensitive, especially in its depiction of racism and sexism. It is all realistic, unlike the remake.

I especially like the part where the subway managers from Tokyo reveal that they understand everything that has been said around them, insults and all.

A DVD of this movie is available through Netflix. It used to be available for streaming through Hulu, but now Hulu only has clips.

Chicago

Of Interest: downtown Chicago which includes the theater district, the Chicago Board of Trade, museums, and several universities

Hotels: Of course, at all prices and qualities

Grocery Store: Several small markets downtown. A Whole Foods is visible from the tracks, but not from the station.

Other Transit: City buses run by the station. Buses in Chicago run in a grid pattern. An El station is a short walk to the north. The loop is across the bridge. Just walk straight ahead. Besides the "L", multiple bus lines also end at the loop

ATM: in station

Lockers: yes, but $3.00/an hour

Chicago's original downtown is the to east of the station. Many commercial offices have moved north to the Golden Mile, but the futures market, the Chicago Board of Trade, is still here. Most of this area is now devoted to shopping. Chicago's theater district is to the northeast of the station while bars that serve the student population are to the southeast. The lake, and the park that runs along it, is a 30 minute walk to the east.

If you are walking to the South Loop are, Van Buren is the southmost street you can walk east without having to deal with a highway or a major road. All "L" trains meet at the Loop. The red subway line runs underneath.

Amtrak and Metra trains run from Union Station to neighboring states and the rest of the country.

Chicago is the transfer hub between trains heading east and trains heading west. Daily Amtrak trains run to New York, Washington, DC, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Seattle, Portland, Dallas, and New Orleans and all major locations in between. Amtrak also runs multiple trains within Illinois and to neighboring states. A daily train runs to Indianapolis, IN in six hours. Also daily is train that takes four hours to get to Grand Rapids, MI. Running to the other end of Michigan, a daily train takes seven hours to get to Port Huron while three trains a day run to Detroit in five and a half hours. These two lines split at Battle Creek which is three hours from Chicago.

Trains run twice daily to Quincy, IL (four and a half hours). Along the way they stop in Galesburg where Illinois service splits from the California Zephyr and the Southwest Chief. Lincoln Service runs four times a day along the Texas Eagle route to St. Louis, five and a half hours away. The last stop within Illinois is Alton. Carbondale is also five and a half hours away, although this train runs less often, three times a day, and follows the route of the City of New Orleans.

Probably the most frequent interstate train coming out of Chicago is the Hiawatha which runs seven times a day in each direction, taking an hour and a half to get between Chicago and Milwaukee. This route parallels the Empire Builder and Metra's Milwaukee District North Line.

Metra operates eleven train lines into Illinois suburbs to the west, south, and north of Chicago. The last stop of one line, Union Pacific North, is in Wisconsin at Kenosha. Metra does not run to anywhere in Indiana. Six of these lines run from Union Station while another three run from Ogilvie Transportation Center, a short walk to the north. The other two run from stations that are just south of downtown.

Most lines do not connect. Exceptions are the Rock Island and Heritage Corridor lines which both end in Joliet, a little more than an hour away. Only Rock Island runs from Union Station and it is peak hours only in the direction of commuter traffic.

Take action to put more buses and trains on our streets

A previous post mentioned the Public Transportation Preservation Act (S 3412 and HR 5418) which would provide federal money to restore bus and train service that has been cut throughout the nation.

Cars get a subsidy from every tax that we pay. We pay for cars through property taxes, income taxes, sales taxes, and miscellaneous fees. Buses and trains deserve the same level of support. Some car people who want to widen a single highway in my state are looking for $20 billion in subsidies. The Public Transportation Preservation Act would restore bus and train service throughout the country for only $2 billion.

Also, to show that people in the US will ride trains, we need to actually run them. Cuts create declining ridership which gives a weapon to train opponents.

I hope that you will all send letters to your Representatives and Senators through the online petition at Change.org.

Tell Congress to pass the Public Transportation Preservation Act

Southern California by Transit

Wondering what you can see or do in southern California without a car. Riding in Riverside has three guides to help you. Most destinations are in Orange or Riverside Counties.

Amusement Parks

Beaches & The Outdoors

Museums, Zoos and Other Attractions

Riverside is the second stop after Los Angeles on the Southwest Chief. It is also on three Metrolink lines that run to Los Angeles, Orange County, and the beach. In fact, if you are at the beach and it rains, you might be able to use this site to to visit one of southern California's historic towns.

(Remember, it is almost always good when it rains in southern California.)

Amtrak and the ADA

You have may have noted that many train stations in the US are not handicapped accessible. In addition, many trains are not handicapped accessible either. You may have wondered if Amtrak is aware of this problem. According to the public relations office in Chicago, they do know that this is a problem.

Amtrak is legally supposed to be in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, but they have not actually gotten any money to bring achieve that compliance. This the first year in my memory that Amtrak has come close to being fully funded, and they are spending that money on new train sets. These train sets should be much more accessible than the ones they have now, but it will take a few years before they are actually in service.

There are two things that you can do to promote accessible train stations. If you are concerned about a particular station in your state, you can your representatives of the state legislature. If you concerned about the overall problem, you can contact your Senators and Representative and ask them to vote to fund accessible train stations.