I would like to go to Northern Illinois for college next year and would plan to go to Chicago many times. But I can’t seem to find anywhere to tell me what’s the difference between the Metra and Subway. I got the metra is more of a train and the subway is like a metro quick type of thing where they shoot to the next stop really quick. Is the Metra more of a train system with exact times to leave and what not? Just some simple help on these two things would be some great help!
Public transportation in Chicagoland is under the umbrella term, Regional Transportation Authority (RTA). There are 3 parts…METRA, CTA, and PACE. All systems run on schedules. METRA stations are much farther apart than CTA stations.
METRA is a commuter train service on full size trains that serves the city, suburbs and several towns in NE Illinois, Kenosha, WI and connecting service to NW IN:
http://metrarail.com/content/metra/en/home/maps_schedules/metra_system_map.html
CTA has buses and el trains. The trains are electric with several lines identified by color. Some are below ground (subways) others are elevated above street level (els) a couple have parts of their line on street level. All are called "the el." CTA buses and els serve Chicago while the els do have stations in some nearby suburbs…Skokie, Wilmette, Evanston, Oak Park, Forest Park, Rosemont, Berwyn, & Cicero:
http://www.transitchicago.com/travel_information/maps/default.aspx
PACE serves the suburbs with bus lines. It has connections at METRA stations and CTA terminals:
http://www.pacebus.com/sub/schedules/default.asp
The following RTA site will give you routes and fares using all 3 systems:
http://tripsweb.rtachicago.com/
The closest METRA station to DeKalb is at Elburn, IL which is served by the UP-W line. Elburn is about 16 miles east of DeKalb:
http://maps.yahoo.com/#mvt=m&lat=41.909345&lon=-88.60647&zoom=12&q1=dekalb%2C%20il&q2=422%20e%20railroad%2C%20elburn%2C%20il
Greyhound buses stop in DeKalb at 1101 W LINCOLN HWY. Get schedule info at:
http://www.greyhound.com/home/ticketcenter/en/step1.asp