Chicago Union Station: My View Based on My Experience

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Dakota 400

Engineer
Joined
Mar 5, 2014
Messages
3,741
The thread titled Suitcases in Chicago got me to thinking about my recent experience at CUS. It has been a few years, around or less than 7, since I have traveled through Chicago. I found my July experience de-training EB to be more stressful than I remember that it had been.

Is the re-modeling of the Station done? If so, it seems to me that Amtrak has made it less customer friendly.

I felt the Concourse level to be confining with better signage needed. The Baggage Claim area did seem somewhat familiar. The Baggage Check-in area, as was stated in the previous thread, is next to Baggage Claim, but seemed rather small and inadequate for the business that I would think it does. After claiming my luggage, where to go to get a taxi? I had to search for a sign and then discovered I needed to find an elevator. Poor signage, again, slowed me down. Once I found the elevator, I was surprised, very negatively, that the taxi stand was across the street from where I was. I was not a "happy camper" by that point in time. The on-duty Amtrak policewoman with whom I spoke at the side of the Station/street to which the elevator delivered me appeared to sense that I was stressed and unhappy. She did her job to insure that traffic would stop as I crossed the street dragging my luggage. Once getting to the taxi stand, the Taxi Dispatcher quickly got me into a taxi.

Red Cap service appeared minimal. When I traveled through CUS before, there appeared to be many more Red Caps available to service a LD train.

I think I remember a CUS during the mid-late 1950' and early 1960's where the Concourse area was open and spacious. I recall, accurately or not which I now wonder, that one could stand outside the Gates for the North side tracks and see the Gates for the South side tracks. There were kiosks for the Pullman Conductors to check-in Pullman guests in that area. And, there was some limited seating. If my memory is accurate, it surely is not so now! It appears to be a maze to get from one side to the other. That's making the interior environment of the Station customer friendly?

I'd appreciate learning other posters reactions to my experience. Is my memory faulty? If so, don't shy from saying so; I won't be offended.

What might I have done differently to make my transfer from train to taxi (or even taxi to train) a better experience?
 
Remodel is nowhere near done, particularly if one counts the eventual track realignment in that estimation. Even if not, there is still plenty to do far above and beyond the rails. Count on things to change even more and evolve as the plan is phased in. I'm certain other elements will change as the new redesign is implemented.
 
Why did you cross through that mess of traffic? :-/

There's a crosswalk at the corner of Jackson, just left of the doorway that brought you out to the east side of Canal Street. You cross there and either head left to the city buses or right to the line for the taxi stand.

I'm surprised she didn't point it out to you.
 
SarahZ said:
Why did you cross through that mess of traffic? :-/

There's a crosswalk at the corner of Jackson, just left of the doorway that brought you out to the east side of Canal Street. You cross there and either head left to the city buses or right to the line for the taxi stand.

I'm surprised she didn't point it out to you.
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When I emerged from the Station, I was faced with a broad street with a wide designated cross-walk between where I was (with buses parked on my side of the street) and the taxi line directly across the street. I am not familiar with Chicago so I don't know what street this was. I don't think I was where you think I was. To have walked to a corner and crossed the street there would have been further than crossing the street where I was in order to get to the taxi line. Neither buses nor taxis were on the same side of the street. They were on opposite sides of the street.
 
Getting around Union Station twice this summer was not difficult. I had looked up a map on line for any changes.. The station was really busy when we arrived on a Thursday about 4:30, with rush Metra trains starting to load. I find airports stressful compared to Union Station. At the street I used Uber who arrived as I was exiting. So was perfect.
 
SarahZ said:
Why did you cross through that mess of traffic? :-/

There's a crosswalk at the corner of Jackson, just left of the doorway that brought you out to the east side of Canal Street. You cross there and either head left to the city buses or right to the line for the taxi stand.

I'm surprised she didn't point it out to you.
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you don't need to walk to the corner - the buses, cars, etc. are supposed to stop if people are in that crosswalk. It's very wide and marked with lines - you are allowed to cross there. Just move out there slowly and make sure cars, etc. see you before walking out in the middle of it.
 
crescent-zephyr said:
May I reccomend you don't even attempt to visit New York Penn. Ha.
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I was last at New York Penn in 2014 or 2015 to start a trip on the Crescent. My only problem was the taxi dropped me off at the 8th Avenue entrance with only an escalator or stairs to get to the bottom level. With two pieces of luggage and a carry-on, this proved to be a challenge that an Amtrak employee on her lunch break coming up the escalator helped me solve. She took one piece down while I took the rest. (I made note of her good service on this web site when I returned home and wrote a comment to Amtrak as well.)

Once where I needed to be, baggage check-in was easy to find as was the Metropolitan Lounge. As had been recommended on this Forum, I used Red Cap service to board the train and that was certainly a breeze. Even without the Red Cap service, Penn Station certainly did not seem as confusing to me as CUS did. (I think it is my memory of "what was" helped me being somewhat bewildered at what I was experiencing.)
 
There are actually elevators available at some of the entrances, too bad the cab driver didn't drop you by one. When the station was designed, it had a service drive for drop offs, that has an elevator, but for security reasons that has not been open for cab drops in many years.
 
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Chicago Union Station was much more user-friendly in the 50s and 60s prior to Amtrak. With Amtrak owning, the facility, it should be more user-friendly. Keep in mind Chicago had 5 other intercity train stations, most of which were easier to use than Union even then. My favorite was Dearborn Street Station used by the Santa Fe and 5 other railroads. Cabs arrived at street level and the departure tracks were at street level so it was easy to board. A beautiful, but more complex station was Central Station where taxis dropped you off at street level and you had to go upstairs to the waiting room and then back downstairs at the gates to board the trains. I think Union Station has reached its capacity and hopefully when the remodeling is done, it will be more user friendly.
 
Last month, I arrived by taxi at the station to catch the California Zephyr #5. I went to the Metropolitan Lounge which, according to Amtrak has, "a red carpet exterior entrance near the taxi stand on the west side of Canal Street". The door was locked and no one could be seen inside. I was within the posted business hours.

Leaving my wife and our luggage outside, I went inside, found the inside entrance and a Red Cap. The Red Cap came up, got our stuff but, he couldn't get into the lounge either! He went around and opened the door from the inside to let us in and take us to the desk to stash our luggage. I was told they don't have the staffing to "man" the outside door!

Here is last years announcement where the above quote came from.

https://media.amtrak.com/2016/06/amtrak-opens-new-chicago-lounge-for-premium-customers/
 
I would think during busy times they could man it, but during low traffic times I can see locking the door. But they should put up a sign that the upstairs door is closed at this time, please use the inside entrance, or something similar, maybe with best way to go.
 
Our experiences at CUS have been mostly positive during the last few years. The new Metropolitan Lounge is far better than the old lounge. Its cleaner, brighter , more modern, the choice of beverages better ( there is now sparkling water, espresso and Cappuccino) and occasionally you will find fruit, wine and cheese. There is also more seating. The baggage room is now self serve but has been a safe storage space so far. The only thing that we miss is the direct exit to the tracks where your train is waiting. The only negative is the exit walk to the trains, typically through crowds in the busy waiting area.
 
Dakota 400 said:
The thread titled Suitcases in Chicago got me to thinking about my recent experience at CUS. It has been a few years, around or less than 7, since I have traveled through Chicago. I found my July experience de-training EB to be more stressful than I remember that it had been.

Is the re-modeling of the Station done? If so, it seems to me that Amtrak has made it less customer friendly.

I felt the Concourse level to be confining with better signage needed. The Baggage Claim area did seem somewhat familiar. The Baggage Check-in area, as was stated in the previous thread, is next to Baggage Claim, but seemed rather small and inadequate for the business that I would think it does. After claiming my luggage, where to go to get a taxi? I had to search for a sign and then discovered I needed to find an elevator. Poor signage, again, slowed me down. Once I found the elevator, I was surprised, very negatively, that the taxi stand was across the street from where I was. I was not a "happy camper" by that point in time. The on-duty Amtrak policewoman with whom I spoke at the side of the Station/street to which the elevator delivered me appeared to sense that I was stressed and unhappy. She did her job to insure that traffic would stop as I crossed the street dragging my luggage. Once getting to the taxi stand, the Taxi Dispatcher quickly got me into a taxi.

Red Cap service appeared minimal. When I traveled through CUS before, there appeared to be many more Red Caps available to service a LD train.

I think I remember a CUS during the mid-late 1950' and early 1960's where the Concourse area was open and spacious. I recall, accurately or not which I now wonder, that one could stand outside the Gates for the North side tracks and see the Gates for the South side tracks. There were kiosks for the Pullman Conductors to check-in Pullman guests in that area. And, there was some limited seating. If my memory is accurate, it surely is not so now! It appears to be a maze to get from one side to the other. That's making the interior environment of the Station customer friendly?

I'd appreciate learning other posters reactions to my experience. Is my memory faulty? If so, don't shy from saying so; I won't be offended.

What might I have done differently to make my transfer from train to taxi (or even taxi to train) a better experience?
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Don't blame Amtrak. The sale of the air rights and the destruction of the open Concourse building you are obviously describing took place before Amtrak (1968-70) and resulted in the maze you see today, sitting in the basement of the office building constructed in the Concourse's place. It was uglier before the 1990 Amtrak refurbishment, although Amtrak then moved all station services into the concourse at that time, which made it somewhat more cramped although much prettier (no more exposed cinderblock). The ongoing renovations now are at least partly attempt to reverse that mistake, and the changes have only gotten started. The move of the taxi stand to the other side of Canal by the Headhouse is in keeping with making more use of the Great Hall/Headhouse and returning it to its traditional role.

People rightly celebrate the preservation of Chicago Union Station, but really only one half of it was preserved, the headhouse/Great Hall. The Concourse suffered the same fate as Penn Station. Which makes sense, given that the Pennsy was the majority owner of Chicago Union Station. It was pretty much the same management that made both those decisions.

From what I have seen of the plans, the long term plan is to open up a lot of that space in the concourse again making it primarily a boarding area and moving services into the Headhouse/Great Hall, while still having to live with the office building overhead.
 
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zephyr17,

Your post is further helping me understand "where I was" in the Station. I was wondering why I had not seen or walked through the Great Hall. It's in a different building across from where I was!

I still am of the opinion that taxi service should be available on the side of Canal Street where I emerged. Maybe this is a City of Chicago decision as to where the taxi stand may be?
 
Dakota 400 said:
zephyr17,

Your post is further helping me understand "where I was" in the Station. I was wondering why I had not seen or walked through the Great Hall. It's in a different building across from where I was!

I still am of the opinion that taxi service should be available on the side of Canal Street where I emerged. Maybe this is a City of Chicago decision as to where the taxi stand may be?
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The taxi stand used to be on that side of Canal Street. It moved just a little while ago (maybe a year ago?) It actually flows better now, as taxis and Ubers and people picking up their friends/relatives were always jockeying for position along that side of Canal. By moving the taxis to the other side of the street, that created more room (and a safer area) for people to pull over and drop off/pick up their friends/relatives.

This was made possible by moving the buses over to the big bus area (whatever it's called). When the buses stopped on both sides of Canal, that created even more of a jam with taxis and the drop-offs. Now that the buses are on the other side of Jackson, the taxis can claim one side of Canal while regular traffic has the other side. It's SO much better.

You can actually get to the Great Hall if you keep walking underground. When you're on Canal Street, it looks like two separate buildings, but they're connected by a huge walkway under the street. That "walkway" has the escalators to Canal Street, Amtrak Passenger Services, Amtrak Ticketing, Baggage Services, and the Metra Ticketing office (and Ventra card machines). The Metropolitan Lounge entrance is within the entryway to the Great Hall, and the Redcaps are stationed nearby.
 
SarahZ,

More good information! Thanks! I thought that continuing to walk underground I would get to the Great Hall after zephyr7's post.

If one arrives at CUS to depart on a train, where is the drop-off point for the taxi? Is it on the side of Canal Street where the taxi stand is? And, if so, is there an elevator to the Concourse level at that location?
 
I found some images in this article: http://chi.streetsblog.org/2016/12/05/city-is-wrapping-up-loop-link-improvements-on-canal-prepaid-boarding-pilot/

That shows the crosswalk, which I haven't seen yet, as I tend to exit the station on the other side (Adams or Jackson). What a great idea. :) I always hated walking through the crowds of smokers to get to the crosswalk at Jackson and Canal.

Anyway, the article shows the new, red lane that is designated for buses and those with disabilities. From what I'm reading in the article, if you have a disability, you will be allowed to have your cab drop you off at that location. That puts you by the Canal Street entrance, which is where the central elevators to the concourses are located. The risk is that private vehicles are using the curb lane, which means you have to negotiate crossing through that traffic if the cab doesn't drop you off near the crosswalk. I wish I could find a better photo.

If you choose not to use that area, you will be dropped off at the cab stand, which is on the other side of the street. You could use the special crosswalk to go to the entrance with the elevators. Or, you could walk into the Great Hall. Unfortunately, when you enter the Great Hall, you'll have to walk down a couple flights of marble stairs to get to the level with the concourses. I'm not sure if they're planning to install an elevator anywhere within the Great Hall.

Here's a map that shows both buildings and the connecting hall. Canal Street is the narrow, white rectangle that runs vertically along the center of the map, just left of Metra Ticketing. You can sort of tell you're walking under it because the hallway has a pretty distinct slope to it when you walk from the Great Hall to the Concourses. There are ramps on either side of the main hallway as well.

http://www.chicagounionstation.com/map_concourse.html
 
Honestly, if my goal were to get as close to the elevators as possible, I'd use Uber or Lyft. Since those are "private" vehicles, they can drop you off at the sidewalk, and then it's just a few steps to get in the doors and to the elevators.
 
Although the ambiance of the new Metro Lounge is much improved, I do miss the easy boarding from the old location. In my experience, no matter what track your train was on, the lounge attendant would line you up at the back exit, where you'd either board your train directly or get shepherded to the Track 26/28 gate, into the south concourse, and onto your track while the coach pax looked on. Now you just get released into the mob, where you have to cross all the Metra BNSF commuters scrambling for their trains, and as often as not find when you get to your gate that the coach pax have been let out ahead of you. It makes for a pretty chaotic experience on the platform!
 
RPC said:
Although the ambiance of the new Metro Lounge is much improved, I do miss the easy boarding from the old location. In my experience, no matter what track your train was on, the lounge attendant would line you up at the back exit, where you'd either board your train directly or get shepherded to the Track 26/28 gate, into the south concourse, and onto your track while the coach pax looked on. Now you just get released into the mob, where you have to cross all the Metra BNSF commuters scrambling for their trains, and as often as not find when you get to your gate that the coach pax have been let out ahead of you. It makes for a pretty chaotic experience on the platform!
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yes an added inconvenience for sure but a lot of that could be solved if the people at the gates did a better job. There are one or two who manage the process well, but having done this for 12+ years at CUS 90% of the gate attendants could really give a **** about their jobs. Clearer announcements, answering people's questions, letting people know the order of boarding so they don't panic (I see this all the time), and then making sure you board 1. Business/Sleeper, 2. Legacy, 3. Seniors, 4. Families with small children (and Active Military I forget is with Business or Legacy) would all help make it run more smoothly. And also trying to board the Business/Sleeper people even 5 minutes earlier would help.
 

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