Free rides offered as Metra celebrates 40th birthday this week
Metra's celebrations will include free service, trivia contests and other giveaways
Metra will celebrate its 40th birthday this week with a variety of activities and programs, culminating with offering free rides on all of its train lines in coming days.
Metra, which was founded in 1984 to help consolidate passenger rail service in Chicago and its surrounding suburbs as private companies sought to shed their operations in that field, is marking its anniversary all week long, with giveaways and trivia contests to celebrate the occasion.
“Whether you have been riding Metra for 40 years or took your first ride today, we want to thank you,” Metra Executive Director Jim Derwinski said in a statement. “And as we look to the past and celebrate four decades of serving the Chicago area’s transportation needs, we are also looking to the future and making plans to continue that service for many more decades.”
According to the agency’s website, June 8, 1984 was the first meeting of the board of what ultimately came to be known as Metra. That service has since grown to cover 11 different train lines, encompassing more than 500 miles of track across the city and suburbs.
To celebrate its birthday, Metra will observe a number of giveaways and special events, starting on Tuesday when it offers free gifts to riders at its downtown stations at Union Station, LaSalle Street and Millennium Station, while supplies last.
“Throwback Thursday” will see the agency conducting an 80s-themed trivia contest on social media, while riders will be asked to share their favorite memories and photos from the last 40 years of train travel in the suburbs.
Celebrations will culminate on Saturday and Sunday when the agency offers free rides on all 11 of its lines, according to officials.
Throughout the summer, a rolling museum, housed inside one of Metra’s railcars, will be brought to different spots on the agency’s network of train lines, allowing riders to explore more about the history of the offering of commuter rail service in the area.
More information can be found on the agency’s website.