Ticket To Ride Exclusive Metra Car: $900 A Year (VIDEO)

Riding in a private Metra car may not be as expensive as you think.

The Tribune's Richard Wronski reports that Metra's exclusive Car 553, the nation's last privately owned commuter car, costs its 70 patrons a Metra monthly pass and a $900 a year membership into Commuter Associates, Inc. The car, which is plush by public transit standards but not exactly opulent, is the contemporary incarnation of the Deerpath, the gold-trimmed private train car used by early 20th Century city moguls.

The private car runs on the UP North line from Ogilvie station.

Watch a snapshot of a trip inside Car 553:

 

Comments

[Ikebukero]

Where are all the Black people??

[poomplet]

It's only about 35-40 min, and regular metra cars are pretty nice, so it's pretty much a North Shore "see & be seen" thing.

That's OK, but dare I whip out a liberal cliche & say it'd be better if the money was donated to charity. And at least in the last few decades it's been open to all...it used to be men-only..­.and I'd wager blacks & Jews weren't invited in too often, either.

[Rangergirl]

Thats not a bad price for a train ride daily....f­or a year.

[roald]

That's a surcharge on top of the normal Metra charge. Having said that, it remains a good deal if you have a long ride and are looking for space and relative comfort.