BP Will Increase Holdings of Ex-Yukos Assets

British petroleum Plc will boost its holdings in the former assets of Yukos Oil Co. through its share swap with Russia’s state-run oil producer, two weeks after ex-Yukos chief Mikhail Khodorkovsky’s sentence was extended by six years.

British petroleum agreed on Jan. 14 to exchange $7.8 billion of stock for 9.5 percent of OAO Rosneft, which became Russia’s largest oil producer after aquiring Yukos assets in 2007. The deal will also provide access to untapped Arctic offshore oil and gas resources as London-based BP sells assets to pay for last year’s oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

Khodorkovsky, once Russia’s richest man, has called the charges against him retribution for political opposition to then-President Vladimir Putin. Putin, now prime minister, has denied involvement, saying that it was a matter for the courts and that “a thief should sit in prison.” The United States and European governments said last month’s conviction heightened concerns about Russia’s commitment to the rule of law.

“This is BP’s ticket to the Russian Arctic offshore,” Yuri Kogtev, head of Moscow-based oil and gas research and consulting company RusEnergy, said by phone. The share swap may have been a condition imposed by the Russian government, he said. “I wouldn’t say BP was hunting for Yukos assets.”

Yukos Assets

Rosneft tripled production overnight in 2004, a year after Khodorkovsky was arrested while refueling his plane in Siberia, with the $9.4 billion purchase of Yukos’s largest unit, sold by the state to recover part of a tax bill that eventually exceeded $30 billion. Rosneft acquired most of Yukos’s remaining assets at bankruptcy auctions in 2007.

British petroleum Chairman Carl-Henric Svanberg declined to comment on Rosneft’s purchase of Yukos assets in an interview on Jan. 14.

Khodorkovsky was convicted of money laundering and embezzling oil, extending his eight-year sentence for previous tax evasion and fraud offences by about six years. The longer term will take his stay in prison beyond the 2012 presidential election, which could return Putin to office.

Yukos lawyers and former managers have said the state expropriated assets from the company, once Russia’s biggest oil exporter, fighting to overturn asset sales and halt Rosneft’s 2006 listing of shares in London. BP bought a 1.3 percent stake in the initial public offering.

TNK-British petroleum, the Russian venture owned by BP and a group of billionaires bid for a 9.4 percent stake in Rosneft held by Yukos in the first in a series of liquidation sales in 2007, saying it was an effort to build strategic ties with the state oil company. Rosneft outbid TNK-BP for the shares.

Yukos Risk

Yukos’s former managers and shareholders have continued to battle for damages, filing a $98 billion suit in the European Court of Human Rights and a $100 billion case in the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague. The case in the human rights court completed hearings in March 2010 and may issue a judgment this year.

“BP shareholders should be concerned that once again the company has invested in a deal with Rosneft on assets over which there is significant question as to security of Rosneft’s ownership,” Claire Davidson, an outside spokeswoman for Yukos Capital, run by former Yukos managers, said in an e-mail.

Rosneft and BP’s lawyers studied possible risks, Rosneft spokesman Rustam Kazharov said by telephone. “Our lawyers monitor everything,” Kazharov said. “If even one threat existed to BP investors, they would never agree on that.”

BP and Rosneft have worked together for more than 12 years, forming an alliance to explore off Sakhalin Island in Russia’s Far East in 1998, when the state company produced about 250,000 barrels a day. Last year, Rosneft produced 2.3 million barrels a day, according to the Energy Ministry’s CDU TEK statistics unit.

“Rosneft was a mess, it became attractive when it acquired the best-run Russian company, Yukos,” said Christine Tiscareno, an equity analyst at Standard & Poor’s in London.

(source:wikipedia)

Bob Dudley

Bob Dudley
Born	September 14, 1954 (age 56) Queens, New York, US
Nationality	American
Occupation	CEO of BP
Spouse	Mary Dudley

Robert "Bob" Dudley (born September 14, 1954) is CEO of BP. He had served as President and Chief Executive of TNK-BP and on June 18, 2010, was assigned to be BP executive in charge of the Gulf Coast Restoration Organisation responding to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. He became CEO of BP on October 1, 2010.

Early life

Dudley was born in Queens, New York, grew up in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, and graduated from Hinsdale Central High School in suburban Chicago in 1973. He received a BS in chemical engineering from the University of Illinois, where he joined the fraternity Phi Kappa Psi and served as District 3 Archon. Then he obtained an MIM degree from the Thunderbird School of Global Management and an MBA from Southern Methodist University.

Career

U.S. President Barack Obama meets with BP executives in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, June 16, 2010, Pictured, from left, are BP CEO Tony Hayward, BP Chairman Carl-Henric Svanberg, BP General Counsel Rupert Bondy, BP Managing Director Robert Dudley, Senior Advisor Valerie Jarrett, Labor Secretary Hilda Solis, Attorney General Eric Holder, Vice President Joe Biden, President Obama, and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano.

He joined Amoco in 1979. He worked in a variety of positions including negotiating deals in the South China Sea. In 1994 to 1997 he worked for Amoco in Moscow. He became a general manager for strategy. After BP acquired Amoco he assumed a similar position at BP.

From 2003-2008 he was president and chief executive of TNK-BP.

On April 6, 2009 he became a director of BP and was given oversight of the company's activities in the Americas and Asia. On June 23, 2010 he was appointed President and Chief Executive Officer of BP's Gulf Coast Restoration Organization working with the oil leakage in the Gulf of Mexico, which affects five US states. As head of the organization, he is outmost responsible for the cleaning work in the Gulf, the cooperation with authorities, informing the public about BP's activities surrounding the disaster and analyzing the damage caused by the disaster.

On July 27, 2010, BP announced that Dudley would replace BP Chief Executive Tony Hayward as the company's CEO on October 1, 2010.

Personal life

He is married to Mary Dudley. They have two children.

(source:wikipedia)

European Stocks Increase for Second Week

European stocks advanced for a second week as investors speculated that the European Union will increase its efforts to contain the region’s debt crisis.

Banking shares posted their best weekly performance in six months. Danisco A/S jumped 25 percent as DuPont Co. agreed to buy the company. Provident Financial Plc surged 13 percent after saying 2010 earnings may exceed analysts’ projections.

The benchmark Stoxx Europe 600 Index gained 1 percent this week as Portugal, Spain and Italy completed debt sales. The gauge rallied 8.6 percent in 2010 as the European Union bailed out Greece and Ireland, companies reported increased profits and the Federal Reserve unveiled $600 billion of additional bond purchases to support the economy.

“The first test of the ability of the euro-area peripheral countries to secure financing on the market has been passed,” a team of economists at Intesa Sanpaolo SpA, including Luca Mezzomo and Paolo Mameli, wrote in a report. “The fears over the outcome of the January auctions in Portugal, Spain and Italy proved unfounded.”

Portugal sold 599 million euros ($800.1 million) of 10-year bonds at an average yield of 6.716 percent this week, compared with a yield of 6.806 percent at the previous sale on Nov. 10.

In Spain, demand and borrowing costs increased at a 3 billion-euro sale of five-year notes. Investors bid for 2.1 times the securities on offer, up from 1.6 the last time Spain sold the debt on Nov. 4. The average yield climbed to 4.542 percent from 3.576 percent.

Japanese, Chinese Support

Japanese Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda said “it’s appropriate” for his nation to buy bonds issued by Europe’s financial-aid funds later this month. China has also voiced support for Europe, with Vice Premier Li Keqiang last week expressing confidence in Spain’s financial markets and pledging to buy more of that country’s debt.

EU officials are trying to forge a “comprehensive” plan to contain the currency area’s sovereign-debt crisis, Economic and Monetary Commissioner Olli Rehn said this week. German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said EU member states will assemble a “comprehensive package” to tackle the sovereign- debt crisis by March.

European stocks trimmed some of their gains as the People’s Bank of China told the country’s major lenders to increase their reserve ratios by 50 basis points from Jan. 20. China raised its benchmark interest rates on Christmas Day to rein in liquidity.

German, Euro-Area Inflation

Separately, inflation in Germany, Europe’s largest economy, accelerated to the fastest pace in more than two years in December, data from the Federal Statistics Office in Wiesbaden showed. European Central Bank council member Axel Weber said euro-area inflation risks “could well move to the upside” as the region’s economic outlook has improved markedly.

Euro-area inflation accelerated to 2.2 percent in December, exceeding the ECB’s 2 percent limit for the first time in more than two years.

The central bank kept interest rates at a record low as ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet said inflation pressures in the euro region have picked up. The Governing Council set the benchmark rate at 1 percent for the 21st month, as predicted by all 53 economists in a Bloomberg News survey. The Bank of England also kept its key rate unchanged at 0.5 percent.

National benchmark indexes rose in 15 of Europe’s 18 western markets. France’s CAC 40 Index gained 3 percent, the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index rose 0.3 percent, while Germany’s DAX Index advanced 1.8 percent. Spain’s IBEX 35 Index jumped 8.6 percent, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index surged 4.5 percent.

Europe’s Banks

European banking shares jumped 6.2 percent this week, their biggest weekly gain since July and the best performance among 19 industry groups in the Stoxx 600. Banco Santander SA and Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA, Spain’s biggest banks, jumped 13 percent and 16 percent, respectively. UniCredit SpA advanced 12 percent. Banco Comercial Portugues SA advanced 5.4 percent, the stock’s first weekly gain in more than a month.

Danisco soared 25 percent as DuPont agreed to acquire the world’s largest maker of food ingredients for $5.8 billion, adding the production of enzymes used in food and biofuels to its range of businesses.

ARM Holdings Plc rallied 15 percent as Compal Electronics Inc., the world’s second-largest maker of notebook computers, forecast that 90 percent of the 3.8 million tablet devices it ships this year will use chips from ARM alongside Google Inc.’s Android operating system.

Provident Financial, Sky

Provident Financial, the U.K.’s biggest listed subprime lender, jumped 13 percent, the largest weekly gain in 2 1/2 years.

“The group had a strong finish to 2010 and expects to report results slightly ahead of market expectations,” Chief Executive Officer Peter Crook said. The company will report earnings on March 1.

Sky Deutschland AG rose 25 percent after the company reached an agreement with News Corp. to raise 400 million euros in financing, more than the 340 million euros it had previously sought. Sky Deutschland also predicted that 2011 earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization will be “significantly better than 2010, but will remain negative.”

Oriflame Cosmetics SA led falling shares in the Stoxx 600, losing 11 percent, as the maker of cosmetics said fourth-quarter sales were “slightly weaker than expected.”

Tesco Plc fell 5.6 percent after Britain’s biggest retailer reported holiday sales growth that lagged behind its competitors, saying that snow kept Britons from visiting out-of- town supermarkets.

Retail stocks lost 1.3 percent this week.

See also

Citizenship of the European Union

European central bank

(source:bloomberg.com)

More than 610 killed in Brazil flooding, mudslides

RIO DE JANEIRO: Devastating floods and mudslides in a mountainous region of Brazil near Rio de Janeiro has killed more than 610 people, Civil Defense officials said Saturday.

An estimated 14,000 people were assisted by rescue workers or lost their homes in the Serrana area towns hardest hit about 100 kilometers (60 miles) from coastal Rio, civil defense figures showed.

The single hardest hit town was Nova Friburgo, where 274 people were killed. Nearby Teresopolis had 263 dead, 55 were killed in Petropolis and 18 lost their lives in Sumidouro, officials said.

Workers transporting bodies said they feared the overall death toll could more than double as rescuers reached outlying hamlets in the country's worst

Many still missing in Brazil floods

TERESOPOLIS, Brazil, Jan 15 (Profile Facts) - Dozens of flood survivors desperate for news of missing relatives lined up outside a morgue in the town of Teresopolis on Saturday as criticism grew of authorities' response to one of Brazil's worst natural disasters which has killed nearly 600 people.

Nearly four days after rains sparked floods and massive landslides, officials in this scenic mountain town are still struggling to cope with the scale of the catastrophe. The steadily rising death toll in the region north of Rio de Janeiro hit 591 on Saturday, Brazil's Civil Defense agency said, and President Dilma Rousseff declared three days of national mourning.

Cemeteries in Teresopolis have been overwhelmed by the number of bodies and Brazilian media reported that residents in isolated areas have been forced to bury victims themselves.

Mortuary officials in Teresopolis, where the official death toll is 257, are using two refrigerated fish trucks to hold dozens of bodies that have still not been identified.

Many residents fear their relatives are still buried under the surge of water, mud and rocks that tore a path of destruction through some villages on the outskirts of the town, suggesting the death toll could rise sharply. Authorities have not given estimates on the number of missing people.

(source:reuters.com)

Transport in Afghanistan

Road from Jalalabad to Kabul, in eastern Afghanistan.

Transportation in Afghanistan is limited and still in the developing stages, which serves a population of about 29 million people. Landlocked Afghanistan has no seaports but the Amu Darya (Oxus) River, which forms part of the nation's border with Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan, does have barge traffic. Rebuilding of airports, roads, and a railway line has led to rapid economic boost in the country in the last five years. Much of Afghanistan's road network was built during the 1960s. New national highways, roads, and bridges have been rebuilt in recent years to help increase travel as well as trade with neighboring countries. The nation has about 53 airports, which have been built within the last 50 years.

Highways

Afghanistan-Tajikistan bridge after completion in 2007

History

Most road building occurred in the 1960s, funded by the United States and the Soviet Union. The Soviets built a road and tunnel through the Salang pass in 1964, connecting northern and southern Afghanistan. A highway connecting the principal cities of Herat, Kandahar, Ghazni, and Kabul with links to highways in neighboring Pakistan formed the primary road system.

The network includes 12,350 kilometers of paved roads and 29,800 kilometers of unpaved roads, for an approximate total road system of 42,150 kilometers as of 2006.

Major highways

Highway 1 (Afghanistan)

The highway system is currently going through a total reconstruction phase. Most of the regional roads are also being repaired or improved. For the last 30 years, the poor state of the Afghan transportation and communication networks have further fragmented and hampered the struggling economy.

Kabul-Gardez Highway under construction in 2005.

Since the fall of the Taliban many roads have been rebuilt with foreign assistance including:

Kabul-Kandahar Highway

Kabul-Jalalabad-Torkham Highway

Kabul-Gardez Highway

Kabul-Mazar Highway

Kandahar-Boldak Highway

Kandahar-Herat Highway

Herat-Islam Qala Highway

Herat-Mazar Highway

Route Trident (Lashkar Gah to Gereshk)

A road bridge linking Tajikistan and Afghanistan which cost $37 million was inaugurated in 2007. The bridge, nearly 700 metres long and 11 metres across, straddles the Panj river which forms a natural border between the two countries, between the ports of Nizhny Panj on the Tajik side and Shir Khan Bandar in Afghanistan. Delaram-Zaranj highway was constructed with Indian assistance and was inaugurated in January 2009.

Railways

Rail transport in Afghanistan

An Afghan Border Police officer standing on the Afghan side of the Afghanistan–Uzbekistan Friendship Bridge.

Afghan railroad from the Afghanistan–Uzbekistan Friendship Bridge to the city of Mazar-i-Sharif, seen from a U.S. military helicopter.

Rail lines in the country are limited to a short spur across the Amu Darya between Termez in Uzbekistan and Hairatan in Afghanistan, and another short spur between Kushka in Turkmenistan and Towraghondi in Afghanistan. The line from Termez crosses a combined road and rail bridge across the Amu Darya which was built by the Soviets during their occupation of the country.

Until recently there has been less than 25 kilometres of railway inside the country, all of which is built to 1,520 mm (4 ft 11 5⁄6 in) broad gauge. Recently, new lines have begun to be built. For strategic reasons, past Afghan governments preferred to discourage the construction of railways which could aid foreign interference in Afghanistan by Britain or Russia.

Turkmenistan border

A 10 kilometer long 1,520 mm (4 ft 11+5⁄6 in) gauge line extends from Serhetabat in Turkmenistan to the town of Towraghondi in Afghanistan. An upgrade of this Soviet-built line began in 2007.

Uzbek border

A second 1,520 mm (4 ft 11 5⁄6 in) gauge line, also built by the USSR, extends for around 15 kilometers from Termez in Uzbekistan to Kheyrabad Port, crossing the Amu Darya on the road-rail Friendship Bridge. This line is being extended to Mazar-i-Sharif. The construction work on the 75-kilometre (47-mile) extension between Afghanistan and Uzbekistan began in January 2010, which is expected to be completed by the end of that year.

Iranian border

The nearest railhead in Iran is a 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) standard gauge line which terminates at Mashhad. This line is currently being extended 202 kilometers east to Herat. On April 17, 2007 Afghan Foreign Minister Rangin Dadfar Spanta said that the executive operations of the Khaf, Iran-Herat railway project had begun in 2006.

It was reported in October 2008 that the Afghanistan Ministry of Public Works was expecting to have this link completed by the end of 2008.

Pakistan border

Two broad gauge 1,676 mm (5 ft 6 in) Pakistan Railways lines terminate near the border at Chaman in Balochistan near the Khojak Pass; and at Torkham, the border town near the Khyber Pass. Various proposals exist to extend these lines on to Kandahar and Kabul respectively. In July 2010, Pakistan and Afghanistan signed a Memorandum of understanding for going ahead with the laying of rail tracks between the two countries. Work on the proposed project is set to start in the next four months.

Other borders

There are no rail links to China or Tajikistan, though a connection to the latter was proposed in 2008.

Pipelines

There are petroleum pipelines from Bagram into Uzbekistan and Shindand into Turkmenistan. These pipelines have been is disrepair and disuse for years. There are 180 kilometers of natural gas pipelines. The $3 billion Trans-Afghanistan Pipeline proposal for a natural gas pipeline across Afghanistan into Pakistan is moving forward.

Ports and harbors

The chief inland waterway of land-locked Afghanistan is the Amu Darya River which forms part of Afghanistan's northern border. The river handles barge traffic up to about 500 metric tons. The main river ports are located at Kheyrabad and Shir Khan Bandar.

Air transport

Airports in Afghanistan and List of airlines of Afghanistan

Passengers boarding Ariana Afghan Airlines at Kabul International Airport in 2005.

The nation has approximately 53 airports, about 19 of these have paved runways. Of those, 4 have runways over 3,000 meters, 3 have runways between about 2,500 and 3,000 meters, 8 have runways between 1500 and 2500 meters, and 2 has a runway under 1000 meters. About 34 have unpaved runways. Of those, 5 have runways between 2500 and 3000 meters, 14 have runways between 1500 and 2500 meters, 6 have runways between 1000 and 1500 meters, and 9 have runways under 1000 meters.

Kabul International Airport (3500 m runway) is the nation's largest airport and the primary hub for international civilian flights.

Kandahar International Airport (3200 m runway) is a dual-use airport serving southern Afghanistan.

Mazari Sharif Airport (3100 m runway) is a dual-use airport serving the northern and central portions of the country.

Herat Airport (2600 m runway) is the primary civil airport for the western portion of the country.

Jalalabad Airport (1800 m runway)

Bagram Air Base is used by the US military and allied forces. It has heavy traffic, especially helicopters. It can also handle larger airliners such as Boeing 747s, C-5 Galaxy and C-17 Globemaster III military cargo planes. KBR and some other companies fly into and out of Bagram on a regular basis.

Afghanistan government priorities include upgrading of Kabul Airport to international airport meeting ICAO standards and upgrading Herat, Mazari Sharif and Jalalabad airports to international standards.

Heliports

There are at least eleven heliports.

(source:wikipedia)

Transportation in Chicago

The "Gershwin Tunnel" at O'Hare Airport between concourses
B and C in Terminal 1, operated by United Airlines.

Chicago, Illinois, is a transportation hub with the building of two major airports. Chicago is expanding O'Hare Airport. A new airport has been proposed for Peotone, and the city is working toward expanding its ties with the Gary/Chicago International Airport in Gary, Indiana.

Mass Transit in much of the Chicago metropolitan area is managed through the Regional Transportation Authority (RTA), which was installed by referendum in 1974. The RTA provides transportation services through the funding of three subordinate agencies, the Chicago Transit Authority, Metra, Pace.

Roads and freeways

Main article: Roads and freeways in Chicago

Airports

Aerial view of Chicago Midway International Airport

O'Hare International Airport, which is the second busiest airport in the world by one measure, is a major airport serving numerous domestic and international destinations. It is a hub for United Airlines and American Airlines. Construction is underway for a major expansion.

Chicago Midway International Airport serves primarily domestic destinations. It is a major hub for Southwest Airlines, as well as a focus city for AirTran Airways.

There are several minor airports in the Chicago area with either limited or proposed commercial service. These include:

Gary/Chicago International Airport in Gary, Indiana, located about 25 miles from the Chicago loop. Gary/Chicago is operating as the "third airport" for the Chicago area. While Gary/Chicago Int. Airport's current operations include no scheduled commercial passenger service, it is currently undergoing facility improvements, and the administration is courting airlines aggressively. Boeing and White Lodging Services already base their corporate fleets here. The National Guard has constructed facilities to base their Chicago metropolitan area air operation here as well.

Chicago Rockford International Airport in Rockford, supports scheduled airline service to Denver, Fort Lauderdale, Las Vegas, Orlando-Sanford, Phoenix/Mesa, and St. Petersburg/Clearwater. Rockford officials are positioning the airport to attract customers from Chicago's western suburbs. More information is available at http://www.flyrfd.com

Name IATA Airport Code ICAO Airport Code Location

Clow International Airport 1C5 K1C5 Bolingbrook, Illinois

DuPage Airport DPA KDPA West Chicago, Illinois

Gary/Chicago International Airport GYY KGYY Gary, Indiana

Chicago Midway International Airport MDW KMDW Chicago

O'Hare International Airport ORD KORD Chicago

Chicago Executive Airport (formerly Palwaukee) PWK KPWK Wheeling, Illinois

Schaumburg Regional Airport 06C (none) Schaumburg, Illinois

Waukegan Regional Airport UGN KUGN Waukegan, Illinois

Lewis University Airport LOT KLOT Romeoville, Illinois

Aurora Municipal Airport AUZ KARR Sugar Grove, Illinois

The CTA Blue Line

Proposed airports

There have been two airports proposed to be built from scratch in the last twenty years:

Calumet Airport was to have been built in what is now Lake Calumet on the South Side of Chicago as a replacement for O'Hare. Plans were shelved in favor of a plan for expanding O'Hare.

A Proposed Chicago south suburban airport has been proposed as a regional airport in far-south-suburban Peotone, Illinois.

Transit systems

The Chicago Transit Authority or CTA, operates the second largest public transportation system in the United States (to New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority) and covers the City of Chicago and 40 surrounding suburbs. The CTA operates 24 hours a day and, on an average weekday, 1.6 million rides are taken on the CTA.

A westbound 'L' train crosses the south fork of the Chicago River

CTA has approximately 2,000 buses that operate over 152 routes and 2,273 route miles (3,658 km). Buses provide about 1 million passenger trips a day and serve more than 12,000 posted bus stops. CTA's 1,190 rapid transit cars operate eight routes and 222 miles (357 km) of track. CTA trains provide about 650,000 customer trips each day and serve 144 stations in Chicago, Evanston, Skokie, Wilmette, Rosemont, Forest Park, Oak Park and Cicero. The rapid transit system is known as the "Chicago 'L'" or variations of 'L,' "El," or "el" to Chicagoans.

Chicago is one of the few cities in the United States that provides rapid transit service to two major airports. From the downtown area the CTA's Blue Line takes riders to O'Hare International Airport in about 40 minutes and the Orange Line takes customers to Chicago Midway International Airport in about 30 minutes from the Loop.

[edit]Suburban bus transit

Pace operates a primarily-suburban bus service that also offers some routes into Chicago.

RTA

The RTA offers a trip planner on its web site that provides information for public transit in Chicago and surrounding areas. It is multi-modal, combining schedule information for buses, trains, and commuter rail. Riders enter their intended origin and destination, along with optional time, date, and other information, and the trip planner displays itineraries showing the stops, departure and arrival times, and times to get from the origin to the destination. Additionally, public transit directions for the Chicago metropolitan area are available from Google Maps.

Commuter rail

Metra train at Ogilvie Transportation Center

The Northeastern Illinois Regional Commuter Railroad Corporation, under its trademark Metra, operates eleven commuter rail lines that serve 200+ stations across the RTA's six-county service area. Unlike the 'L' lines, fare pricing is based on zones instead of a flat boarding fee. In addition, being mainly commuter rail service, frequent service is generally only provided during rush hours, although Metra is known for its speed and reliability. The eleven lines (while there are eleven, the Metra Electric line has three different branches) connect into one of four different downtown stations: Union Pacific North, West, and Northwest arrive in the Richard B. Ogilvie Transportation Center (known more casually as the "Northwestern Station"); Milwaukee District North and West, North Central Service, Southwest Service, Burlington Northern, and Heritage Corridor converge in Union Station (along with being the nexus of Amtrak); the Rock Island Line arrives in the LaSalle Street Station; and the Metra Electric arrives in Millennium Station (formerly Randolph Street Terminal).

The Metra Electric Line is Chicago's oldest continuing commuter train (1856), and shares the railway with the South Shore Line, operated by the Northwest Indiana Commuter Transit District ("NICTD"), which is a separate but analogous quasi-governmental entity from the RTA. The South Shore Line is an interurban railroad that operates between Chicago and South Bend, Indiana. Like the Metra Electric Line, it arrives and departs from Millennium Station.

See also: Rail stations of Chicago

Tourist trolleys

The City of Chicago offered free tourist trolleys that served the downtown area. The "trolleys" were actually buses painted to look like historical streetcars. They ran every 20 to 30 minutes and served areas popular with tourists that didn't have 'L' stations, such as the Museum Campus, Navy Pier, and the Magnificent Mile. The Free Trolley service was permanently discontinued in 2009.

The free trolleys shouldn't be confused with the private-sector Chicago Trolley Company, which offers guided tours and charge fares. They serve different routes but largely the same downtown area. Their vehicles are also buses rather than real trolleys.

Passenger rail

Amtrak owns and operates Union Station which is a major intercity passenger rail hub with connections to Metra and the L.

Taxis

Chicago is mandating that its entire fleet of taxicabs go green by January 1, 2014.

Boats

Water taxi in Chicago

Shoreline Sightseeing offers water taxi service along the Chicago River with stops at Navy Pier, Michigan Avenue and Adams Street. They offer a separate route from Navy Pier to The Museum Campus. Shoreline Sightseeing also offers architecture cruises departing from Navy Pier.

Wendella Boats operates the Chicago Water Taxi which offers service along the Chicago River with stops at Michigan Avenue, Clark Street and Madison Street. On weekends, Chicago Water Taxi service extends to Ping Tom Park in Chinatown. Wendella Boats also offers architecture cruises departing from Michigan Avenue.

Bicycling

Bicycling in Chicago

Monument of Thomas Jefferson in front of the Jefferson Park Transit Center

City of Chicago bus stop, served by CTA buses, with 3D ad

Bicycles are permitted on CTA buses during all operating hours, and on CTA trains every weekday except from 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.(during rush hour) On Saturdays, Sundays and holidays, bicycles are allowed on trains all day. If you board the train with your bicycle before the hours listed above and your trip extends into those hours, the CTA allows you to finish your trip. If trains are crowded, the use of trains by cyclists may be restricted by the rail operator as appropriate. Bicycles are not permitted on trains July 3 due to Independence Day celebrations. Folding bikes may be brought aboard CTA trains and buses during all operating periods, including rush hour.

A maximum of two bicycles are allowed per train car. For example, if the train is four cars in length, a total of eight bicycles are allowed on that train.

Transit operators have the discretion to deny access to anyone with a bike if they decide that conditions are too crowded. The CTA's entire bus fleet is now equipped with bike racks in front which can accommodate two bicycles. All CTA trains accept bicycles, although bikes are discouraged on the 2200-series rail cars with "blinker doors" (if they were turned sideways, they would look like a blinking eye when opening and closing). Only standard-size bicycles are allowed on all CTA vehicles; tandems are not allowed.

(source:wikipedia)