Railfans Guide
to Joliet Union Station

For over 100 years, Joliet has been one of the busiest locations in the Midwest -- see the History Page.  In the 21st century, UD Tower in Joliet is still one of the most active places to catch modern railroad action.

​Running north-to-south, tracks 1 and 2 (former Santa Fe) belong to BNSF's Chillicothe Subdivison, while tracks 3 and 4 (former Alton/GM&O/ICG) are used by Union Pacific's Joliet Subdivision and CN's Joliet Subdivison.  (The line switches ownership from CN to UP just north of UD at Jackson Street.)  Metra's Heritage Corridor trains and all Amtrak trains use tracks 3 and 4.

Freight trains from BNSF, CN, CSX, Norfolk Southern, and Union Pacific can be seen throughout the day, with BNSF providing the most traffic.  Typical of today's operations, power from other Class I railroads may also be seen.​

Freight traffic on the BNSF and UP is mostly intermodal containers and trailers, along with auto racks, refrigerated cars, chemicals and general freight for local industries.  Large petrochemical facilities to the south and west bring in a steady supply of tanks and covered hopper cars.  The massive CenterPoint intermodal facilities to the south of Joliet generate considerable traffic.  Union Pacific also runs unit coal trains to local power plants north and south of downtown Joliet, although some of these facilities have been or are in the process of being converted to natural gas.

The single remaining track (of originally four) running east-west (former Rock Island) is used by Metra's Rock Island District trains up to just short of the crossing.  The few remaining freight trains on this line include CSX's New Rock Subdivision freight trains to Utica, Illinois and Iowa Interstate freight trains to Peoria, the Quad Cities and Council Bluffs, Iowa continue over the crossing, then over a massive lift bridge across the Des Plaines River (controlled remotely by CSX), as they head westward.  This freight traffic tends to run at night, but can also appear during daylight hours.  

CSX trains service many chemical facilities in the area and in the Illinois River Valley, as well as the massive sand operations in and around Ottawa, Illinois.  The IAIS has also run ethanol trains (sometimes with Norfolk Southern power) from Cedar Rapids into Chicago on this line.

Radio Frequencies (as of 2019, provided by Peter Zimmerman):

• 160.650 MHz [AAR# 036] - BNSF Ry.
• 161.280 MHz[ AAR# 078] - UPRR [Joliet to Carlinville IL]
• 160.920 MHz [AAR# 054] - CN Railway [Joliet to Chicago] Road
• 161.190 MHz [AAR# 072] - CN Railway [Joliet to Chicago] RTC
• 161.340 MHz [AAR# 082] - Metra/Iowa Interstate/CSX

Passenger operations are detailed in our Passenger Guide to Joliet Union Station.  Metra maintains a coach yard to the east of the Rock Island District platform, and although inaccessible to the public, it can be seen from public streets.  Metra uses the former interchange track between the Rock Island and GM&O as a connection to bring Heritage Corridor trains in and out of the coach yard.

The  former Elgin, Joliet & Eastern (now Canadian National) East Joliet Yard and the crossing of the "J" and the former-Rock Island, along with the remains of the Rock Island's single-stall diesel house are about 1.5 miles east of Joliet Union Station, but with the exception of the U.S. Route 6 overpass of the the south end of the yard, they are generally inaccessible to the public.

The area's newest railroad, the Elwood, Joliet & Southern lies to north of downtown near the intersection Illinois Routes 53 and 7 where Joliet borders against the neighboring town of Crest Hill.  A Watco subsidiary, it consists of an former EJ&E industrial branch known as the "Phoenix Line" and a former railcar rebuilder whose property is being redeveloped as a transloading and car storage facility. 

Several miles south of downtown Joliet, BNSF and UP maintain two separate and massive intermodal yards.  Union Pacific's Global IV is located just to the west of Illinois Route 53 and the Chicagoland Speedway race track, while BNSF Logistics Park Chicago is next to the small town of Elwood.  Both are part of the redevelopment of the former Joliet Arsenal land, which also includes the Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery and the Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie.

Joliet Gateway Center

Looking south over the BNSF and UP mainlines, showing the realignment of tracks 2 and 3, the new Gateway Center and platform, and its relationship to the 1912 building on the right, while a Chicago-bound "Texas Eagle" gets a helping hand from the UP after the Amtrak engine hit a tree earlier in its journey in this drone photo taken 1/13/2020 by Jacob Diorio.

​The original 1912 Union Station no longer serves passengers, but a metal fence has been built around the original station platform, short enough for most photography and the platform was supposed to be open to the public and accessible by the stairs on the west side of the station.  The former waiting room is now a banquet facility and a  brew pub moved into the ground floor in 2017.  The renovations for the microbrewery have significantly altered several features of the historic station building, including the original express and baggage areas as well as the courtyard entrance and driveway.  

The waiting room building for the Joliet Gateway Center has a Metra and Amtrak ticket office, as well as a coffee shop and access to both platforms and UD Tower.  The City of Joliet provides security.

The original interlocking tower (named UD for Union Depot,) which was formerly staffed by Metra (and previous to that the Rock Island) has been closed, and the signaling and control functions have been automated and transferred to Union Pacific in Omaha and BNSF in Fort Worth.  (The control point is still named "UD Tower.")  The tower building was kept in place, and the contents of the tower are being preserved, with the city working with Blackhawk on turning the tower into a museum and viewing platform. ​

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