Today's Railroads

Even in today's highly efficient and consolidated railroad industry, our area is still the home of the greatest collection of railroads and railroad operations in the country.  Here is a list of current operating passenger and freight railroads in the area.  Last updated July 2020.

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​Passenger Railroads

Intercity and Commuter Rail Services

• Amtrak 
  Regional and long-distance intercity 
• Metra 
  Commuter rail in suburban Chicago
• NICTD (South Shore Line)
  Commuter rail in Northwest Indiana

Charter and Luxury Services​

• ​American Association of ​Private Rail Car Owners​
• Zephyr Route

Passenger Rail Advocacy

• High Speed Rail Alliance
• Rail Passengers Association

Stations

• Chicago Union Station 
• Joliet Gateway Center

Rapid Transit

• Chicago Transit Authority​
• Kenosha Streetcar Society
• The Hop (Mil​waukee, Wisconsin)
• Metrolink (St. Louis, Missouri)

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Professional Organizations

• National Association of Railway Business Women
  - Chicago Chapter

Freight Railroads

Class I Freight Railroads

• American Association of Railroads
• BNSF
• CN (Canadian National)
• CPKC
• CSX
• Norfolk Southern
• Union Pacific

​ Terminal, Regional, Short Lines and Industrial Railroads

• Click here to view the expanded list...

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Current and Proposed Projects

• CREATE
  The Chicago Regional Environmental and Transportation Efficiency Program is a public-private partnership between Chicago's railroads and local and Federal government agencies to plan, finance and construct solutions to railroad bottlenecks in the Chicago area.​
• Illinois High Speed Rail
  Endeavoring to improve on-time performance of existing service and provide better connectivity between Chicago and St. Louis.
• CHIP (Chicago Hub Improvement Program)
  Amtrak is seeking federal funding for a group of projects to upgrade Chicago Union Station (CUS) and create better routes through Chicago into the station. This is the first phase of a program to modernize infrastructure in the Chicago area.