Today's Railroads

Even in today's highly efficient and consolidated railroad industry, Chicagoland and Northwest Indiana is still the home of one the greatest collections of railroads and railroad operations in the country.  

​Have a link you would like to share?  Have you found a broken link?  Please send us an E-mail.

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Operation Lifesaver, Inc.
OLI is a non-profit organization and nationally-recognized leader of rail safety education.  Since 1972, OLI has been committed to preventing collisions, injuries and fatalities on and around railroad tracks and highway-rail grade crossings, with the support of public education programs in states across the U.S.

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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​

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Passenger Rail Advocacy

• High Speed Rail Alliance
• Northern Indiana Passenger Rail Association
• Rail Passengers Association
  
  

Stations

• Chicago Union Station 
• Joliet Gateway Center
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Rapid Transit

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

Freight Railroads

Class I Freight Railroads

• The Association of American Railroads (AAR)
• BNSF Railway
• CN
• CPKC
• CSX
• Norfolk Southern
• ​Union Pacific
  
  

​Terminal, Regional, Short Lines and Industrial Railroads
Along with the Class I railroads, Chicagoland and Northwest Indiana is home to an incredible variety of terminal, regional, short line and industrial railroads. 

​Many of the common carriers are represented by the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association.   Learn about these small but important railroads by browsing their Railroad Member Directory.

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Professional Organizations

• National Association of Railway Business Women
  - Chicago Chapter

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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.​
  
  
• 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.
  
  
• E=Way Milwaukee Commuter Rail
  A sustainable commuter rail network and real estate development project for the Southeast Wisconsin Region.  This Private Public Partnership (PPP) planned and developed by Transit Innovations (TI) focuses specifically on reconnecting our neighborhoods via a modern commuter rail system in the metro areas and disadvantaged neighborhoods of Milwaukee and Waukesha counties. 
  
  
• Illinois High Speed Rail
  Endeavoring to improve on-time performance of existing service and provide better connectivity between Chicago and St. Louis.​
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• Springfield Rail Improvements Project
  This project will relocate all passenger and freight traffic from the Third Street corridor to Tenth Street; construct roadway underpasses at critical rail crossings on both the Tenth and Nineteenth Street corridors; and eliminate train horns in the City between Stanford Avenue and Sangamon Avenue.