Metra urges support for 75th Street Corridor Improvement Project


Written by Jenifer Nunez, assistant editor

The Metra Board of Directors highlighted the need for the $1-billion 75th Street Corridor Improvement Project (CIP), which aims to untangle a knot of railroad tracks on the South Side of Chicago, Ill., that causes significant delays for Metra, Amtrak and several freight railroads.

 

The project is a major component of the Chicago Region Environmental and Transportation Efficiency (CREATE) Program, a public-private effort to increase the efficiency of the region’s passenger and freight rail infrastructure and enhance the quality of life for Chicago area residents. Members of CREATE include the U.S. Department of Transportation, the state of Illinois, city of Chicago, Metra, Amtrak and the nation’s freight railroads.

In an approved resolution, the Metra board affirmed its support for the 75th St. CIP and urged officers, legislators and agencies of the state and federal government to work to promote and fund the CREATE project. The resolution noted the project will support “greatly increased efficiency in Metra’s commuter rail operations, Amtrak’s intercity services and freight movement through the Chicago rail hub.”

“Now that we are essentially finished with the Englewood Flyover – another CREATE project – we need to turn our attention to the 75th St. Corridor Improvement Project,” said Metra Chairman Martin Oberman. “By fixing this tangle of railroad tracks, we can reduce delays to Metra trains and freight trains and help ensure Chicago retains its position as the nation’s railroad capital.”

Several different freight rail lines, including Norfolk Southern, CSX, Belt Railroad and Union Pacific, converge in an area just north of 75th Street roughly between Kedzie and the Dan Ryan Expressway. There are three rail-rail crossings in the project area that are significant choke points for Metra trains and/or freight trains. The project proposes to unclog those choke points with a combination of realigned tracks, new tracks and new bridges.

The project will be particularly beneficial for 30 trains each weekday on Metra’s SouthWest Service (SWS) Line, which traverse the area on freight tracks on their way between Chicago Union Station and the Will County community of Manhattan. Those trains must pass through two of the rail rail crossings, known as Belt Junction and Forest Hill Junction and often see significant delays due to freight interference. Untangling Belt Junction, the most congested rail choke point in Chicago and Forest Hill Junction, therefore, will greatly benefit SWS riders.

Two other components of the plan will address other choke points for SWS trains. The project would add a second track to a nearly two-mile section of the SWS that now has only one, sometimes forcing inbound and outbound trains to wait for each other.

It would build a bridge connection between the SWS and Rock Island Line near 75th Street so SWS trains could get downtown via the Rock. That accomplishes two things: SWS trains no longer would conflict with freight trains between 75th Street and downtown and SWS trains would terminate at LaSalle Street Station instead of Union Station, which would free up some capacity at Union Station.

 

 

 

Tags: