The Chicago plan: relief at last? Government and industry proponents hope that the prospect of better service nationwide will help to win a large federal contribution to a $1.5 billion unsnarling of the Chicago Terminal District, the biggest U.S. railroad bottleneck - Chicago, Illinois

Railway Age, July, 2003 by Frank Malone

It was perhaps the Windy City's greatest public love-in of elected officials and railroad representatives since the great Chicago Railroad Fair opened in July 1948. At a June 16 gathering, prominent politicians and railroaders buoyed by a "statement of understanding" pledged allegiance to an unprecedented $1.5 billion plan. It will enable freight and passenger trains to operate more smoothly both in and through North America's busiest railroad hub, and will greatly reduce rubber-tire interchange in the busiest intermodal hub.

In a rare recognition of the rail role, Mayor Richard Daley said: "Chicago and Northeastern Illinois have been the railroad hub of the nation for more than 150 years. This plan will serve as a blueprint for continued investment in and operation of the railroads."

Perhaps not a moment too soon.

The years following the Fair saw the rail presence steadily shrink for poet Carl Sandburg's "freight handler of the nation." Bankruptcies and mergers stripped Chicago of numerous railroad headquarters. Some routes and yards were abandoned; maintenance was deferred on much of the remaining infrastructure. Railroads strove to reroute around the area and connect elsewhere. Intercity passenger service shrank to a speck of its former self.

Then came the intermodal conversion of old or abandoned freight yards, merger restructuring that made the North American rail network more dependent on its Chicago crossroads, and a new agency that revived the remnants of commuter service formerly provided by freight carriers.

That wreaked congestion on the vast Chicago Terminal District, which stretches well beyond the city into northeastern Illinois and northwestern Indiana. This gateway handles over 37,500 freight cars every day. AAR sees a 78% increase by 2023. One-third of U.S. rail and truck cargo moves to, from, or through the Chicago region.

Over 1,200 weekday trains brave the only labyrinth in the U.S. that entangles all major freight railroads and a major commuter carrier. Freight shipments can still take two or more days to move through the nation's greatest rail bottleneck--despite $1.2 billion in improvements over the past five years.

Such was the context for the gathering of Mayor Daley, U.S. Rep. William Lipinski of the city's southwest chokepoint sector, U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, Association of American Railroads President and CEO Ed Hamberger, and representatives from Norfolk Southern, CSX Transportation, Union Pacific, Burlington Northern and Santa Fe, Canadian National, and Canadian Pacific Railway.

Five corridors, no conflicts

The collection of railroad and public officials vowed that the city would cooperate with carriers--and carriers with themselves--to form, from existing infrastructure, five streamlined corridors, including one for passenger trains, totaling 122 route-miles with no significant rail-rail conflict (see profiles and map, opposite). They also cited separations for 25 major street crossings. Appropriately, this all took place near a busy Belt Railway of Chicago line's crossing of congested 63rd Street, one of six emergency response routes in the plan.

Lipinski called the coming together of all rail, city and state parties on such a plan an "incredible, historic achievement. By helping freight to move through Chicago quicker, this plan would make the freight less expensive and benefit people across the country."

Hamberger called the plan "a model for cost-effective public/private partnerships" that would help carriers and the city to cope with growing, freight volume, while greatly benefiting motorists and rail passengers.

Freight carriers have committed a combined $212 million, in varying shares protected by confidentiality. Metra will add at least $20 million. The city and state will make up the local share balance. As of late June, it was not clear how much that would be, depending on whether more than a 50% federal commitment would be sought.

No formal, binding agreement supported the announcement. "What we have in reality is a statement of understanding that lays out what the parties understand as far as paying, sequence of work, an organization chart, and all the things that we need to do to get this done," said John Carroll, AAR senior assistant vice president-business services. Carroll represents AAR on the Chicago Plan Group, which includes general managers and reports to the AAR Senior Operating Managers Committee (SOMC).

A subsidiary of the group, the Chicago Transportation Coordination Office (CTCO), housed in Metra's operations control center, includes superintendents. Formed in late 1999, the CTCO has focused on communications-based improvement in train flow while designing the big plan. Its role will grow greatly in the planning, phasing, and construction of the new corridors.

AAR says the work will take six years, with construction expected to start in 2005. Planners are seeking $10 million from Illinois, to be matched by $2.5 million from the railroads, for preliminary engineering. Half would apply to projects in the city, half to work in the suburbs. Studies started nearly three years ago with a model developed by consultant Berkeley Simulation. "What this ensures us is that when we make changes at the physical plant level, we're not just moving a problem elsewhere," said Carroll.