Chicago city council considers a Metra Express O'Hare to Union Station

[schlimm]

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-ohare-express-train-met-1009-20141008-story.html

[CSSHEGEWISCH]

Don't think that it's going to happen.  The North Central Service is the only plausible route for such a service and any possible station is still a long way from any O'Hare terminals, especially compared to the CTA Blue Line.  Also, note that nobody has given much thought as to where the money will come from.

[John Bredin]

Where the money will come from is an issue, as always, but the O'Hare ATS (the automated trains between the terminals and remote parking) is going to be extended across Mannheim Rd. to serve a new car-rental facility that will be next to the existing North Central Service station.

This plan isn't just the Chicago city council's as the headline implies. The Midwest High Speed Rail Association is pushing for its Cross-Rail Chicago plan http://www.midwesthsr.org/crossrail-chicago (with airport express service as a part) and trying to get it adopted into the formal transportations plans for metropolitan Chicago.

[JON P BOWERMASTER]

I live downstate and take Amtrak to Chicago. Ihave used both the Blue Line and METRA to get to O'Hare. Even though the METRA station is far from the terminal and involves a short bus ride to the people mover, METRA is a vastly superior way to get from Let's say Union Station to the O'hare passenger terminal. The Clinton Street Blue Line access, 2 or 3 blocks from the station is down 2 flights of dirty 19th century stairs and a slow (zillions of stops) rough, noisey ride. METRA is faster cleaner and smoother. I still sometimes ride the Blue Line because METRA has a very sparce schedule. 

[CSSHEGEWISCH]

Metra's North Central Service has a pretty thin schedule (11 trips each way weekdays, no weekend service) and increasing this schedule for a short-haul to O'Hare is unlikely for a variety of reasons.  First of all, two different RTA operations (Metra and CTA) would be competing for the same passengers.  Second, the Blue Line gets much closer to downtown through the Dearborn Street subway (the Orange Line offers the same advantage to Midway through its use of the Loop L).  Third, I don't think that the market is really that big to justify the expense of an additional rail service.

[gbeat]

Don't forget that West side realignment of railroad lines (UP/old CNW, CP/SooLine/old Milw).  The UP overpass over IL-19/Irving Park Road is finished and the CP overpass should be finished soon.

The western terminal (architect drawings) has provision for access to both rail lines.  The CP south switches into west end of south rail yard.

IL Tollway, federal, and state dollars are pledged for IL-390/Elgin-O'Hare expressway extension and 3-5 year program of western tollway bypass through same west side corridor.