Metra's Systemwide Network Plan (SNP)

[Sam92]

https://metra.com/SNP

I THINK this fits this topic. It's a more up to date look at Metra's plans into regional rail. 

Some highlights: a plan for connecting the Rock Island with Union Sta for a Tinley Park-O'Hare crosstown line.

Rock Island eventually will be 3 different service patterns. The already established Beverly and Joliet services with a 3rd service zone starting at Tinley (eventually becoming the crosstown line.)*

O'Hare shuttles via the Milwaukee District. We know these 2 have a a high road block with CN. Idk if these and the separate Ohare express plans will become redundant of each other in some way 🤔.  

I was looking into the prospect of thru tracks at Union and seems like my guess that BNSF would be disqualified from consideration was spot on. 

Connecting ME to the St Charles has been eliminated in lieu of connecting the Rock due to rolling stock and platform differences along with greater difficulty building the infrastructure. 

*The crosstown line is part of the rock as far as the report shows so disregard the blue which might give a misleading impression of it being sws

[artthouwill]

14 minutes ago, Sam92 said:

https://metra.com/SNP

I THINK this fits this topic. It's a more up to date look at Metra's plans into regional rail. 

Some highlights: a plan for connecting the Rock Island with Union Sta for a Tinley Park-O'Hare crosstown line.

Rock Island eventually will be 3 different service patterns. The already established Beverly and Joliet services with a 3rd service zone starting at Tinley (eventually becoming the crosstown line.)*

O'Hare shuttles via the Milwaukee District. We know these 2 have a a high road block with CN. Idk if these and the separate Ohare express plans will become redundant of each other in some way 🤔.  

I was looking into the prospect of thru tracks at Union and seems like my guess that BNSF would be disqualified from consideration was spot on. 

Connecting ME to the St Charles has been eliminated in lieu of connecting the Rock due to rolling stock and platform differences along with greater difficulty building the infrastructure. 

*The crosstown line is part of the rock as far as the report shows so disregard the blue which might give a misleading impression of it being sws

Apparently the Metra Union Station shuttle is competing with the proposed O'Hare Flyer service?  That Flyer service supposedly will have its own separate loading area , tracks and tunnel with access to the tracks that run west along 14th which crosses Roosevelt west of Western  before continuing west .  The Blue Line will run adjacent to these tracks from Central to Circle.  Th at track then crosses over the Expressway before running through River Forest, River Grove, abd Franklin Park.  If Metra cannot get any agreement from CN, I don't know how the O'Hare Flyer folks think they can get one, and they still have to build a last mile tunnel into the airport. 

 

As far as Metra is concerned, they have to do something with the O'Hare Transfer Station to make it a better connection to the ATS.   CN did allow hourly Metra service between O'Hare and Union Station during the DNC in 2024, but I don't know if they would be willing to do that on a permanent basis unless the Feds stepped in.

 

A ME connection to Union Station via the St Charles Air Line could work IF Metra ordered Stadler Battery Trains with  high level boarding doors with traps.  But new and separate rolling stock may make that a no go .  I believe Amtrak applied for grants for 

[Sam92]

38 minutes ago, artthouwill said:

Apparently the Metra Union Station shuttle is competing with the proposed O'Hare Flyer service?  That Flyer service supposedly will have its own separate loading area , tracks and tunnel with access to the tracks that run west along 14th which crosses Roosevelt west of Western  before continuing west .  The Blue Line will run adjacent to these tracks from Central to Circle.  Th at track then crosses over the Expressway before running through River Forest, River Grove, abd Franklin Park.  If Metra cannot get any agreement from CN, I don't know how the O'Hare Flyer folks think they can get one, and they still have to build a last mile tunnel into the airport. 

 

As far as Metra is concerned, they have to do something with the O'Hare Transfer Station to make it a better connection to the ATS.   CN did allow hourly Metra service between O'Hare and Union Station during the DNC in 2024, but I don't know if they would be willing to do that on a permanent basis unless the Feds stepped in.

 

A ME connection to Union Station via the St Charles Air Line could work IF Metra ordered Stadler Battery Trains with  high level boarding doors with traps.  But new and separate rolling stock may make that a no go .  I believe Amtrak applied for grants for 

"Idk" is short for "I don't know", I was asking but you answered either way lol. 

As far as ME the report basically says it's most likely not worth the cost compared to the Rock. ME would get bumped up headways on the SC, BI and Mainline alond with establishing Harvey as a zone in its part of the regional rail expansion. 

[artthouwill]

1 hour ago, Busjack said:

No, it isn't. Metra is under Metra. This is under "Everything Else," such as Amtrak.

Actually it IS in the right spot.   Even though it is Metra, the thread topic is " Midwest Regional Rail."  Metra is saying they are adopting a Regional Rail Plan.   

Though I didn't see it in the Webinat, we know Metra has plans to extend service to Rockford.   We also know that Amtrak had applied for grants to build a connection from the Rock Island tracks to the St Charles Air Line as well as a connection from the St Charles Air Line to tracks to go directly to Union Station.  Amtrak wants to reroute trains at Joliet to the Rock Island Metra tracks to avoid delays caused by CN freight trains.  That's why they need those two connections.  Amtrak trains from Champaign and beyond would also benefit because the reverse moves they currently make would be eliminated.

 

However, I see that this also could have been posted in a Metra thread. But the phrase Regional Rail ( that Metra uses)  makes it fit.

[Busjack]

Since @MetroShadow moved this to the correct place, I deleted this comment as having achieved its purpose, and any reaction to SNP will follow.

[Busjack]

On 10/16/2026 at 3:54 PM, Sam92 said:

https://metra.com/SNP

[1]... O'Hare shuttles via the Milwaukee District. We know these 2 have a a high road block with CN.

[2]...I was looking into the prospect of thru tracks at Union and seems like my guess that BNSF would be disqualified from consideration was spot on. 

...

[1] I find the O'Hare references ambiguous, as O'Hare is listed as (a) a short turn on NCS to Antioch, (b) increasing service on the NCS corridor to O'Hare and eventual Crosstown connection to RI {(a) and (b) are consistent} and (c) MDW local service (saying that the O'Hare shuttle is for local service and express service to Big Timber is essentially unchanged). Since it says that the transfer station would be River Grove, I interpret it as not clearly stating that if you are going from Elmwood Park or points east, you have to take an O'Hare train, as the Big Timber train won't stop. It's sort of like if you are taking the ME to 63rd St., you usually (not always) have to take a South Chicago train. But there's nothing about building some sort of junction between MDW and some track near Mannheim Road.

[2] Crosstown lists "Potential Future BNSF Connection." So, not likely, but not disqualified.

Other observations:

• This draft does address that A2, A5, and Mayfair flat junctions are inadequate. A2 has been mentioned before; A5 (Bloomingdale) and Mayfair had not.
• I realize that the local/express patterns would be at all times, but given that many lines have them during peak periods, there seems to be some ambivalence about them. For instance, the MDN ran a skip zone pattern in the morning rush, but had turnbacks in the afternoon (originally Deerfield, later Lake Forest, now  Libertyville). This apparently was to accommodate reverse commuters and was forced by a single track on the Fox Lake branch.
• The YouTube foamers who wanted an ME-UPN connection, and an after barhopping train on the HC aren't getting those.
• I don't think the Crosstown is crosstown, because one still has to use a radial systen through CUS, just you might not have to change trains. But CUS is not the most direct way from Naperville to O'Hare.