Rail transportation is critical to the Chicago region’s economy. Congestion in Chicago’s rail network negatively affects local and regional community mobility and quality of life, passenger rail performance, and the national supply chain due to our position as the hub of North America’s rail system. Rail infrastructure investments can directly improve performance of the national rail system as well as the mobility of passengers and freight within the Chicago region, while also addressing negative local impacts that sometimes accompany transportation infrastructure.
In 2003, the Chicago Department of Transportation (CDOT) completed the Chicago Freight Rail Futures Study, which provided the most comprehensive picture to date of the economic impacts of the rail industry for the City and the region. The study’s findings supported the region’s increased investment in rail infrastructure across the past two decades. Foremost among these investments has been the Chicago Region Environmental and Transportation Efficiency (CREATE) Program, a first-of-its kind public-private partnership to modernize the region’s freight and passenger rail network, relieving longstanding capacity constraints while addressing community impacts of rail facilities.
CDOT has now commissioned a new study to more fully examine the current impacts and needs of freight and passenger rail in the region. This study, the Chicago Rail Futures Study II, will document how the regional rail system has evolved in recent decades, investigate rail benefits and impacts to users and residents including local equity issues, and assess current opportunities for rail-related infrastructure investments in the Chicago region, including the future of the CREATE Program.
The CREATE Program
The Chicago Region Environmental and Transportation Efficiency (CREATE) Program is a 70-project, $4.6 billion plan to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of freight, commuter and intercity passenger rail and to reduce highway delay in the Chicago region. This innovative public-private partnership involves the U.S. Department of Transportation, State of Illinois, Cook County, City of Chicago and the freight, passenger and commuter railroads serving the Chicago region.
