The purpose of the plan is to expedite freight traffic through the area, and to separate commuter and freight operations as much as possible, thus improving the area's commuter rail system as well. The plan is known as CREATE (Chicago Regional Environmental and Transportation Efficiency Plan).
1. Rebuild the Panhandle right-of-way that parallels CSX (B&OCT) and Norfolk Southern (Chicago River & Indiana) at Brighton and Ash Street, and have Canadian National ex-IC trains from Glenn and Hawthorne yards feed into it at those junctions. Trains would then proceed south on the Panhandle, pass under the Chicago Transit Authority's Orange Line overpass, and then begin climbing. Just before 49th Street, they would turn east on a new flyover that would carry them over the CSX main and feed into the ex-Grand Trunk line that comes east from Elsdon. They would then feed into NS ex-Pennsy Fort Wayne main somewhere around 47th Street, where a new connection would be constructed. The ex-Gulf Mobile & Ohio line would not be abandoned east of Brighton since Amtrak St.Louis trains need it to reach Union Station.
CN trains would then use the NS tracks (a third main would be constructed) to Grand Crossing (75th Street) where a new connection in the southwest quadrant would be used to access the ex-IC main. North of 75th, the IC would be abandoned (of course the Metra Electric tracks would stay), as would the St. Charles Airline and some of CN's ex-IC Iowa line tracks east of Ash St. A flyover would be built at Englewood, carrying Metra's LaSalle Street station trains on the ex-Rock Island over the NS/CN main.
2. The CSX ex-B&OCT Altenheim Sub would be revived to carry CN's ex-Wisconsin Central trains to the restored Panhandle right-of-way. The Altenheim was closed in 2002 owing to deterioration of some bridges on the lightly used line.
3.The Metra Southwest commuter trains to Orland Park and Manhattan will be moved from Union Station to LaSalle Street. They would take the Metra ex-Rock Island main down to about 74th Street, where a brand new elevated ROW about two or three blocks in length would be built from the Rock to 74th Street Jct (UP, Belt Rwy, NS, Metra ex-C&WI). West of there, Belt Junction would be eliminated and the Belt shifted to where the ex-Wabash is now. The Metra trains would parallel the Belt on the south from 74th to Forest Hill.
4. If a Metra route using the ex-C&WI, ex-C&EI route to the south suburbs is ever established, their trains would also depart LaSalle Street and access the ex-C&WI tracks off the Rock elevation somewhere around 80th St. A flyover or perhaps a viaduct would carry them over Dolton Junction, and probably Lincoln Ave and 142nd St. They will terminate at Crete, IL, south of Chicago Heights.
The railroads are expected to cover about 15% of the projected cost. The rest is supposed to come from federal, state and local funds, but the feds will no doubt shoulder the lion's share of it.
Flyovers to be constructed on the Chicago Rail Plan:
Englewood: Metra (ex-Rock) over NS (ex-PRR)
74th Street: Metra (ex-Wabash) over the Belt Rwy and NS (ex-Wabash), and a new connection
to the Metra ex-Rock Island main
Forest Hill: CSX/B&OCT over new Metra alignment and NS
49th Street: CN (ex-Panhandle ROW) over CSX/B&OCT, connecting to CN (ex-GTW)
CP Canal (Argo): CN (ex-GM&O) over IHB/CSX
Chicago Ridge: Metra (ex-Wabash) over IHB/CSX
Brighton Park: CN (ex-GM&O) over CSX/B&OCT and NS
For more on the Chicago Rail Plan, see the September 2003 issue of Trains magazine.