The 500 freight trains moving through Chicago every day have to share tracks with 700 daily commuter trains.

Shared Track

With ridership averaging 320,000 trips on weekdays, Metra is North America’s second-largest commuter railroad. Metra operates throughout the six-county region, providing rail transit service to more than 100 communities. Not only do nine of 11 Metra lines operate on tracks owned or controlled by seven of the nation’s eight Class I railroads, but four Amtrak lines with more than 15 daily trains also share these same tracks. With drastically diverse needs, limited space, and inadequate financial resources, bottlenecks are frequent and delays common. In fact, in 2008, trains on Amtrak routes east and south of Chicago contended with more than 3,400 hours of delay because of interference from freight, Metra, and other Amtrak trains.

As it stands, no federal transportation money is dedicated to help states or regions improve operations along freight corridors or at intermodal hubs. Over the last 30 years, U.S. freight railroads have invested more than $460 billion in the maintenance and improvement of freight rail infrastructure and equipment. However, all this investment was made without the benefit of guidance that a national freight policy would provide. Locally, the Chicago Region Environmental and Transportation Efficiency Program (CREATE) is our region’s strategy for improving our freight infrastructure. However, our system crosses multiple state borders and jurisdictions and involves many external partners; clearly, a national strategy is needed to better coordinate goals and investments.

A bill introduced last month in the Senate, the Focusing Resources, Economic Investment and Guidance to Help Transportation Act of 2010 (FREIGHT),would create a National Freight Strategic Plan to serve as the roadmap for such investments. The Act would focus funds on freight to reduce delays and improve reliability, as well as to establish complementary environmental goals to encourage improvements in air quality impacts, emissions, and energy use. The FREIGHT Act also will promote public-private partnerships like CREATE that facilitate safe and efficient goods movement via rail.

Not only would the FREIGHT Act play a key role in transforming the nation’s transportation policy and strengthening freight, inter-city and commuter rail – it also would support economic prosperity in northeastern Illinois and other metropolitan regions by dramatically improving just-in-time connections between goods and consumers.

For Additional Information:

• Focusing Resources, Economic Investment, and Guidance to Help Transportation (FREIGHT) Act of 2010 –U.S. Congress
• Unlocking Freight – American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials 

Photo courtesy of Laurence Pearlman

 

NEWS

Local News

RTA makes it official: John Gates is chairman – Crain’s “John Gates Jr., once an aide for former Illinois Gov. James Thompson, was elected Thursday as chairman of the Regional Transportation Authority.”

Bike rentals take off in city – Chicago Sun-Times “More than 1,500 bicycles were rented and 80 temporary memberships in the pilot program were sold during the first 17 days, prompting operators to lobby for a citywide expansion.”

Mayor Daley offers new plan for high-speed O'Hare-Loop rail – Chicago Sun-Times “Air travelers might someday be able to pay a premium fare for privately financed and operated high-speed trains to whisk them from O’Hare Airport to downtown Chicago.”

Tollway chief gives new team an incomplete, as hardest job still ahead – Daily Herald “The tollway is trying to decide what next mega project it will undertake. Desirable projects will be mindful of the environmental impact of any road construction and not contribute to sprawl, accommodate transit, relieve congestion, spur economic development and benefit the region as a whole”

New Metra commuter cars on way – Chicago Tribune “Metra's board on Friday authorized the $560 million purchase of 160 new commuter cars, half of which will have restrooms — good news for riders who have complained for decades about the lack of onboard facilities.”

Illinois, Iowa seek rail funds for Q-C route – Quad-City Times “Prospective customers of a new passenger rail link between the Quad-Cities and Chicago have a lot riding on a new application for $248 million in federal funds.”

Agency seeks to set transportation priorities for next 30 years – Chicago Tribune “The Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning, or CMAP, has unveiled a transportation wish list that has the Illinois 53 extension and its companion project, the Illinois 120 corridor, at the top.”

Normal breaks ground on transportation hub – Quad-City Times “Federal and state officials have broken ground on a central Illinois transportation center that will serve Amtrak trains, buses and taxis.”

World News

RIPTA considers additional charge for ‘premium’ service – Providence Journal “The state transit system is looking into improving its balance sheet by charging more for ‘premium’ service, for riding longer distances faster.”

Fight brewing over transportation sales tax – Atlanta Journal-Constitution “Fulton County mayors have united to fight a new penny sales tax for regional transportation plans, unless neighboring counties kick in extra money for a regional transit system.”

Seattle may create transportation taxing district – Seattle Times “Facing a long list of pricey transportation projects, the Seattle City Council may create a new citywide transportation taxing district that could lead to higher property and sales taxes, higher car-tab fees and someday maybe even local toll roads.”

Light rail, commuter trains, high-speed buses envisioned for Detroit – Detroit Free Press “If approved, the Woodward Light Rail would be the first new rail-based, public transit project in Michigan since the 1987 opening of the Detroit People Mover.”

Housing plan sets off S.F. parking debate – San Francisco Chronicle “Planners and environmental activists argue that limits on parking are the only way to keep congestion from strangling city streets, while developers and many residents complain that the tough new rules reflect a hazy vision of some car-free urban utopia and not the reality of life in a major American city.”

Resources

• Evaluating Public Transportation Health Benefits – APTA
• Restoring Trust in the Highway Trust Fund – Reason Foundation
• A Guide for Planning and Operating Flexible Public Transportation Services – Transportation Research Board

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Contact Information
For comments, suggestions or submissions, please contact Emily Tapia Lopez, Manager, at etapia@metroplanning.org or 312-863-6047.