Government, transportation leaders form coalition to support Chicago Union Station project

A coalition of Amtrak, Illinois and Chicago leaders has launched in support of the $418 million project to upgrade Chicago Union Station.

U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), U.S. Rep. Jesus Garcia (D-Ill.), Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, Amtrak CEO Stephen Gardner and Metra CEO and Executive Director Jim Derwinski were among the government and transportation officials who gathered at the station yesterday to announce the coalition’s formation. Business, labor and environmental groups are also part of the group.

The Chicago Union Station Access Project partners recently applied for $251 million in federal funding from the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act’s new Mega Grant Program, which provides federal funding for large projects of regional significance.

"We've been working on these ideas and bringing the partners together for years. We can't be sure we will get all the funding we’re seeking, but our goals line up exactly with the U.S. Department of Transportation's Mega project goals," said Gardner.

The project is a joint effort by the Illinois Department of Transportation, the city of Chicago, Metra, Cook County and the Michigan Department of Transportation.

"The Chicago Union Station Access Project will significantly enhance the passenger-rail experience in and out of Chicago and provide a range of improvements to passenger-rail service in Illinois and throughout our region," Durbin said in a press release.

The project is designed to:

• create a new way for passenger trains to access the station from the south, which will significantly improve on-time performance for both Amtrak and Metra trains;

• provide the increased capacity needed for the new routes and increased frequencies that Amtrak has planned for the Midwest;

• provide a faster connection between the region’s largest employment hubs;

• improve on-time performance by more than 15 minutes on the Chicago-to-Carbondale route;

• transition Amtrak’s southbound passenger service off of CN tracks between Chicago and Joliet, which will further improve on-time performance;

• modernize the station’s concourses and platforms to improve passenger flow and provide cleaner air by updating the ventilation system; and

• allow for future direct rail service between O’Hare International Airport and McCormick Place via Union Station.

The station improvements also will "help pave the way for an expansion of Metra’s service and the opportunity to consider through-running between our north and south corridors," said Derwinski.