As a temporary measure during the Democratic National Convention, Metra is offering hourly shuttle service to its O’Hare Transfer Station on the North Central Service Line, giving conventioneers and all Chicagoans quick access to the airport from Union Station. (If you used the service, please take this survey to let us know what you thought about it.)
But what would it take to offer more frequent (hourly or better) service to O’Hare all the time? It’s a good question, and one Metra is trying to answer.
We do know it would require an agreement with two freight railroads—Canadian National, which owns some of the tracks that would be needed for the service, and CPKC, which dispatches trains on another portion of the route. Those railroads agreed to the temporary service.
Another thing we know is that the existing infrastructure would need major upgrades, such as extra track, sidings, crossovers, and flyovers, for us to be able to offer more service permanently. We may also want dedicated rolling stock for O’Hare Service that is more compatible with quick trips back and forth to the airport than our existing equipment. Metra currently is studying what upgrades would be needed, and their costs, as part of a major study (the Systemwide Network Plan) looking into how Metra can increase service across the system.
In the meantime, on a smaller scale, Metra received a $750,000 federal grant with the support of U.S. Rep. Michael Quigley to investigate and outline steps to make the O’Hare Transfer Station a more comfortable and useful station and a better alternative for getting to and from the airport. Chicago also received federal funding to improve the pedestrian connection from the Metra station to the Airport Transit System (the People Mover).