Rock Island District

The Rock Island District (RI) is a Metra commuter rail line from Chicago, Illinois, southwest to Joliet. Metra does not refer to its lines by color, but the timetable accents for the Rock Island District line are "Rocket Red" in honor of the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad's Rocket passenger trains.^[4]

Rock Island District
Rock Island trains at LaSalle.
Overview
Owner	Metra
Termini	LaSalle Street Station Joliet
Stations	15 (via Main Line) 24 (via Suburban Line) 26 (total) (1 under construction)
Website	metrarail.com/maps-schedules/train-lines/RI
Service
Type	Commuter rail
System	Metra
Operator(s)	Metra, CSX, Iowa Interstate Railroad, Chicago Rail Link
Daily ridership	32,100 (Avg. Weekday 2009)^[1]
History
Opened	April 1, 1870^[2]
Technical
Line length	40.0 mi (64.4 km) 6.7 mi (10.8 km) Suburban Branch (Gresham Jct.—Blue Island)
Track gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Route map Rock Island District highlighted in red Show interactive map Legend Blue to Forest Park LaSalle | Blue to O'Hare 0.0 LaSalle Street Red to Howard St. Charles Air Line IC West to Randolph Street Amtrak to Carbondale & New Orleans IC West to Addison Amtrak to Union Station Green to Harlem/Lake Orange to the Loop Orange to Midway I-55 3.2 mi 5.1 km 35th Street Stock Yards branch 47th Street Yard and Shops Green to Ashland/63rd Amtrak to Union Station Amtrak to Michigan, D.C., New York, and Boston 6.7 mi 10.8 km Englewood I-90 / I-94 Red to 95th/Dan Ryan 7.2 mi 11.6 km Normal Park 7.8 mi 12.6 km Hamilton Park SWS to Manhattan (planned) 8.6 mi 13.8 km Auburn Park Under construction Gresham 9.8 mi 15.8 km Amtrak Cardinal to D.C. and New York Brainerd 10.6 mi 17.1 km SouthEast Service Proposed 91st Street–Beverly Hills 11.3 mi 18.2 km 95th Street–Beverly Hills 11.7 mi 18.8 km 10.9 mi 17.5 km 95th Street–Longwood 99th Street–Beverly Hills 12.3 mi 19.8 km 11.4 mi 18.3 km 99th Street–Longwood 103rd Street–Beverly Hills 12.8 mi 20.6 km 12.0 mi 19.3 km 103rd Street–Washington Heights 107th Street–Beverly Hills 13.3 mi 21.4 km 111th Street–Morgan Park 13.8 mi 22.2 km 115th Street–Morgan Park 14.3 mi 23 km 12.9 mi 20.8 km Givins 119th Street 14.8 mi 23.8 km 123rd Street 15.2 mi 24.5 km Prairie Street 15.8 mi 25.4 km Blue Island Coach Yard ME to Millennium Station ME Blue Island 16.4 mi 26.4 km 15.7 mi 25.3 km Blue Island–Vermont Street Cal-Sag Channel CSX Transportation Indiana Harbor Belt Railroad CSX Transportation 17.2 mi 27.7 km Robbins I-294 18.4 mi 29.6 km Midlothian 20.4 mi 32.8 km Oak Forest 23.5 mi 37.8 km Tinley Park 25.1 mi 40.4 km Tinley Park – 80th Avenue I-80 27.0 mi 43.5 km Hickory Creek 29.6 mi 47.6 km Mokena Hickory Creek SWS to Union Station SWS to Manhattan 34.0 mi 54.7 km New Lenox I-80 Hickory Creek EJ&E Railway Joliet Coach Yard HC & Amtrak to Union Station 40.0 mi 64.4 km Joliet Amtrak to St. Louis & San Antonio Mileage source^[3] This diagram: view talk edit Show BSicon diagram map

History

The Suburban Line was built in 1870 as a steam dummy line, splitting from the main line just north of 99th Street, running west along 99th and turning south to the present line at the S-curve just south of 99th. The crossing of the Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railway midway along 99th was known as Dummy Crossing. In the early 1890s the line was extended north to 89th Street in conjunction with the expansion of the Chicago Terminal Transfer Railroad, and the portion on 99th was removed.

The track is owned by Metra, bought from the bankrupt Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad for $35 million in December 1982 (equivalent to $106 million in 2022).^[5] The Regional Transportation Authority had signed a contract with the Rock Island in 1976 to fund service, and in 1980 the Chicago and North Western Railway began operating the Rock Island District (the Rock Island also ceased operations that year.) In spring 1981 the C&NW stepped away, and the Northeast Illinois Regional Commuter Railroad Corporation (Metra) was formed to take over operations. Through freight trains on the line are operated by CSX and Iowa Interstate Railroad on a trackage rights agreement. In addition, Chicago Rail Link has rights to operate local freight service on the whole district, and it also uses the line between Gresham Wye and Blue Island^[which?] to connect with the Iowa Interstate and Indiana Harbor Belt Railroads.

A new station at 35th Street and Federal Street opened on April 3, 2011 to serve U.S. Cellular Field and the Illinois Institute of Technology. It was named 35th Street/'Lou' Jones/Bronzeville Station after Lovana Jones who was an Illinois State Representative in the Bronzeville neighborhood.^[6]

The Englewood Flyover, an overpass located in the Chicago neighborhood of Englewood, eliminated delays for the Rock Island. The overpass replaced a diamond crossing with the Norfolk Southern's Chicago Line.^[7] The overpass proposed by Chicago Region Environmental and Transportation Efficiency Program (CREATE), which cost $142 million to construct, was completed in October 2014.^[8]

In recent years, Metra has expressed a desire to electrify and modernize the line if funding became available.^[9] In October of 2023, Metra announced the order of 16 lightweight electric multiple unit trainsets that would likely be used on the Beverly Branch. They could be used to increase frequency and speed. ^{[10][11][12][13]}

Service

As of September 7, 2021, Metra operates 80 trains (40 inbound and 40 outbound) on the Rock Island District on weekdays, with 21 trains providing roundtrip service to and from Joliet, three to and from Tinley Park - 80th Avenue, and 16 to and from Blue Island-Vermont Street. Between Gresham and Blue Island, all trains terminating at Blue Island as well as four evening through-trains to and from Joliet operate via the suburban branch, while all other trains remain on the mainline.

On Saturdays, Metra operates 33 trains (16 inbound and 17 outbound) on the line, with 10 roundtrips to and from Joliet, six roundtrips to and from Blue Island, and an additional outbound train to Joliet. The Blue Island short-turn trains, as well as four inbound and five outbound through-trains to and from Joliet operate over the suburban branch, while the other six Joliet through-trains in each direction remain on the mainline.

On Sundays, Metra operates 28 trains (14 roundtrips), eight to and from Joliet, and six to and from Blue Island. All six Blue Island short-turn trains as well as two through-trains to and from Joliet operate over the suburban branch, while the other six Joliet through-trains in each direction remain on the mainline.

In June 2015, Metra began weekend express service on the Rock Island District. The six express trains that operate on both Saturday and Sunday run express from 35th Street to Blue Island-Vermont Street via the main line before making all stops to Joliet, bypassing the suburban branch entirely. Local trains run as well, making all stops on the suburban branch and terminating at Blue Island-Vermont Street. This cuts about 20 minutes off the trips from Blue Island to downtown.^[14] On August 23, 2015, Metra announced that the weekend express service would become permanent upon completion of the trial period on November 29, 2015.

The Rock Island District runs a few empty equipment move (deadhead) trains, most during weekdays. Inbound deadheads are scheduled between the Joliet, Mokena-Front Street, and Tinley Park stations and run to Blue Island-Vermont Street.

There have been proposals to extend the line from Joliet to LaSalle-Peru in LaSalle County with intermediate stations at Rockdale, Minooka, Morris, Seneca, Marseilles, Ottawa, and several other towns. A feasibility study was completed in 2003.^[15][16] As of 2022, an extension only as far as Minooka has been considered feasible in the near future, and there are no currently active plans to carry out the extension.

After the passage of the Rebuild Illinois, $20 million was allocated for the long planned construction of a new Auburn Park station. Construction is expected to start in 2020.^[17]

In the beginning of 2021, fares on the Rock Island, as well as the Metra Electric District, were cut in half for all passengers as part of a pilot program.^[18][19]

Ridership

From 2014-2019 annual ridership declined from 8,544,753 to 7,338,133, an overall decline of 14.1%.^[20][21] Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, ridership dropped to 1,952,547 passengers in 2020 and 1,669,273 passengers in 2021.^[22][23]

1,000,000

2,000,000

3,000,000

4,000,000

5,000,000

6,000,000

7,000,000

8,000,000

9,000,000

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

2021

2022

Stations

County	Zone	Location	Station	Connections and notes
Cook	A	Chicago	LaSalle Street	Chicago "L": Blue (at LaSalle), Brown Orange Pink Purple (at LaSalle/Van Buren)   CTA Bus: 1, 7, 22, 24, 36, 126, 130, 151, 156   City of Valparaiso: ChicaGo Dash
			35th Street  ^[24]	Chicago "L": Red (at Sox–35th), Green (at 35th–Bronzeville–IIT)   CTA Bus: 24 Wentworth, 31 31st, 35 31st/35th, 39 Pershing
	B		Englewood	Closed late 1970s
			Normal Park	Closed
			Hamilton Park	Closed
			Auburn Park	Closed 1978,^[25] planned to reopen in 2023^[26]
			Gresham	CTA Bus: 8A South Halsted, 24 Wentworth, 87 87th, N87 87th Owl
	C		Beverly branch begins
			95th Street–Longwood (rush hours only)	CTA Bus: N9 Ashland Owl, 95 95th, 112 Vincennes/111th   Pace: 381 95th Street, 395 95th/Dan Ryan–UPS Hodgkins Limited
			99th Street–Longwood	Closed 1985^[27]
			103rd Street–Washington Heights (rush hours only)	CTA Bus: 9 Ashland, 103 West 103rd, 112 Vincennes/111th
			Givins	Closed 1984^[27]
	D	Blue Island	Blue Island–Vermont Street	Metra: ■ Metra Electric (at Blue Island)   Pace: 348 Harvey–Riverdale–Blue Island, 349 S Western, 359 Robbins–S Kedzie Ave, 385 87th/111th/127th
			Beverly branch ends
		Robbins	Robbins	Pace: 359 Robbins–South Kedzie Avenue
		Midlothian	Midlothian	Pace: 354 Harvey–Oak Forest Loop
	E	Oak Forest	Oak Forest	Pace: 354 Harvey–Oak Forest Loop, 364 159th Street, 383 South Cicero
		Tinley Park	Tinley Park	Pace: 386 South Harlem
			Tinley Park – 80th Avenue
	F	Mokena	Hickory Creek
Will			Mokena
	G	New Lenox	New Lenox
	H	Joliet	Joliet	Metra: ■ Heritage Corridor   Amtrak: Lincoln Service, Texas Eagle   Pace: 501, 504, 505, 507, 508, 509, 511, 832, 834

Beverly branch

The entire route is in Cook County, Illinois.

Zone	Location	Station	Connections and notes
C	Chicago	Brainerd	CTA Bus: 9 Ashland
		91st Street–Beverly Hills
		95th Street–Beverly Hills	CTA Bus: 95 95th   Pace: 381 95th Street, 395 95th/Dan Ryan–UPS Hodgkins Limited
		99th Street–Beverly Hills
		103rd Street–Beverly Hills	CTA Bus: 103 West 103rd
		107th Street–Beverly Hills
		111th Street–Morgan Park	CTA Bus: 112 Vincennes/111th
		115th Street–Morgan Park
	Blue Island	119th Street	CTA Bus: 119 Michigan/119th
		123rd Street
D		Prairie Street
		Blue Island–Vermont Street	Metra: ■ Metra Electric (at Blue Island)   Pace: 348 Harvey–Riverdale–Blue Island, 349 S Western, 359 Robbins–S Kedzie Ave, 385 87th/111th/127th

See also

• Beverly/Morgan Railroad District

Notes

1. . Metra. Archived from the original on January 2, 2010. Retrieved April 6, 2010.
2. Carlson, Norman (ed.). "Metra 2020: My Metra, Major Construction Projects and New Car Procurement". First & Fastest. Shore Line Interurban Historical Society. 37 (1): 10.
3. State of the System - Rock Island
4. (PDF). On the Bi-Level: 3. June 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-01-02.
5. "Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific". BLACKHAWK RAILWAY HISTORICAL SOCIETY. Retrieved 2023-10-25.
6. Metra. . Archived from the original on 2011-03-14. Retrieved 2011-12-06.
7. "P1 63rd and State (Englewood) Flyover" (PDF). CREATE. October 2015. Retrieved January 11, 2018.
8. Wronski, Richard (October 23, 2014). "'Flyover' aimed at cutting rail congestion". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved January 11, 2018.
9. Lassen, David (January 7, 2019). "Metra's big 'ask:' a $5 billion plan for improvements". Trains Magazine. Retrieved March 29, 2019.
10. "Metra to receive $169.3m grant for zero-emission trainsets | Metra". metra.com. Retrieved 2023-10-25.
11. "Metra lands federal grant to purchase battery-powered trainsets". Trains. 2023-10-22. Retrieved 2023-10-25.
12. Vitale, Cat (2023-10-23). "Metra to receive $169.3m grant for battery-powered trainsets". Railway Technology. Retrieved 2023-10-25.
13. Metra aims to invest $170 million in zero-emission, battery-powered trains, retrieved 2023-10-25
14. Sullivan, Dennis (May 28, 2015). "Weekend express trains starting on Rock Island Line". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved January 11, 2018.
15. Illinois Valley Commuter Rail Feasibility Study (PDF) (Report). CTE Engineers, LTK Engineering Services. August 2003. Retrieved January 10, 2020.
16. O'Brien, Ken (January 24, 2002). "Will panel endorses extension of Metra". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved January 10, 2020.
17. Freund, Sara (August 12, 2019). "Construction on two Metra stations starts up again after state funding kicks in". Curbed. Retrieved January 10, 2020.
18. "Cook County's Pilot Program Aims To Boost Metra Electric, Rock Island Ridership By Slashing Fares In Half". Block Club Chicago. 2021-01-29. Retrieved 2021-02-24.
19. "Fair Transit South Cook | CookCountyIL.gov". www.cookcountyil.gov. Retrieved 2021-02-24.
20. "RIDERSHIP TRENDS ANNUAL REPORT 2018" (PDF). Metra. p. 4. Retrieved 12 May 2019.
21. "RIDERSHIP TRENDS ANNUAL REPORT 2019" (PDF). Metra. Retrieved 27 February 2021.
22. "RIDERSHIP TRENDS ANNUAL REPORT 2021" (PDF).
23. RTAMS. "Metra Ridership By Line".
24. "Metra's midday express service on Rock Island Line to start Monday". Metra. 29 July 2016. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
25. Carlson, Norman (ed.). "Metra 2020: My Metra, Major Construction Projects and New Car Procurement". First & Fastest. Shore Line Interurban Historical Society. 37 (1): 9.
26. Golden, Jamie Nesbitt (8 December 2020). "Construction Starts Soon On Auburn Park Metra Station Along Rock Island Line". Block Club Chicago. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
27. Ridership Trends - Annual Report 2017 (PDF) (Report). Metra Division of Strategic Capital Planning. February 2018. p. 32. Retrieved December 2, 2018.

References

• J. David Ingles, Metra: "Best Commuter Train", Trains July 1993

External links

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• Official website