Rock Island District

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Rock Island District
Rock Island trains at LaSalle.
Overview
Owner	Metra (LaSalle Street Station to Blue Island) CSX (South of Blue Island)
Termini	LaSalle Street Station Joliet
Stations	26
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	40.2 mi (64.7 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 Legend 0.0 LaSalle Street Red to Howard St. Charles Air Line IC West to IC West to Randolph Street Green Orange to Loop Orange to Midway 3.1 mi 5 km 35th Street Stock Yards branch Green to Ashland/63rd Amtrak Calumet to Union Station Amtrak Calumet to Valparaiso 6.7 mi 10.8 km Englewood closed I-90 / I-94 Red to 95th/Dan Ryan 7.2 mi 11.6 km Normal Park closed 7.8 mi 12.6 km Hamilton Park closed 8.6 mi 13.8 km Auburn Park Under construction 9.8 mi 15.8 km Gresham Brainerd 10.6 mi 17.1 km SouthEast Service 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 closed 103rd Street–Beverly Hills 12.8 mi 20.6 km 107th Street–Beverly Hills 13.3 mi 21.4 km 12.0 mi 19.3 km Washington Heights 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 closed 119th Street 14.8 mi 23.8 km 123rd Street 15.2 mi 24.5 km ME to Millennium Station Prairie Street 15.9 mi 25.6 km ME Blue Island 16.4 mi 26.4 km Blue Island–Vermont Street 17.2 mi 27.7 km Robbins 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 27.2 mi 43.8 km Mokena – Hickory Creek 29.6 mi 47.6 km Mokena – Front Street SWS to Union Station SWS to Manhattan HC & Amtrak to Union Station 34.0 mi 54.7 km New Lenox 40.2 mi 64.7 km Joliet Amtrak to St. Louis & Los Angeles This diagram: view talk

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". This refers to the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad's Rocket passenger trains.^[3]

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 $93.9 million in 2020). 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. 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.^[4]

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.^[5] The overpass proposed by Chicago Region Environmental and Transportation Efficiency Program (CREATE), which cost $142 million to construct, was completed in October 2014.^[6]

In recent years, Metra has expressed a desire to electrify and modernize the line if funding became available.^[7]

Service[]

As of September 7, 2021, Metra operates 40 inbound trains and 40 outbound trains on the Rock Island District Line on weekdays. Of these, 21 inbound trains originate from Joliet, three from Tinley Park - 80th Avenue, and 16 from Blue Island-Vermont Street 16 outbound trains terminate at Blue Island Vermont St., three terminate at Tinley Park-80th, and 21 terminate at Joliet.

(On weekdays, 17 inbound trains from Joliet and all inbound trains from Tinley Park-80th run on the main line. Four inbound trains from Joliet and all inbound trains from Blue Island run on the suburban branch. All outbound trains to Tinley Park-80th and 17 outbound trains to Joliet run on the main line. All outbound trains to Blue Island and four outbound trains to Joliet run on the suburban branch.)

Metra operates 16 inbound trains and 17 outbound trains on the Rock Island District Line on Saturdays. Of these, 10 inbound trains originate from Joliet and six inbound trains from Blue Island. Six outbound trains terminate at Blue Island and 11 at Joliet.

(On Saturdays, six inbound trains from Joliet run on the main line. Four inbound trains from Joliet and all inbound trains from Blue Island run on the suburban branch. Six outbound trains to Joliet run on the main line. All outbound trains to Blue Island and five outbound trains to Joliet run on the suburban branch.)

Metra operates 14 inbound trains and 14 outbound trains on the Rock Island District Line on Sundays. Of these, eight inbound trains originate from Joliet and six from Blue Island. Six outbound trains terminate at Blue Island and eight at Joliet.

(On Sundays, six inbound trains from Joliet run on the main line. Two inbound trains from Joliet and all inbound trains from Blue Island run on the suburban branch. Six outbound trains to Joliet run on the main line. All outbound trains to Blue Island and two outbound trains to Joliet run on the suburban branch.)

The Rock Island District consists of the former Rock Island main line to Joliet and the slightly longer Suburban Line that loops to the west between Gresham and Blue Island. Most trains use the latter; the two stations on that part of the main line are served only during rush hour and during weekend express operations.

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 before making all stops to Joliet, bypassing the entire Beverly branch. Local trains run as well, making all stops on the Beverly branch and terminating at Blue Island-Vermont Street. This cuts about 20 minutes off the trips from Blue Island to downtown.^[8] 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 the weekdays. Inbound deadheads are scheduled between the Joliet, Mokena-Front Street, and Tinley Park stations and run to Blue Island-Vermont Street.

There are 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 others. A feasibility study was completed in 2003.^[9][10]

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.^[11]

In the beginning of 2021, fares on the Rock Island, as well as the Electric line, were cut in half for all passengers.^[12][13]

Ridership[]

Since 2014 annual ridership has declined from 8,544,753 to 7,338,133, an overall decline of 14.1%.^[14][15]

Stations[]

Zone	Location	Station	Connections and notes
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 [16]	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,[17] planned to reopen in 2023[18]
		Gresham	CTA Bus: 8A South Halsted, 24 Wentworth, 87 87th, N87 87th Owl
C		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
		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
			Closed 1985[19]
		99th Street–Beverly Hills
		103rd Street–Beverly Hills	CTA Bus: 103 West 103rd
		103rd Street–Washington Heights (rush hours only)	CTA Bus: 9 Ashland, 103 West 103rd, 112 Vincennes/111th
		107th Street–Beverly Hills
			Closed 1984[19]
		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
	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
		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

See also[]

• Beverly/Morgan Railroad District

Notes[]

References[]

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

External links[]

Route map:

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Metra Rock Island District.

• Official website