Chicago's Commuter Rail Network Evolution

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From its beginning in 1975, Chicago's commuter network has grown to 255 stations, spanning 563 miles (906 kilometers). This animated video takes you through the timeline of when new stations were opened, forming the Metra and NICTD network that we know today.
Thanks to Quinn Kasal for their assistance with this video:
🐦 Twitter: quinnkasal?s=21&t...
🐦 Ask us questions on Twitter: / vanishingunder
☑️ Video Criteria:
- Population given is the sum of all counties and independent cities with stations in them.
- Future extensions are shown only if a construction tender has been awarded for their completion, at the time of video publication. If a construction tender has been issued for a project not included in the video, feel free to leave a comment, and we'll add it to our list to update.
- If you find an error, feel free to let us know in the comments. Please include links to any sources that will help us correct the error. Note: comments with links might take up to 24 hours to appear due to RU-vid anti-spam policies.
📸 Image Credits:
- 4K Chicago Sunrise Aerial, the Dronalist, CC BY 3.0, • 4k Chicago Sunrise Aerial
- Metra Commuter Train led by F40PH - Elburn, IL 7/18/21, Big Shoulders Rail, CC BY 3.0, • Metra Commuter Train l...
- Metra, Amtrak, and BNSF Trains at "Zoo Stop" - Brookfield, IL 8/3/21, Big Shoulders Rail, CC BY 3.0, • Metra, Amtrak, and BNS...
- By vxla - Flickr: Trains on the Metra Electric District Mainline, CC BY 2.0, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index...
- By Katherine Johnson - Flickr: Wheaton Train Station, CC BY 2.0, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index...
- Outbound NICTD South Shore Train 2, Alexander Wood, CC By 3.0, • Outbound NICTD South S...
- By David Wilson from Oak Park, Illinois, USA - 20160701 29 Metra, Crystal Lake, Illinois, CC BY 2.0, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index...
- By David Wilson from Oak Park, Illinois, USA - 20160404 05 Metra & Pace, Elmhurst, Illinois, CC BY 2.0, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index...
🖼 Thumbnail image: By Peter Van den Bossche - originally posted to Flickr as Metra Electric train, CC BY-SA 2.0, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index...
🚋 #Metra #NICTD
Chicago BNSF commuter rail
Chicago Heritage Corridor commuter rail
Chicago Metra Electric commuter rail
Chicago Milwaukee District North commuter rail
Chicago Milwaukee District West commuter rail
Chicago North Central Service commuter rail
Chicago Rock Island commuter rail
Chicago South Shore Line commuter rail
Chicago SouthWest Service commuter rail
Chicago Union Pacific North commuter rail
Chicago Union Pacific Northwest commuter rail
Chicago Union Pacific West commuter rail

Опубликовано:

7 янв 2023

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Комментарии : 135

@charleskummerer Год назад

As a Chicagoan, the train line map you created is insanely confusing to look at from a geographical perspective.

@cam_e6195 Год назад

Facts man this is hella confusing

@kuyshina Год назад

Can’t argue with that statement.

@shabtech Год назад

Agreed

@HankGrill344 Год назад

I don’t think the point of these videos is to be geographically accurate.

@charleskummerer Год назад

@@HankGrill344 It doesn't have to be perfect, but when it's off by so much, it's extremely distracting and unhelpful for viewers who aren't familiar with the city but want to become

@SpaceboyYT Год назад

Wow. Chicago’s Commuter Rail is kinda like New Jersey Transit’s Commuter Rail with its station closures. Nice video btw!

@OntarioTrafficMan Год назад

They should keep going. Metra has way too many stations, making the trains unnecessarily slow and the network unnecessarily expensive to operate

@OntarioTrafficMan Год назад

@Eragor the Kindhearted Yes indeed on the busier lines some of the poorly-located stations could be retained, but reduced to rush hours only. That way they can provide extra parking capacity for rush hour when there's express service, but don't slow down trains off-peak when there's only one stopping pattern. On the BNSF line I'd consider skipping Cicero, Berwyn, Hollywood, Congress Park, Stone, Highlands, West Hinsdale and Fairview.

@TrainSounds Год назад

Same with Philly’s Septa Regional Rail

@maroon5375 Год назад

@@OntarioTrafficMan Rock Island already does this to some extent. During the mid-day rides, my conductor just completely shot past Robbins and Washington Heights a couple times. Not sure if that was planned though lol.

@russellgxy2905 Год назад

@@OntarioTrafficMan What they should do is add more trains that have either better acceleration or skip stops on certain runs like how the BNSF Racetrack does. Granted the latter option might be trickier since most other lines don't have three tracks, but I feel like modern signalling systems can better allow a omnidirectional double track by this point

@PTB_BE Год назад

Finally, he is back! METRA is in this position where they could be a really great system, but for some reason there is just no political ambition for it.

@CPTE5069 10 месяцев назад

An orbital high capacity suburban loop line connecting with each radial line, with intense TOD at interchanges would be a massive improvement.

@roberthansen2008 Год назад

I'm really looking forward to when you release your CTA video. That's going to be a awesome video!

@Hawker5796 Год назад

The Vanishing Underground has risen again for 2023! Good to see you back!

@SCANNO21 Год назад

Welcome back Zach, thank you very much for this new video ! This Chicago system seems really tricky... Thanks for clarifying it

@andrewwilliams1757 Год назад

YES! I've been waiting for a Chicago video, just earned a sub!

@ncliffordjr Год назад

I've been excitedly waiting for this video for a while, thank you Zach! minor nitpick: the 59th St Metra Electric station serves the nearby University of Chicago, and is signed as "Univ. of Chicago/59th St" or sometimes "59th St (U. of Chicago)". lots of the ME stations within Chicago proper have subtitles like these to indicate the neighborhood they're in, which I mention because they're usually announced by the conductor with the subtitle included.

@abdullahrizwan592 Год назад

Welcome back! I am glad that you are making videos again!

@NtGoat_AKA_Goatie Год назад

Chicago, Illinois is a really great metro area within itself. It definitely has a lot of attributes that make the city a wonderful place to live such as the transportation system, the restaurants, the building scrappers, and so much more. The thing that I adore the most is the transport it has.

@bryanCJC2105 Год назад

Great video! Metra is an integral part of Chicago's transportation network but it could be so much more. Metra service rates about a "C" for average and still better than most US commuter rail systems. It could be an "A", which is what's so frustrating. It has the bones to build a great integrated network on. It is not very well connected with the L network, even when running alongside the L as it does on Chicago's North Side w the Brown Line. In fact, neither Union Station nor Ogilvie Station (among the busiest in the US) is directly connected to the L. That is squarely on the City of Chicago for failing to provide decent connectivity from its busiest rail hubs to the rest of the city. There are a few good connections around the system, but there is a lot of room for improvements and connectivity. Aside from connectivity issues, the Electric Lines, which run mostly in the South Side of the city Chicago, are woefully underused due to a lack of fare integration w the L which also services the South Side of Chicago. These lines could dramatically improve mobility on the South Side is they didn't penalize riders w paying 2 separate fares to ride within the city limits. Metra also needs to find a way to connect suburb to suburb. Metra is designed solely to get people to the Loop, and nothing else really. Downtown centric travel is way down and the downtown commute may not ever be the same as it was before the pandemic. Despite decades of talk, a suburban ring route connecting the job heavy regions of Chicago's suburbs has yet to even seriously be attempted. Current connections between Metra lines, even those that cross each other, are few. There has also been lots of talk of reconfiguring Union Station to allow through-running and more efficient train movements but that come to nothing yet. Additionally, like most American commuter rail systems, frequencies vary widely and make the system difficult to use, especially mid-day and evenings. Service to Lake-Cook Rd, Metra's busiest reverse commute station, only gets hourly service from 8.30 am to 4.30 pm. Metra stations also range widely from nice stations to dilapidated ones w no customer amenities, sense of safety, or shelter from the elements. Metra isn't a very good partner w Chicago Transit Auth and CTA is not a very good partner w Metra. The RTA, which is supposed to coordinate between all the agencies, is pretty impotent. Since they don't work well together, the people of Chicago are denied an integrated system that could dramatically increase mobility for the region.

@mrAhollandjr Год назад

You can't totally blame the city of Chicago for the lack of connectivity. First, all of the commuter lines predates the existence of CTA and each railroad was its own entity. Even the city's L lines were their own separate entities before becoming the CTA in 1947. The creation of the RTA was very political. CTA and the commuter lines were experiencing financial difficulties. However. The State of Illinois was looking to gain control of the CTA in exchange for financial relief. The suburban politicians didn't want to bail out CTA unless their constituents were better served. The RTA was created to oversee finances for CTA, the suburban bus agencies and the commuter railroads. Pace and Metra were created in the 1980s to unify the suburban agencies. But there has always been a chasm between the suburbs and Chicago and between Chicagoland and the rest of the state of Illinois.

@bryanCJC2105 Год назад

@@mrAhollandjr Yeah, there is plenty of blame to go around. I didn't totally blame Chicago. However, history is no excuse for not solving problems today and Chicago, CTA, Metra, and RTA are definitely to blame for not having addressed these issues since then. After all, suburbanites come to Chicago for work and fun and Chicagoans go to the suburbs for work and fun. An integrated transit network benefits both the suburbs and Chicago. I get the history behind it all but at some point we need to focus on the present and the future. Chicago and its suburbs are not different. They root for the same teams, they share family and friends, they work together. Let's build a future for both.

@Lucius_Chiaraviglio Год назад

Also need to electrify the rest of the METRA network, for more environmentally friendly and in the long run cheaper operation. Yes, it will be a big up-front investment, but it will save money in the long run.

@starwberri4534 Год назад

Metra is too broke to do that... they can't even buy new locomotives so what makes you think they can electrify the entire system?

@Lucius_Chiaraviglio Год назад

@@starwberri4534 Last I heard, they just bought a bunch of diesel locomotives (granted, used not new). Yes, funding is a problem, but the state needs to fix that. Of course, getting representatives from other areas to vote for it is a problem, but given the Chicago area's dominance over Illinois politics, it should be possible.

@EpicThe112 Год назад

Excellent video and here's the thing you need to know one of the commuter lines actually encounters a time zone difference the South Shoreline meaning South Bend is an hour ahead of Chicago the timetable for that route actually displays both time zones Eastern and Central

@joshuaw711 Год назад

I keep saying that if South Bend wants people to live there and commute to Chicago on a 90 minute train ride, they’re going to have to move to central time. Since it’s the seat of the media market, it would force other counties to move to the correct time zone as well.

@EpicThe112 Год назад

@joshuaw711 you are correct but to the north of South Bend it's Michigan lower half Interstate 94 corridor which is Eastern Time via US-31.

@chicagolandrailfan143 Год назад

Finally, after a long time of waiting, he finally did one for metra!

@AaronSmith-sx4ez Год назад

I know the focus was mostly on Metra...but Hiawatha can practically be considered a commuter rail line and could have been included.

@TheCloakedTiger Год назад

Wow! What a amazing system! Had no idea there was so many stations and stops!

@tylerkochman1007 Год назад

Been waiting FOREVER for this one

@bos2pdx2yvr Год назад

I love your videos, I'm so glad to see a new one! Look forward to more in the future. 🙂

@strongbad635 Год назад

Missed you, guy! This is fantastic!

@christopher6740 Год назад

Finally he's back. Good job!

@mikep7547 Год назад

I’ve always boarded the train at Fox Lake to travel downtown. I didn’t know the line used to go all the way up to Walworth.

@DFWRailVideos Год назад

YES! The video we wanted but didn’t deserve. This was so good! I can’t wait for what comes next. Awesome video man!

@roberthansen2008 Год назад

Thank you thank you thank you! I'm been looking forward to a new video from you all the time. I just love watching your videos! I also passed them around a lot. I'm really looking forward to that Peterson avenue stop on the north line opening up in a few months. I'll definitely use that one.

@charlesthrush8134 Год назад

Great video but the map is weird lol

@nellyrichardsin1590 2 месяца назад

Agree

@aurora_tba Год назад

While I still like the video my only real critique is the shape of the map. I know there’s probably a limited space reason but it would have been nice for a more accurate map

@ytjmg81 Год назад

Welcome back Zach! After the Chicago L, Will you do the Network Evolution for New York (LIRR, MNRR, & NYC Subway)? Thanks!

@watertriton Год назад

I wish Michigan had a system like this the Metra is fantastic whenever I go to Chicago.

@VincentEngler Год назад

Great video! One nit-picky detail about the landscape oriented version of the map: it seems to indicate that union station is north of Ogilvie but it's the other way around irl. Thanks for the great content

@mic1240 Год назад

Nice summary, the map shown was bizarre however as didn’t reflect the scale or locations of how system is laid out, with odd shape of lakeshore and borders of the three states serves irregular. The video briefly showed the actual map at one point, maybe was done in odd layout as couldn’t do in real scale?

@snoofyair4744 Год назад

Woohooo! Can’t wait for u do the CTA

@101southsideboy Год назад

there is talk about creating a new metra line from Chicago to the future Lincoln Airport in Will County near Crete / Beecher ILL with stops in Chicago Heights and Thorton

@nah_144 Год назад

After vanishing underground for 4 months, he has returned!

@alexanderkha27 Год назад

This is really cool for a Chicago newbie like me

@QuarioQuario54321 Год назад

Huh. Nice. You never mentioned the rebuild of the street running section of the south shore line though.

@mattreedah Год назад

A north-south raised rail or a subway connecting the different belts on the west side would be amazing

@MrJamieBattle Год назад

Welcome back💪🏾

@malachimuhammad-dy2ow 10 месяцев назад

North Central trains run express along the Milwaukee District West Line between Union Station and River Grove, while South Shore Line trains run express along the Electric Line between Van Buren Street, and Kensington.

@daviddittrich5764 Год назад

It would be cool if at the end of the video you put in a quick Timelapse of the systems growth

@24gamingtriviaandmore10 Год назад

He's back with a banger!

@TrainSounds Год назад

Can’t wait for the Subway video and for NYC along with Detroit and Mexico City.

@shabtech Год назад

I don't think he'll do Detroit, it's system is too small.

@botmes4044 Год назад

With just a few downtown tunnels, systemwide electrification, and level boarding at every stop, METRA could become one of the largest RER systems in the world, with ridership competing alongside Berlin, Paris, and Osaka. The money's available, I just wish the the political will was.

@maas1208 Год назад

Well, electrification is near impossible due to the Frieght Railroads owning the Tracks, and also tunnels are pretty hard to build, especially in Chicago since the city was built on top of a swamp and level boarding would require Rebuilding every station (Except the Electric district) on the system and Chicago isn't as big as those other cities and the Midwest isn't as densely populated like the northeast unless they cram Refugees from 3rd world countries that the USA bombed the hell out of, in the Midwest and also good luck with trying to convince corrupt politicians to do all this

@botmes4044 Год назад

@@maas1208 🗑️💦🚣

@maas1208 11 месяцев назад

@@botmes4044 Bro what are you saying?

@botmes4044 11 месяцев назад

@@maas1208 that you splashed enough *buckets of cold water* on my ideas for me to ride a jet ski on

@Mr.E723 Год назад

There’s also talk of extending the BNSF to Plano (or possibly as far as Sandwich) with stops in Montgomery, Oswego, and Yorkville but they’ve been saying that for the last 30 years. I wish they would just do it. Also talk of extending the UP West to Dekalb but who knows if it will actually happen.

@rupturedtortoise.1542 Год назад

Really great video. Do you have any plans to make videos on NYC? If so that would be awesome. It's my hometown so I am a bit bias lol.

@dmann5938 Год назад

He still lives on RU-vid!!!!

@momentogabe Год назад

Hopefully your doing alright! How many more evolutions are left now? Is it just Chicago L and the two New York videos? Happy 2023 :)

@collectivelyimprovingtrans2460 Год назад

Love these videos. This is a great one because it is about a Netwerk that comes from Chicago’s railroad history

@briansivley2001 Год назад

I'm going to be busy with traveling around Chicago this next half decade😁😁😁😁😁.

@MikeyLikesIt89 7 месяцев назад

I commute on the line with the best time frequencies and on time record. On my Electric District commute from the end of the line makes a few stops in our fare zone, then blows past the rest until 55th. Then the reverse happens in the evening. How many commuter rail lines can get you from one end of the line to the other end in under 1 hour every day in all weather and on time? Metra Electric District is really “the real way to fly”.

@californiahummus Год назад

I wish they would make a nonstop O'Hare to Union Station line.

@ed4409 Год назад

If you finally do it, the CTA should work with you on your Chicago L video!

@gloryannbatista6211 Год назад

Honestly for your next History of the lines you should do Puerto Rico subway And Bus transit network

@shabtech Год назад

Way to go 2023!

@phillipcraig1197 Год назад

Chicago Commuter Rail is busy just like Boston and New Jersey I learn Something Amazing Everytime I Watch These Videos Super Awesome 😎

@vincentng2392 Год назад

There's still no decent transit link connecting the Metra terminals in Downtown Chicago?

@shabtech Год назад

Nope. Union, Ogilvie and Millennium stations don't even have access to the L lol.

@johnli25 9 месяцев назад

Damn Chicago grew a lot. It used to be the size of Toronto

@sammywithtrainsandships 3 месяца назад

Could you do the evolution of Chicago's Subway system?

@MalachiM-cu9su Год назад

@Vanshing Underground When is the Chicago L coming out?

@edwardkasprzycki8593 Год назад

Got to do one on CTA

@melvinsabala2379 11 месяцев назад

can you add austin,tx , NYC subway , NYC railroads, CTA subway, memphis, new orleans, and edmonton (version 2).

@5starryansl Год назад

Will you do a video like this on New York? 😇

@ideallyjekyl5200 Год назад

I wish that they connected all of the main suburbs together via rail. So many long car rides south to the burbs would be saved if people just had a damn option to take the train

@harrybalch2441 Год назад

BTW the South Shore opened in 1908

@romanrat5613 Год назад

LIRR next?

@albertcarello619 4 месяца назад

In Philadelphia you only have one transit agency ruling all forms of transportation:: SEPTA!!! No other transit agencies in Philadelphia. L and L-subway lines, Light Rail, Trolley Streetcar Lines, Electric Regional Rail, Buses, and Trolley Buses all under the control of SEPTA!

@davidtsvetovat9419 Год назад

Is the evolution of Chicago el train next week

@brandoncole5533 Год назад

Where can I find the video on the L

@shabtech Год назад

Coming soon, but you can check Metro Liner's video on the L. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-PCK02VuQNw0.html

@nellyrichardsin1590 4 месяца назад

Statins closed on Heritage Corridor Halsted St Brighton Park Glenn 5th Ave

@kertchu Год назад

Oh boy, can’t wait for the L to come next

@sgtdebones Год назад

Finally

@ProfessorPancakes420 Год назад

Your map needs some work there, my friend. I know some distortions have to be made, but damn... there's no resemblance to the actual geography lol.

@eddiescanduratrains Год назад

I wish LA’s rail systems looked like Chicago’s

@gloryannbatista6211 Год назад

OK pretty please for your next video Zack can you please do Detroit's People mover and light rail and busway network It also had a Commuter Rail network and Streetcar subway Please Zack the By the way This video is really cool

@gloryannbatista6211 Год назад

Spoiler Alert you did not release the Chicago Subway video AKA the l

@ExpressRailfan 6 дней назад

When is the Chicago L coming out?

@Rebelnightwolfe Год назад

12 commuter rail lines and almost no direct connections between them. Yep, a very American way to do it.

@brendanu1680 11 месяцев назад

Which of all the closed stations should come back? Me:CLYDE CAUSE NO BNSF LINE STATION CAN CLOSE!

@rolloman667 Год назад

What happened too the intro music. Thought it was cool

@rolloman667 Год назад

Great video though.😀

@arandomyoutubechannel2940 Год назад

He had to stop doing that due to copyright infringement

@0fficialdregs Год назад

metra! metra!

@joshuafajardo5697 5 месяцев назад

↙️ Service will be rerouted from Union to LaSalle

@Jaquxan 7 месяцев назад

1976 should've did the year of 1966

@michaelwithme4122 Год назад

That dose not look like lake Michigan

@Mars-ev7qg Год назад

I'd like to see an episode on the new Orleans trolley system but it's super controversial on every level so I can completely understand if you don't think it's a good idea. The oldest lines were built by slaves. Forced labor was widely used on expansions of the system well into the 20th century in the form of convict labor. Of course the system was for white passengers only until the late 1960s and at times Jewish passengers were also banned from riding. To this day it spectacularly fails to provide any tangible benefits the city's enormous poor neighborhoods. However an episode about the new Orleans trolley system could be a great cautionary tale of how not to build a transit system. Just some things to think about if you decide to talk about new Orleans transit.

@jayg2025 Год назад

This train line map is not even close to accurate. Why does the lake look like this? The lines are not to any scale and stops on the same e/w streets don’t match up

@tylerjacobs2200 Год назад

It's a stylized map to make everything fit on the screen in a legible way. They show a geographically accurate map at the end.

@jayg2025 Год назад

@@tylerjacobs2200 exactly. It makes no sense to use a fantasy map when he could’ve just used the accurate one that we have now and added the removed stations to it as needed

@shabtech Год назад

@@jayg2025 The geographic one would be very hard to put on the screen at once, like at the end he has to scroll down just to show the full accurate map, and it's not even zoomed-in that much. Otherwise we would be seeing tiny dots for writing.