Rock Island District

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Rock Island District

Rock Island trains at LaSalle.
Overview
Type Commuter Rail
System Metra
Termini LaSalle Street Station
Joliet
Stations 26
Daily ridership 32,100 (Avg. Weekday 2009)[1]
Operation
Owner Metra
Operator(s) Metra
Technical
Line length 40.2 (6.7 Suburban Branch from Gresham Jct. to Blue Island)
Track gauge 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Route map
Legend
 0.0 LaSalle Street
Orange Line
3.1 35th Street - Bronzeville(Flag Stop)
Green Line
Red Line
 9.8 Gresham
SouthEast Service
10.6 Brainerd
11.3 91st Street - Beverly Hills
17.7 95th Street - Beverly Hills
10.9 95th Street - Longwood
12.3 99th Street - Beverly Hills
12.8 103rd Street - Beverly Hills
12.0 103rd Street - Washington Heights
13.3 107th Street - Beverly Hills
13.8 111th Street - Morgan Park
14.3 115th Street - Morgan Park
14.8 119th Street - Blue Island
15.2 123rd Street - Blue Island(Flag Stop)
15.9 Prairie Street - Blue Island(Flag Stop)
Metra Electric
Blue Island
16.4 Blue Island - Vermont Street
17.2 Robbins(Flag Stop)
 18.4 Midlothian
 20.4 Oak Forest
 23.5 Tinley Park
 25.1 Tinley Park - 80th Avenue
 27.2 Mokena - Hickory Creek
 29.6 Mokena - Front Street
SouthWest Service
 34.0 New Lenox
 40.2 Joliet
 42.5 Rockdale(proposed)
 51.1 Minooka(proposed)
 61.7 Morris(proposed)

The Rock Island District (RI) is a Metra commuter rail line from Chicago, Illinois, United States, 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.[2]

In April 2013 the public timetable shows 34 weekday trains out of Chicago including 23 to Joliet and 10 to Blue Island.

The track is owned by Metra, bought from the bankrupt Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad for $35 million in December 1982. 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.

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.

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.

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.[3]

Stations

During rush hour mainline and branch line trains are split. A few rush-hour trains make main line stops between Gresham and Blue Island - Vermont Street:

  • 95th Street - Longwood
  • 103rd Street - Washington Heights

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Ridership Reports - System Facts". Metra. Retrieved April 6, 2010. 
  2. ↑ "Did you know?". On the Bi-Level: 3. June 2009. 
  3. ↑ Metra. "Metra to open new station at 35th St. in time for White Sox home opener". Retrieved 2011-12-06. 
  4. ↑ http://metrarail.com/metra/en/home/maps_schedules/metra_system_map/ri/station.35TH.html Bronzeville Jones Station Page
  • J. David Ingles, Metra: "Best Commuter Train", Trains July 1993

External links

Media related to Metra Rock Island District at Wikimedia Commons

Lines
Current
Proposed
NICTD Service
Stations and terminals
Rolling stock
Accidents and incidents
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