FEDERAL RAILROAD ADMINISTRATION : FREIGHT RAILROADING

The Chicago Region Environmental and Transportation (CREATE) project is a public-private partnership between the US-DOT, local government, and railroad companies. Due to the size and the importance of the endeavor, CREATE is seen as a groundbreaker in financial cooperation between the private railroad industry and public government entities and in operational and infrastructure asset sharing between competing railroads.

CREATE will restructure, modernize and expand existing rail facilities to improve freight and passenger mobility in and through Chicago while reducing negative environmental and social impacts. The project is comprised of over 50 rail and 25 grade separation projects to improve train operations on four freight rail corridors and a passenger rail corridor. The most important improvements within the program are the grade separation and the rail-to-rail connections. The CREATE program includes six g rade separations between passenger and freight railroads to eliminate train interference and associated delay; it includes twenty-five grade separations of highway-rail crossings to reduce motorist delay, and improve safety by eliminating the potential of crossing crashes; and it includes additional rail connections, crossovers, added trackage, and other improvements to expedite passenger and freight train movements.

On June 16, 2003, Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley, the State of Illinois and the nation’s railroads announced a historic agreement to invest $1.5 billion in Chicago-area rail infrastructure designed to improve the flow of rail traffic through the area.

Chicago is the largest rail hub in the country with more than 1,200 trains passing through it daily carrying 75 percent of the nation's freight valued at $350 billion; 37,500 rail freight cars pass through the City every day projected to increase to 67,000 by 2020. Chicago is the only city where six Class I railroads converge and exchange freight.

The Chicago Plan calls for the creation of rail corridors, including one primarily for passenger trains; 25 new grade separations to improve safety and eliminate vehicular delays; six rail-to-rail "flyovers" to separate freight and passenger trains; and converting the St. Char les Air Line elevated railroad tracks to public use. It is estimated that the project will create more than 1,000 jobs with an annual payroll of $50 million. In addition, the project will generate about $140 million annually in purchases of goods and services from area businesses. In all, the project is expected to produce almost $500 million in annual public benefits.

The major railroads will contribute more than $210 million to the plan and Metra $20 million. The rest of the funds will have to come from public sources. FRA has been active in efforts to mitigate rail-related livability issues in the greater Chicago area. DOT is a strong supporter of the CREATE Program. It considers the Chicago Plan a significant landmark in private / public cooperation that could be used as a model for public / private cooperation elsewhere in the nation. The Chicago Plan marks an innovative cooperation between competing railroads to address public concerns through asset sharing agreements. DOT has been working with Chicago and Illinois to identify funding sources for the Chicago Plan.

For more information see www.createprogram.org/