The Equivalent of Midway Airport - Right Downtown

Imagine having all of the benefits of Midway Airport right downtown, without any of the noise or traffic congestion. It is closer to reality than you might think.

The Midwest Regional Rail Initiative (MWRRI), a nine-state design for a coordinated Midwest network, projects that roughly 5 million passengers would use the station at full build-out. This is a conservative estimate. More modest improvements on Amtrak's Portland- Seattle route caused a 500% increase in ridership.

Amtrak's best-used trains - the sleeper trains connecting Chicago to the coasts - were not included in that estimate. Today, average loadings exceed that of wide-bodied jets. The trains are frequently sold out. Simply adding sleepers and coaches to the trains would cause a dramatic increase in ridership.

Add in other proposed routes and it becomes easy to imagine Union Station nearing Midway Airport's 8.9 million annual boardings.

That, with Metra's more than 15 million annual boardings, makes it clear that Union Station is a critical component of Chicago's economy.

Next: Trains work on a much larger scale

Amtrak's western trains are the equivalent of a jumbo jet landing right downtown.