1.
Joliet Union Station
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Joliet Union Station is a former commuter and long-distance railroad station in Joliet, Illinois serving both Amtrak long-distance and Metra commuter trains. It is in the process of being replaced by the new Joliet Transportation Center, train service to Joliet Union Station permanently ceased in September 2014. When it was in service, Joliet Union Station was at the junction of the former Rock Island Line, Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe. Therefore, it has two different milepost numbers depending on how far each route is to Chicago, on The Metra Rock Island District Line, Joliet is 40.2 miles away from LaSalle Street Station, the northern terminus of the line in Downtown Chicago. On The Metra Heritage Corridor and Amtrak routes,37.2 miles away from Chicago Union Station, the Rock Island line runs via Blue Island, Illinois to LaSalle Street Station, while the Metra Heritage Corridor line runs via Summit, Illinois to Chicagos Union Station. The Blue Island trains leave from a track on the south side of the station, while four tracks on the east side serve Amtrak, Metra Heritage, BNSF freight. CSX takes over ownership of the Rock Island tracks just west of the station, five Amtrak trains on the Chicago – St. Louis corridor stop in Joliet daily each way, the Texas Eagle and the Lincoln Service. This was also a stop for the Ann Rutledge until April 2007, train service to Joliet was begun by the Chicago and Rock Island Railroad, a predecessor of the Rock Island Line, in 1852. Joliet Union Station was designed by architect Jarvis Hunt in the Beaux Arts Classical style, the City of Joliet owns two thirds of the station and Metra owns the other third. The former waiting room has been converted to a hall that can hold 350 guests. This station used to serve the Southwest Chief until the BNSF merger in 1996 when Amtrak rerouted the Southwest Chief to the CB&Q to Galesburg and this station is the site of the old Rock Island Line diamond. When originally built, there were pedestrian tunnels between the terminal and a platform between the first and second track on both the south and east sides of the building, however, the tunnels were later closed and the canopies removed. Finally passenger service on the east side of the building was moved to the third and fourth rails, later the number of Rock Island tracks on the south side of the building was reduced from four to one. Joliet Union Station was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on August 1,1978, the station was extensively renovated and made ADA-accessible in 1989–1991. Eastbound U. S. Highway 30, the Lincoln Highway, the state government of Illinois announced, on October 28,2010, a $42 million long-term plan to replace Joliet Union Station and partly rebuild the tracks. Separate tracks, dedicated solely to freight traffic, will be laid for BNSF container stacktrains, rail passengers will be rerouted into a new multimodal train and bus station. $32 million came from “Illinois Jobs Now. ”, a six-year, $31 billion statewide capital program supported by 20 year state bonds, the BNSF Railway also pledged $2.2 million and the city contributed $7.5 million. As planned, the existing Union Station building will remain, but a new terminal will be built beside it, new underground tunnels will provide Metra access to the Heritage Corridor Line trains, eliminating the need to cross the BNSF freight tracks
2.
Amtrak
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Founded in 1971 to take over most of the remaining U. S. passenger rail services, it is partially government funded yet operated and managed as a for-profit corporation. Amtrak serves more than 500 destinations in 46 states and three Canadian provinces, operating more than 300 trains each day over 21,300 miles of track, some track sections allow trains to run as fast as 150 mph. In fiscal year 2015, Amtrak served 30.8 million passengers and had $2.185 billion in revenue, nearly two-thirds of passengers come from the 10 largest metropolitan areas, 83% of passengers travel on routes shorter than 400 miles. Its headquarters is at Union Station in Washington, D. C, the name Amtrak is a portmanteau of the words America and trak, the latter itself a sensational spelling of track. From the mid-19th century until about 1920, nearly all intercity travelers in the United States moved by rail, historically, U. S. passenger trains were owned and operated by the same privately owned companies that operated freight trains. About 65,000 railroad passenger cars operated in 1929, from 1920 into the later 20th century, passenger rails popularity diminished and there was a series of pullbacks and tentative recoveries. Rail passenger revenues declined dramatically between 1920 and 1934 because of the rise of the automobile, in the same period, many travelers were lost to interstate bus companies such as Greyhound Lines. However, in the mid-1930s, railroads reignited popular imagination with service improvements and new, diesel-powered streamliners, such as the gleaming silver Pioneer Zephyr and Flying Yankee. Even with the improvements, on a basis, traffic continued to decline. World War II broke the malaise, passenger traffic soared sixfold thanks to troop movements, in 1946, there remained 45 percent fewer passenger trains than in 1929, and the decline quickened despite railroad optimism. Passengers disappeared and so did trains, few trains generated profits, most produced losses. Broad-based passenger rail deficits appeared as early as 1948, and by the mid-1950s, by 1965, only 10,000 rail passenger cars were in operation,85 percent fewer than in 1929. Passenger service was provided on only 75,000 miles of track, the 1960s also saw the end of railway post office revenues, which had helped some of the remaining trains break even. The causes of the decline of rail in the United States were complex. Until 1920, rail was the practical form of intercity transport. By 1930, the companies had constructed, with private funding. In 1916, the amount of track in the United States peaked at 254,251 miles, some rail routes had been built primarily to facilitate the sale of stock in the railroad companies, they were redundant from the beginning. These were the first to be abandoned as the financial positions deteriorated
3.
Inter-city rail
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Inter-city rail services are express passenger train services that cover longer distances than commuter or regional trains. There is no definition of inter-city rail, its meaning may vary from country to country. Most typically, an inter-city train is a train with limited stops. Inter-city rail sometimes provides international services and this is most prevalent in Europe, due to the close proximity of its 50 countries in a 10,180,000 square kilometre area. Eurostar and EuroCity are examples of this and this use of the term appeared in the United Kingdom in the 1960s and has been widely imitated. The speeds of inter-city rail lines are diverse, ranging from 50 km/h in a mountainous area or on undeveloped tracks to 200–350 km/h on newly constructed or improved tracks. As a result, Inter-city rail may or may not fall into the category of higher-speed rail or high-speed rail, ideally, the average speed of inter-city rail service would be faster than 100 km/h in order to be competitive with car, bus and other methods of transport. 50–100 km The distance of an inter-city rail journey is usually at least 50–100 km, although in large metropolitan areas commuter. 100–500 km A distance of 100–500 km is a common journey distance for inter-city rail in many countries, in many cases, railway travel is most competitive at about 2–3 hours journey time. Inter-city rail can compete with highways and short-haul air travel for journeys of this distance. 500–1,000 km In journeys of 500–1,000 km, development of high-speed rail in some countries increases the share of railway for such longer-distance journeys. The Paris-Marseille TGV and Tokyo-Aomori Shinkansen are examples of type of journey. In conventional non high-speed rail, overnight trains are common for this distance, in many other countries, such long-distance rail journey has been replaced by air travel except for tourism or hobbyist purposes, luxury train journeys, or significant cost benefit. Discount Eurail Pass in Europe, Amtrak in the United States, New high-speed lines from 200–350 km/h operation are constructed, and many conventional lines are also upgraded to 200 km/h operation. Currently there are seven High-Speed Inter-City lines in China, with up to 21 planned and they are operated independently from the often parallel High-Speed-Rail-Lines. Japan has six main regional railway companies, known collectively as Japan Railways Group or simply as JR. Many other cities are covered by a network of JRs limited express inter-city trains on 1,067 mm, narrow gauge, major cities are covered by convenient train services of every one hour or more frequent. In addition to the JR Group, Japan has several major regional carriers such as the Kintetsu, almost every major town and city in South Korea is linked by railway, run by Korail
4.
Metra
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Metra is a commuter railroad in the Chicago metropolitan area. The railroad operates 241 stations on 11 different rail lines and it is the fourth busiest commuter rail system in the United States by ridership and the largest and busiest commuter rail system outside the New York City metropolitan area. There were 83.4 million passenger rides in 2014, up 1. 3% from the previous year, the estimated busiest day for Metra ridership occurred on Nov.4, 2016—the day of the Chicago Cubs 2016 World Series victory rally. Using Chicagos rail infrastructure, much of which was created in the 19th century, the Illinois General Assembly established the RTA, Metras creation was a result of the anticipated failure of commuter service operated and owned by various private railroad companies in the 1970s. Freight rail companies still operate some routes, however, these operations are guided by contracted service agreements, Metra owns all rolling stock and is responsible for all stations along with the respective municipalities. Since its inception, Metra has directed more than $5 billion into the rail system of the Chicago metropolitan area. Since its founding in the 19th century, Chicago has been a major Midwestern hub in the North American rail network and it has more trackage radiating in more directions than any other city in North America. Railroads set up their headquarters in the city and Chicago became a center for building cars, passenger cars. By the 1930s Chicago had the worlds largest public transportation system, by the mid-1970s, the commuter lines faced an uncertain future. The Burlington Northern, Milwaukee Road, Chicago and North Western, to provide stability to the commuter rail system, the Illinois General Assembly formed the Regional Transportation Authority in 1974. Its purpose was to fund and plan the Chicago regions public transportation, in the beginning the Regional Transportation Authority commuter train fleet consisted of second-hand equipment, until 1976 when the first order of new EMD F40PH locomotives arrived. That F40PH fleet is still in service today, less than a decade later the Regional Transportation Authority was already suffering from ongoing financial problems. In 1983 the Illinois Legislature reorganized the agency and that reorganization left the Regional Transportation Authority in charge of day-to-day operations of all bus, heavy rail and commuter rail services throughout the Chicago metropolitan area. It was also responsible for directing fare and service levels, setting up budgets, finding sources for capital investment, due to the broad range of responsibilities entrusted with the Regional Transportation Authority, the Commuter Rail Service Board was created in 1984. It was renamed Metra in July 1985, the newly reorganized Metra service helped to bring a single identity to the many infrastructure components serviced by the Regional Transportation Authoritys commuter rail system. Metras operating arm, the Northeast Illinois Regional Commuter Railroad Corporation, was created as a separate subsidiary which operates seven Metra owned routes. Contracts were set up with the Union Pacific and BNSF railroads to operate four other Metra routes, while Metra owns all rolling stock and is responsible for most stations on those routes, the freight carriers use their own employees and control the right-of-way for those routes. In keeping with Metras purpose to provide an identity for commuter rail in the region
5.
Regional rail
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Regional rail, also known as local trains and stopping trains, are passenger rail services that operate between towns and cities. These trains operate with more stops over shorter distances than inter-city rail, regional rail normally operates with an even service load throughout the day, although slightly increased services may be provided during rush-hour. The service is less oriented around bringing commuters to the urban centers, other regional rail services operate between two large urban areas, but make many intermediate stops. The main difference between regional rail and commuter rail is that the latter is focused on moving people between where they live and where work on a daily basis. Regional rail operates outside major cities, unlike inter-city, it stops at most or all stations. It provides a service between smaller communities along the line, and also connections with long-distance services, regional rail typically operates throughout the day but often at low frequency, whereas commuter rail provides a high-frequency service within a conurbation. Regional rail services are less likely to be profitable than inter-city. This is justified on social or environmental grounds, and because regional rail services often act as feeders for more profitable inter-city lines. Since their invention, the distinction between regional and long-distance rail has also commonly been the use of propulsion, with longer-distance trains tending to be locomotive-hauled. Not using a locomotive also provides greater passenger capacity in the role at peak periods. There are of course trains that are something in between regional and inter-city, like the Oresundtrain with stopping pattern like a train and pass prices attracting work commuters. This list describes the used for regional rail in various countries. Train categories in Europe Passenger rail terminology
6.
Geographic coordinate system
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A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system used in geography that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation, to specify a location on a two-dimensional map requires a map projection. The invention of a coordinate system is generally credited to Eratosthenes of Cyrene. Ptolemy credited him with the adoption of longitude and latitude. Ptolemys 2nd-century Geography used the prime meridian but measured latitude from the equator instead. Mathematical cartography resumed in Europe following Maximus Planudes recovery of Ptolemys text a little before 1300, in 1884, the United States hosted the International Meridian Conference, attended by representatives from twenty-five nations. Twenty-two of them agreed to adopt the longitude of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, the Dominican Republic voted against the motion, while France and Brazil abstained. France adopted Greenwich Mean Time in place of local determinations by the Paris Observatory in 1911, the latitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle between the equatorial plane and the straight line that passes through that point and through the center of the Earth. Lines joining points of the same latitude trace circles on the surface of Earth called parallels, as they are parallel to the equator, the north pole is 90° N, the south pole is 90° S. The 0° parallel of latitude is designated the equator, the plane of all geographic coordinate systems. The equator divides the globe into Northern and Southern Hemispheres, the longitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle east or west of a reference meridian to another meridian that passes through that point. All meridians are halves of great ellipses, which converge at the north and south poles, the prime meridian determines the proper Eastern and Western Hemispheres, although maps often divide these hemispheres further west in order to keep the Old World on a single side. The antipodal meridian of Greenwich is both 180°W and 180°E, the combination of these two components specifies the position of any location on the surface of Earth, without consideration of altitude or depth. The grid formed by lines of latitude and longitude is known as a graticule, the origin/zero point of this system is located in the Gulf of Guinea about 625 km south of Tema, Ghana. To completely specify a location of a feature on, in, or above Earth. Earth is not a sphere, but a shape approximating a biaxial ellipsoid. It is nearly spherical, but has an equatorial bulge making the radius at the equator about 0. 3% larger than the radius measured through the poles, the shorter axis approximately coincides with the axis of rotation
7.
Rock Island District
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The Rock Island District 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 and this refers to the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroads Rocket passenger trains. The November 2015 timetable shows 34 trains out of Chicago each weekday, of which 9 terminate at Blue Island,24 at Joliet, originally the train that terminates at Tinley Park terminated at New Lenox. Weekend express trains run through to Joliet, while local trains make a short run to Blue Island. The track is owned by Metra, bought from the bankrupt Chicago, Rock Island, 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 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. The Rock Island District consists of the former Rock Island main line to Joliet, 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. 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, a new station at 35th Street and Federal Street opened on April,32011 to serve U. S. Cellular Field and the Illinois Institute of Technology and it was named 35th Street/Lou Jones/Bronzeville Station after Lovana Jones who was an Illinois State Representative in the Bronzeville neighborhood. In June 2015, Metra began weekend service on the Rock Island District. The six express trains operate on both Saturday and Sunday run express from 35th Street to Blue Island-Vermont Street before making all stops to Joliet. Local trains run as well, making all stops on the Beverly branch and this cuts about 20 minutes off the trips from Blue Island to downtown. On August 23rd,2015, Metra announced that the express service would become permanent upon completion of the trial period on November 29th,2015. The Rock Island District runs a few empty equipment move trains, inbound deadheads are scheduled between the Joliet, Mokena-Front Street, and Tinley Park stations and run to Blue Island-Vermont Street
8.
Island platform
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An island platform is a station layout arrangement where a single platform is positioned between two tracks within a railway station, tram stop or transitway interchange. Island platforms are popular on twin-track routes due to pragmatic and cost-effective reasons, an alternative arrangement is to position side platforms on either side of the tracks. The historical use of island platforms depends greatly upon the location, the island platform layout is a popular, cost-effective and practical solution in modern railway systems. Island platforms allow facilities such as escalators, elevators, shops, toilets and this is essential for wheelchair accessible stations. An island platform makes it easier for users and the infirm to change services between tracks. Additionally, an island platform layout eliminates the need to construct a crossover or subway between two platforms, however, island platforms may become overcrowded, especially at busy stations, and this can lead to safety issues such as Clapham Common and Angel on the London Underground. However, for the tracks to diverge around the platform, extra width is required along the right-of-way on each approach to the station. Track centers vary for rail systems throughout the world but are normally 3 to 5 meters, if the island platform is 6 meters wide, the tracks have to slew out by the same distance. While this is not a problem on a new line that is being constructed, in addition, a single island platform makes it quite difficult to have through tracks, which are usually between the local tracks. A common configuration in busy locations on high speed lines is a pair of island platforms, high-speed trains can therefore pass straight through the station, while slow trains pass around the platforms. This arrangement also allows the station to serve as a point where trains can be passed by faster trains. The purpose of this design was to reduce unnecessary passenger congestion at a station with a high volume of passengers. Many of the stations on the Great Central Railway were constructed in this form and this was because the line was planned to connect to a Channel Tunnel. Island platforms are a normal sight on Indian railway stations. Almost all railway stations in India consist of island platforms, in Toronto,29 subway stations use island platforms. A slight disadvantage is that crossovers have to be rather long, in southern New Jersey and Philadelphia, PATCO uses island platforms in all of its 13 stations, to facilitate one-person train operation. Most elevated stations in Singapores Mass Rapid Transit system use island platforms, the exception is Dover MRT Station, which uses side platforms as it is built on an existing rail line. The planned Canberra MRT Station will also use side platforms, as it also be built on an existing rail line
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Side platform
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A side platform is a platform positioned to the side of a pair of tracks at a railway station, tram stop, or transitway. Dual side platform stations, one for direction of travel, is the basic station design used for double-track railway lines. Side platforms may result in a wider overall footprint for the station compared with a platform where a single width of platform can be shared by riders using either track. In some stations, the two platforms are connected by a footbridge running above and over the tracks. While a pair of platforms is often provided on a dual-track line. Where the station is close to a crossing the platforms may either be on the same side of the crossing road or alternatively may be staggered in one of two ways. With the near-side platforms configuration, each platform appears before the intersection, in some situations a single side platform can be served by multiple vehicles simultaneously with a scissors crossing provided to allow access mid-way along its length. Normally, the facilities of the station are located on the Up platform with the other platform accessed from a footbridge. However, in cases the stations main buildings are located on whichever side faces the town or village the station serves. Larger stations may have two platforms with several island platforms in between. Some are in a Spanish solution format, with two platforms and an island platform in between, serving two tracks
10.
Dwight station
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Dwight is a historic railroad depot and adjacent 2016 train station in Dwight, Illinois, United States, served by Amtrak, the national passenger railroad system. The historic depot, in use from 1891 until 2016, served Amtrak passenger traffic between Chicago and St. Louis, via the Lincoln Service train, passenger service moved from the former depot south to a new station in October 2016. The foundation is of Joliet stone and the walls above are of Bedford blue stone from Indiana composed almost entirely of fossil shells, in 1999, the village of Dwight offered the use of the depot to the Dwight Historical Society. The society moved its museum into the end of the building. In August 2015, construction began on a new 800-square-foot station building dedicated to Amtrak passengers, the new building was estimated to cost $3.77 million, partially funded by federal money as part of higher speed rail upgrades on the Lincoln Service route. The new high-speed rail station was built at South Columbia Street a block southwest of the historic depot, the new facility shelter and restrooms were scheduled to be open 24-hours per day. The town’s historic station building will open as a museum. The new station opened on October 29,2016
11.
Gateway Transportation Center
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The Gateway Multimodal Transportation Center, also known as Gateway Station, is a rail and bus terminal station in downtown St. Louis, Missouri. Opened in 2008 and operating 24 hours a day, it serves Amtrak trains and Greyhound, missouris largest rail transportation station, it is located one block east of St. Louis Union Station. Gateway Station cost $31.4 million to build, and after more than a year of delays, it fully opened November 19,2008. Gateway Station serves as a hub for, Of the 12 Missouri stations served by Amtrak, St. Louis was the busiest in FY2015. The station is served by Amtraks Missouri River Runner, Lincoln Service, Gateway Station is next to the 1993-built Civic Center station, which serves the Red Line and Blue Line. It takes about 30 minutes to travel to Lambert-St, Louis International Airports Terminal 1 and Terminal 2 via the Metro Red Line. The Transportation Center would also be the hub for the two proposed St. Louis Commuter Rail lines, intercity bus services are provided by Amtrak Thruway Motorcoach, Greyhound Lines, Burlington Trailways and Megabus. Created in 1971, Amtrak operated from St. Louis Union Station until the structure closed in November 1978. Amtrak then moved to a modular structure two blocks east, at 550 S. 16th St, the new station was approved on a site west of Union Station in 1976. Intended for temporary use, this station — soon dubbed Amshack — remained in service for 26 years, even after Union Station reopened. On December 20,2004, Amtrak moved across the street to 551 South 16th Street, the building now houses Amtrak operating and mechanical crews. Amtraks St. Louis station page Status of Amtraks Texas Eagle trains through St. Louis St. Louis, MO Former St. Louis Amtrak Stations
12.
Lincoln Service
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The Lincoln Service is a 284-mile higher-speed rail service operated by Amtrak that runs between Chicago, Illinois and St. Louis, Missouri. The train is a part of the Illinois Service and is funded by the Illinois Department of Transportation. The train uses the tracks as Amtraks Texas Eagle. The Lincoln Service is a re-branding of the former State House route, the train route was originally run by the Alton Railroad, which merged with the Gulf, Mobile and Ohio Railroad in 1947. By the time the GM&O merged with the Illinois Central Railroad in 1972, during fiscal year 2013, the Lincoln Service trains carried nearly 655,465 passengers, an increase of 9. 7% from FY2012. The service had a revenue of $16,382,439. From April 2007 the Ann Rutledge operated only between Kansas City and St. Louis where it connected to the Lincoln Service trains, Amtrak discontinued the name altogether in 2009. In July 2010, the state of Illinois and the Union Pacific Railroad reached an agreement under which track speeds between Dwight and Alton, Illinois were to be raised to as high as 110 miles per hour. This speed will cut the time between Chicago and St. Louis by 90 minutes, bringing the trip to under four hours. The first track upgrade construction was planned to be between Alton and Lincoln, Illinois and was projected to cost $98 million, the construction on this stretch began on 17 September 2010 in Alton and was completed in 2011. Most of the came from $1.1 billion in stimulus money for Illinois high-speed rail from the American Recovery. The remainder of this grant, as well as $400 million in funding from the state of Illinois, was used to complete a rail corridor for the remaining portions of the St. Louis–Chicago track. Senator Dick Durbin suggested the Dwight–Alton upgrades would create some 900 jobs, on 22 March 2011, an announcement was made in Chicago that an additional $685 million would be used to upgrade trackage and grade crossings between Dwight and Lincoln. Construction on the improvement project began on 5 April 2011, the entire section between Alton and Joliet is expected to have 110-mile-per-hour operation by 2017. The slowest portion of the corridor is the segment between Chicago and Joliet, but improving this would require an additional $1.5 billion investment
13.
Summit station (Illinois)
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Summit is an Amtrak and Metra train station in Summit, Illinois, United States. It is served by Amtrak Illinois Lincoln Service, which operates daily, and Metras Heritage Corridor commuter line and it is 11.9 miles away from Union Station, the northern terminus of the line. Summit is also the closest Metra station to Midway Airport, Summit is peculiar for a Metra station in that it is served by more Amtrak trains than by Metra trains. This was also a stop for the Ann Rutledge until April 2007
14.
Chicago Union Station
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Chicago Union Station is a major railroad station that opened in 1925 in Chicago, Illinois, replacing an earlier station built in 1881. It is the only remaining intercity rail terminal in Chicago, as well as being the primary terminal for commuter trains. The station stands on the west side of the Chicago River between West Adams Street and West Jackson Boulevard, just outside the Chicago Loop, including approach and storage tracks, it is about nine and a half city blocks in size. Its facilities are underground, buried beneath streets and skyscrapers. Chicago Union Station is the third-busiest rail terminal in the United States, after Grand Central Terminal and it is Amtraks overall fourth-busiest station. It handles approximately 120,000 passengers on a weekday and is one of Chicago’s most iconic structures, reflecting the city’s strong architectural heritage. In addition to standing out architecturally, Union Station has features that reflect its commitment to sustainability, in 2011, its lighting system was replaced with more energy-efficient light bulbs and motion sensors, reducing the station’s carbon footprint by 4 million tons annually. Chicago Union Station was designated as one of America’s “Great Places” in 2012 by the American Planning Association. The “Great Places” program by APA highlights places streets, neighborhoods, and public spaces around America that exhibit “exemplary character, quality, and planning. ”These places are unique in their cultural and historical significance, sense of community, and vision. Other criteria include “architectural features, accessibility, functionality, and community involvement. ”Chicago Union Station is considered a “Great Public Space” by APA and these spaces are safe and inviting, well-maintained, and attractive, both visually and in functionality. In addition, local culture and history are reflected within the space, Union Station is laid out with a double stub-end configuration, with 10 tracks coming into the station from the north and 14 from the south. Because passenger trains do not pass through Union Station, all passengers traveling through Chicago must change trains to reach their final destination. There are 2 through tracks to allow out-of-service equipment moves between the north and south side, including one with a platform to allow extra long trains to board, between the north and south sides of the station is a passenger concourse. Passengers can walk through the concourse to get from any platform to any other without stairs or elevators, odd-numbered platforms are on the north half of the station, and even-numbered platforms on the south half. The north tracks are used by Amtrak for the Hiawatha Service and the Empire Builder, and by Metra for the Milwaukee District West, Milwaukee District North, the south tracks are used for all of the other Amtrak and Metra services. Two station management structures, one on side of the terminal, monitor train-to-track assignments. The concourse also has a level between platform and street level, containing a food court featuring local vendors as well as national chains. Located west of Canal Street, Union Stations headhouse occupies a city block
15.
San Antonio station (Texas)
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San Antonio is an Amtrak railroad station located on the eastern portion of Downtown San Antonio, in San Antonio, Texas. San Antonio Station serves two Amtrak lines, the Sunset Limited and the Texas Eagle, San Antonio Station provides an Amtrak Thruway Motorcoach route serving Harlingen, Brownsville, and McAllen, Texas. Amtrak previously utilized the historic Southern Pacific Railroad Station, that was known as the Sunset Station. It was designed by SPs architect Daniel J. Patterson in the Spanish Mission Revival style, the train station was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975. Amtrak moved operations in 1998 to a depot that was built adjacent to the older Sunset Station. Under its owner, VIA Metropolitan Transit, the historic Sunset Station underwent an extensive restoration, the station also neighbors the Alamodome. Another Mikado, donated simultaneously to the City of Austin, is operated on excursion trains for live steam enthusiasts by the Austin Steam Train Association
16.
Union Station (Los Angeles)
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Los Angeles Union Station is the main railway station in Los Angeles, California, and the largest railroad passenger terminal in the Western United States. It opened in May 1939 as the Los Angeles Union Passenger Terminal, replacing La Grande Station, approved in a controversial ballot measure in 1926 and built in the 1930s, it served to consolidate rail services from a number of railroads into one terminal station. Conceived on a scale, Union Station became known as the Last of the Great Railway Stations built in the United States. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980, today, the station is a major transportation hub for Southern California, serving almost 110,000 passengers a day. Three of Amtraks long distance trains originate and terminate here, the Coast Starlight to Seattle, the Southwest Chief and Texas Eagle to Chicago, the state-supported Amtrak California Pacific Surfliner regional trains run frequently to San Diego and also to Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo. The station is the hub of the Metrolink commuter trains, and several Metro Rail subway and light rail lines serve it as well, the Patsaouras Transit Plaza, on the east side of the station, serves dozens of bus lines operated by Metro and several other municipal carriers. The election would take on racial connotations and become a defining moment in the development of Los Angeles. The proposed Union Station was located in the heart of what was Los Angeles original Chinatown. ”The Times also attacked the elevateds for blocking out the California sun, two questions were put to vote in 1926. First, the voters approved Union Station instead of elevated railways by 61.3 to 38.7 percent margin. Second, the electorate voted in favor of the Los Angeles Plaza as the site of the new station but by a much smaller 51.1 to 48.9 percent margin. The glamorous new station took over from La Grande Station which had suffered damage in the 1933 Long Beach earthquake and Central Station. Passenger service was provided by the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway, Southern Pacific Railroad, the famed Super Chief luxury train carried Hollywood stars and others to Chicago and thence the East Coast. Union Station saw heavy use during World War II, but later saw declining patronage due to the popularity of air travel. No one was killed or injured, but the engineer lost his job, the station was designated as a Los Angeles Historic–Cultural Monument No.101 on August 2,1972 and placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. The first commuter service to Union Station was the short-lived CalTrain that began operating on October 18,1982 between Los Angeles and Oxnard. The service faced economic and political problems from the start and was suspended in March 1983, the next attempt at commuter rail came in 1990 with the launch of the Amtrak-operated Orange County Commuter. The once-daily round-trip served stations between Los Angeles and San Juan Capistrano, Metrolink commuter rail service began on October 26,1992, with Union Station as the terminus for the San Bernardino Line, the Santa Clarita Line and the Ventura County Line. In January 1993, Metros Red Line subway began service to the station, the Orange County Commuter train was discontinued on March 28,1994 and replaced by Metrolinks Orange County Line
17.
Texas Eagle
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The Texas Eagle is a 1, 306-mile passenger train route operated by Amtrak in the central and western United States. Trains run daily between Chicago, Illinois, and San Antonio, Texas, and continue to Los Angeles, California,2,728 miles total, prior to 1988, the train was known as the Eagle. During fiscal year 2011, the Texas Eagle carried nearly 300,000 passengers, the train had a total revenue of $24,475,309 during FY2011, an increase of 7. 7% from FY2010. Amtraks Texas Eagle is the successor of the Missouri Pacific Railroad and Texas and Pacific Railway train of the same name. The route of Amtraks Texas Eagle is longer, but much of route is historically a part of the original Texas Eagle route. St. Louis to Texarkana and Taylor, Texas, to San Antonio is over former Missouri Pacific Railroad trackage, while the Texarkana to Fort Worth segment traverses the former Texas, the new Eagle dropped the Houston section and cut back from Laredo to San Antonio. The new train carried Superliner equipment, replacing the Amfleet coaches on the Inter-American, in addition, the new train ran on a thrice-weekly schedule with a through car on the Sunset Limited to Los Angeles, although the latter was not announced until the April 1982 timetable. On November 15,1988, Amtrak revived a Houston section and it was the first time passenger traffic had served that route since 1958. Amtrak had intended to operate the Lone Star over this route back in the 1970s, with the change, Amtrak revived the name Texas Eagle for the thrice-weekly Chicago-San Antonio/Houston train, while the off-day Chicago-St. On April 4,2013 Amtrak opened a new station in Hope, Arkansas, arcadia Valley was added on November 17,2016 serving Iron County, Missouri. The move would restore a connection to the Coast Starlight in both directions, and move boarding in Maricopa and Tucson, Arizona, to civilized times and we are putting a stake in the ground, Triweekly needs to disappear, Rosenwald said. Such service would originate from Los Angeles and split at San Antonio, Louis Gateway Multimodal Transportation Center, scheduled for 7,21 pm. After St. Louis, the train skirts the Ozark Mountains, stopping in Poplar Bluff, Missouri, before crossing the state line into Arkansas. In Arkansas, the stops in Walnut Ridge, the state capital of Little Rock, and the stations at Malvern, Arkadelphia, Hope. The northbound Texas Eagle, leaving San Antonio, departs at 7 am, because of this, the Texas Eagle has been detoured over the Union Pacifics Villa Grove and Pana Subdivisions. The normally assigned consist on the Texas Eagle includes,1 P421 dorm-sleeper 1 sleeping car 1 diner 1 sightseer lounge 1 coach-baggage 2 coaches 1 coach added at St. Goen, la Mirada, California, Four Ways West Publications. Route of the Eagles, Missouri Pacific in the Streamlined Era, allies of the Earth, Railroads and the Soul of Preservation. Kirksville, Missouri, Truman State University Press
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Lockport station (Illinois)
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Lockport is a station on Metras Heritage Corridor in Lockport, Illinois. The station is 32.9 miles away from Union Station, in Metras zone-based fare system, Lockport is in zone G. The station is used only during rush hours, Lockport Station was originally built in 1863 by the Chicago and Alton Railroad. The tracks run parallel to the Illinois and Michigan Canal, and shares the right-of-way with Amtraks Lincoln Service and Texas Eagle trains, however, three blocks east of the station is the meeting place of the Blackhawk Chapter of the National Railroad Historical Society at the Gladys Fox Museum. Pace Route 834 – Joliet/Downers Grove, metra – Stations – Lockport station Station from 13th Street from Google Maps Street View
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LaSalle Street Station
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LaSalle Street Station is a commuter rail terminal at 414 South LaSalle Street in downtown Chicago. It was an intercity rail terminal for the New York Central Railroad until 1968, and for the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad until 1978. The present structure became the station on the site when its predecessor was demolished in 1981 and replaced by the new station. The Chicago Board of Trade Building, Willis Tower and Harold Washington Library are close by, the first station on the site opened on May 22,1852 with the completion of the Northern Indiana and Chicago Railroad. On October 1,1852, the Chicago and Rock Island Railroad began using the station, the two railroads later became the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway and Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad. North of a junction at Englewood Station, both companies lines ran parallel to the terminal, in December 1866 a new station opened. The Great Chicago Fire of October 1871 destroyed the station, which was shortly afterwards. The post-fire station was demolished to make way for a new designed by the architectural firm Frost & Granger which opened July 1,1903. This station was a set for Alfred Hitchcocks 1959 North by Northwest, starring Cary Grant and Eva Marie Saint, the LS&MS quickly gained control of the Nickel Plate, and later allowed it into its LaSalle Street Station as a tenant. In July 1916 the LS&MS sold the Nickel Plate to the Van Sweringens, most intercity rail service at La Salle ended on May 1,1971 when Amtrak consolidated long-distance services at Union Station. Rock Island opted out of Amtrak and continued to operate intercity service from LaSalle until 1978, now only commuter trains on Metras Rock Island District serve the station. From 1972–75 the Rock Island operated a restaurant called Track One using two former railroad cars parked on track 1 at the station, the two cars, the dining car Golden Harvest and the club-lounge Pacific Shore, had previously served on the Golden State Limited. Although only Metras Rock Island District trains now use LaSalle, additional service is planned, Metras proposed SouthEast Service would terminate at LaSalle, and Chicagos massive CREATE infrastructure improvement program would allow trains from Metras SouthWest Service to use the terminal. LaSalle still serves trains on Metras Rock Island District. Approximately 17,000 people board Metra trains at LaSalle each day
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Bus
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A bus is a road vehicle designed to carry many passengers. Buses can have a capacity as high as 300 passengers, many types of buses, such as city transit buses and inter-city coaches, charge a fare. Other types, such as elementary or secondary school buses or shuttle buses within a post-secondary education campus do not charge a fare, in many jurisdictions, bus drivers require a special licence above and beyond a regular drivers licence. Horse-drawn buses were used from the 1820s, followed by steam buses in the 1830s, the first internal combustion engine buses, or motor buses, were used in 1895. Recently, interest has been growing in hybrid electric buses, fuel cell buses, as of the 2010s, bus manufacturing is increasingly globalised, with the same designs appearing around the world. Bus is a form of the Latin word omnibus. The first horse-drawn omnibus service was started by a businessman named Stanislas Baudry in the French city of Nantes in 1823, Nantes citizens soon gave the nickname omnibus to the vehicle. The omnibus in Nantes was a success and Baudry moved to Paris, a similar service was introduced in London in 1829. The first mechanically propelled omnibus appeared on the streets of London on 22 April 1833, in parallel to the development of the bus was the invention of the electric trolleybus, typically fed through trolley poles by overhead wires. The Siemens brothers, William in England and Ernst Werner in Germany, sir William first proposed the idea in an article to the Journal of the Society of Arts in 1881 as an. arrangement by which an ordinary omnibus. The first such vehicle, the Electromote, was made by his brother Dr. Ernst Werner von Siemens and presented to the public in 1882 in Halensee, Germany. Although this experimental vehicle fulfilled all the criteria of a typical trolleybus. Max Schiemann opened a trolleybus in 1901 near Dresden, in Germany. Although this system operated only until 1904, Schiemann had developed what is now the standard trolleybus current collection system, in the early days, a few other methods of current collection were used. Leeds and Bradford became the first cities to put trolleybuses into service in Great Britain on 20 June 1911, in Siegerland, Germany, two passenger bus lines ran briefly, but unprofitably, in 1895 using a six-passenger motor carriage developed from the 1893 Benz Viktoria. Another commercial bus line using the same model Benz omnibuses ran for a time in 1898 in the rural area around Llandudno. Daimler also produced one of the earliest motor-bus models in 1898, the vehicle had a maximum speed of 18 kph and accommodated up to 20 passengers, in an enclosed area below and on an open-air platform above. With the success and popularity of bus, Daimler expanded production, selling more buses to companies in London and, in 1899, to Stockholm
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Joliet, Illinois
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Joliet is a city in Kendall and Will counties in the U. S. state of Illinois,40 miles southwest of Chicago. It is the county seat of Will County, at the 2010 census, the city was the fourth largest in Illinois, with a population of 147,433. A special census done in 2016 puts Joliets population at 149,395 making it the 3rd largest city in Illinois, in 1833, following the Black Hawk War, Charles Reed built a cabin along the west side of the Des Plaines River. Across the river in 1834, James B, campbell, treasurer of the canal commissioners, laid out the village of Juliet, a name local settlers had been using before his arrival. Maps from Jolliets exploration of the area, placed a large hill or mound on what is now the southwest corner of the city and that hill was named Mound Jolliet. The spot was mined by early settlers and is now a depression, just before the economic depression of 1837, Juliet incorporated as a village, but to cut tax expenses, Juliet residents soon petitioned the state to rescind that incorporation. In 1845, local residents changed the name from Juliet to Joliet. Joliet was reincorporated as a city in 1852, cornelius Cohenhoven Van Horne was active in getting the city its first charter, and because of this he was elected Joliets first Mayor. When the city built a new bridge it was named The Van Horne Bridge. Joliet is located at 41°31′14″N 88°09′02″W, according to the 2010 census, Joliet has a total area of 62.768 square miles, of which 62.11 square miles is land and 0.658 square miles is water. It has a sprawling, irregular shape that extends into nine different townships and they are, Joliet, Plainfield, Troy, New Lenox, Jackson, Channahon, and Lockport in Will County, and Na-Au-Say and Seward in Kendall County. Joliet is a Des Plaines River town, with the located in the river valley. This is especially evident on Interstate 80 if one is coming from the east or the west where it has been flat for many miles and this offers a great view looking north to see downtown Joliet. For most of its existence Joliet geographically has had its west side and east side, referring to areas to the west or the east of the Des Plaines River, which runs through the city. Both sides were roughly proportionate throughout most of its history until the 2nd half of the 20th century when westward expansion began, many businesses moved from the downtown area to the expanding areas west of the river. Many stores relocated to the west side in new strip malls and shopping centers with more parking and this began the decline of the downtown shopping district which is still felt today. Today Joliet has a west side and a far west side and this has given rise to a newly referenced Central Joliet portion of the city which essentially is all land west of the Des Plaines River and east of Interstate 55. This new reference may soon change the current meaning of west side to west of Interstate 55, while the heart and history of Joliet is centered around the Des Plaines River Joliet actually expands across both the Des Plaines River and the DuPage River
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The Herald-News
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The Herald-News is a daily newspaper headquartered in Joliet, Illinois, United States. It serves the Joliet, Will County and Grundy County area, the paper was founded in 1904 as Joliet Herald. In 1913 its founder, Ira Clifton Copley, purchased the Joliet News a paper which was founded in 1877, in 1915 the two papers were merged producing the Herald-News. In 2000, Copley Press sold the publication to Hollinger International, in 2013, Sun-Times sold the Herald News to Shaw Media, parent company of the Northwest Herald. The Herald-News is printed early at one of its parent-companys facilities in Chicago, driven to Northwest Indiana and distributed based on delivery region
