Northeastern Illinois is the hub of the nation's freight network. Railroads are part of our communities, with services for freight and passengers crossing the region. This page provides information about the rail system in our communities.

Grade crossing prioritization. The CMAP region has nearly 3,200 places where railroads cross highways. About half of these are "separated," with the railroad over or under the roadway. But more than 1,600 highway-rail crossings are "at grade," or level. At many of the at-grade crossings, there are often slow-moving or even stopped trains that cause travel issues for motorists, bicyclists, and pedestrians. However, there are insufficient funds to address all the at-grade crossings in the region.

CMAP collaborated with regional partners to identify 47 priority grade crossings. The prioritization was based on vehicle delay, crash risk, truck volumes, and bus routes impacted by the crossing. Local input, e.g., the impact of blocked crossings on pedestrian safety, also informed the list. Since the priority list was developed, studies have been initiated for several at-grade crossings. An update to the priority list is planned for the near future, using updated estimates of grade crossing delay as well as, potentially, a new Federal Railroad Administration model for highway-rail grade-crossing safety.  

At-grade railroad crossing delays for motorists, pedestrians, and bicyclists are significant. CMAP has collected field data over the past several years to improve our estimates of the delays. On average, a freight train will close a crossing for 6 minutes, 41 seconds. Passenger trains will close a crossing for 2 minutes, 11 seconds, on average. With these durations and estimates of vehicle traffic and train traffic, CMAP can estimate motorist delay (because we don't have good estimates of bicyclists and pedestrians at grade crossings, we cannot estimate delay for these travelers).   

CMAP estimates that, in 2018, motorists were delayed 44,300 hours each weekday at highway-rail grade crossings. This estimate is substantially higher than previous estimates because of our better understanding of how long gates are down, analyzing traffic on an hourly basis, and accounting for the impact of queuing on how long it takes to clear a crossing.  About half of the delay occurs at the top 100 most-affected crossings. The top dozen at-grade crossings with the greatest delay are:

CMAP has prepared a full listing of at-grade railroad crossings ranked by estimated 2018 motorist delay.  

Illinois Commerce Commission. The Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) is the official resource for railroad safety questions and complaints in Illinois. The ICC administers a number of important programs and is responsible for rail safety in Illinois. 

Operation Lifesaver. ICC hosts the state's Operation Lifesaver program. There are over 150 trained Operation Lifesaver presenters in Illinois who make about 4,000 presentations to over 300,000 people each year. The ICC can arrange Operation Lifesaver presentations anywhere in the state at any time. Interested parties may also contact the statewide coordinator directly (contact information is on the Operation Lifesaver page).

Grade crossing maintenance. Railroads are responsible for maintaining the warning devices and crossing surfaces at the crossing. Local highway authorities are responsible for maintaining advance warning signs that are not on the railroad right-of-way. Excessively rough crossings may be reported to the ICC, who will investigate and contact the railroad if repairs should be made. Complaints and inquiries of any nature concerning railroad safety may be submitted online using the ICC's crossing complaint wizard.

Malfunctioning warning devices. The railroad that owns the tracks over the crossing is responsible for maintaining the warning devices. There is a toll-free phone number posted on the warning device or on the signal cabinet near the device to use when the device is not working. The posted information should also include a DOT identification number (a crossing ID in the form of six numbers followed by a letter, like "999999A"). The public should call the posted telephone number and identify the crossing by the DOT identification number to the person answering the phone (who will normally be a part of the railroad's police service or communications office). Call this railroad emergency number before dialing 911 for emergencies — the railroad can stop trains, but local police and fire dispatchers can't.

Pedestrian crossing safety at or near passenger stations. The Federal Railroad Administration has developed guidance regarding pedestrian crossing safety near passenger rail stations. The document explains a number of strategies that are effective in reducing pedestrian fatalities at such sites. Railroads, transit agencies, the ICC, and local communities can use the guidance to develop projects to improve station safety.

Railroad fencing. Railroads are required to maintain existing fences, but are not required to install fences, except in a few cases in farm areas. Inter-track fences near Metra stations to prevent trespassing are highly recommended but not required, and are left up to each railroad to install and maintain. Fences along the way can be installed through a cooperative effort of the railroad and city involved. Railroads may be reluctant to install fences because they require quite a bit of maintenance and can be easily cut, etc. Some communities, such as Villa Park, have successfully worked with railroads to install fencing. Villa Park is an example of how a railroad and community worked together to address a serious trespassing issue.

Hazardous materials. The ICC has staff of inspectors who inspect hazardous material shipments in Illinois. Complaints and inquiries of any nature concerning railroad safety may be submitted online. The ICC has prepared reports on accidents and incidents involving hazardous materials on railroads in Illinois since 1998.  

On November 2, 1994, Congress passed the Swift Rail Development Act, Public Law 103–440 (‘‘Act'') which added section 20153 to title 49 of the United States Code (‘‘title 49''). Subsections (I) and (j) were added on October 9, 1996, when section 20153 was amended by Public Law 104–264. The Act requires the use of locomotive horns at public highway-rail grade crossings, but gives the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) the authority to make reasonable exceptions. (Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 159 / Thursday, August 17, 2006 / Rules and Regulations) The FRA is responsible for determining whether a railroad at-grade crossing can safely be excluded from the sounding of horns. For more information, please visit the FRA website.

The State of Illinois enacted a law prohibiting trains from blocking crossings for longer than 10 minutes, but that rule was determined to be void. The State can not generally pass laws that interfere with interstate commerce or with the FRA.

There is no enforcement mechanism for railroad crossing blockages, but the FRA is crowd-sourcing data regarding the problem. There are separate reporting options for police and the public. In 2020 and 2021, the first full two years of the reporting program, nearly 4,500 reports were made in Illinois alone. While automated data collection would be preferred to address this problem, CMAP encourages participation in this FRA crowd-sourced data collection for blocked crossings.

The Metra rail system includes 239 community rail stations. As a rule, these stations are maintained by the municipality hosting the station. If you have questions or complaints about station conditions, you should contact your city or village public works department.

Selected Illinois-programmed funds 

• Section 130. Improvements to crossings on state routes are IDOT's jurisdiction. IDOT uses Federal Section 130 money to fund a limited number of improvements each year. Illinois currently receives about $7 million to $8 million annually in Section 130 funds. Municipal and county engineers, among others, are notified biennially of funding availability via circular letters. The most recent application form is here.
• Grade Crossing Protection Fund. Crossings on roads and streets under jurisdiction of local agencies can be improved using the Grade Crossing Protection Fund (GCPF), which the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) administers. The GCPF receives $39 million a year and can typically upgrade many crossings and assist in the funding of new and rebuilt grade separations. These funds are not used to create quiet zones. Information about this program and links to recent approved 5-year programs can be found on the ICC Crossing Safety Improvement Program site. A resource guide is available.  Application forms for at-grade improvements, grade separations, and pedestrian grade separations are on the main ICC rail safety page.  
• Competitive Freight Program. A few grade-separation projects have been funded by the Illinois Competitive Freight Program. A call for projects is expected in late 2022. See the Competitive Freight Program web page for more information.

Selected CMAP-programmed funds

• Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program. Several grade-separation projects that can be expected to cost-effectively reduce congestion and improve air quality have been funded using CMAQ funds, though this program is very competitive. A call for projects is expected in early 2023. See the CMAP Transportation Call for Projects page. This call for projects can also be used for Transportation Alternatives funds, which can be used for bicycle and pedestrian grade separations.
• Surface Transportation Shared Fund. Regionally important grade-separation projects have been funded by the Shared Fund. This program is very competitive. A call for projects is expected in early 2023. See the CMAP Transportation Call for Projects page. 

Selected federal discretionary funds

These funds are programmed by the U.S. Department of Transportation.

• Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements. Railroad crossing improvements and separations are eligible for this program, which also funds other passenger and freight rail projects. A funding opportunity is currently open; submittals are due December 1. For more information, see the CRISI web page.  
• Railroad Crossing Elimination Program. Projects that eliminate at-grade crossings, including separations, are eligible for this program. An application period concluded in October, 2022. Additional application periods are expected annually.  For more information, see the Railroad Crossing Elimination Program web page.