SouthEast Service

Proposed commuter rail line in Chicago, United States

SouthEast Service

Overview
Status| Proposed
Locale| Chicago and southern suburbs
Termini|

* LaSalle Street Station
* Balmoral Park

Stations| 13
Service
Type| Commuter Rail
System| Metra
Technical
Line length| 33 mi (53 km)
Track gauge| 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)

Route map

Legend

|  |  |

Blue | to O'Hare

to Forest Park

|  |

| LaSalle
|  |

0 mi

| LaSalle Street Station
|  |

Red to Howard

|  |

|  |

| IC West to Randolph Street

Amtrak to Carbondale & New Orleans

|  |

|  |

| IC West to Addison

Amtrak to Union Station

|  |

| Green to Harlem/​Lake

Orange to the Loop

|  |

Orange to Midway

|  |

|  |

I-55

|  |

| 3.2 mi

5.1 km

35th Street
|  |

|  |

| Chicago "L"

Stock Yards branch

|  |

|  |

47th Street yard and shops

|  |

Green to Cottage Grove

|  |

Green to Ashland/​63rd

|  |

| Amtrak

| to Michigan, Miami,

New York, and Boston

|  |

| 6.7 mi

10.8 km

Englewood
|  |

Red to 95th/​Dan Ryan│ I-90 / I-94

|  |

| 7.2 mi

11.6 km

Normal Park
|  |

| 7.8 mi

12.6 km

Hamilton Park
|  |

|  |

to Manhattan (planned)

|  |

Cardinal to Chicago Union Station

|  |

| 8.6 mi

13.8 km

Auburn Park (under construction)

|  |

| 9.8 mi

15.8 km

Gresham
|  |

|  |
|  |

|  |

| Beverly Branch

to Blue Island–Vermont Street

|  |

|  |
|  |

|  |

| Main Line

to Joliet

|  |

|  |
|  |

|  |
|  |

|  |

Chicago Rail Link

|  |

Red to Howard (planned)

|  |

|  |

I-57

|  |

|  |
|  |

|  |
|  |

| 13 mi

21 km

115th Street │

Michigan

|  |

|  |  to Millennium Station
|  |

Amtrak to Chicago Union Station

|  |

|  |

| to University Park

or Blue Island

|  |

Red to 130th (planned)

|  |

Amtrak | to Carbondale

or New Orleans

|  |

|  |

Calumet River

|  |

|  |

CSX Transportation

|  |

|  |

Indiana Harbor Belt

|  |

|  |
|  |

| 16 mi

26 km

Dolton
|  |

| 19 mi

31 km

South Holland
|  |

|  |

Little Calumet River

|  |

|  |
|  |

|  |

CSX Transportation

|  |

Amtrak Cardinal to New York

|  |

|  |

I-80 / I-294

|  |

| 21 mi

34 km

Thornton
|  |

| 23 mi

37 km

Glenwood
|  |

| 26 mi

42 km

Chicago Heights
|  |

|  |

EJ&E Railway

|  |

| 27 mi

43 km

South Chicago Heights
|  |

| 28 mi

45 km

Steger
|  |

| 30 mi

48 km

Crete
|  |

| 33 mi

53 km

Balmoral Park
|  |

|  |

Union Pacific Railroad

|  |  |  |  |  |

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The SouthEast Service is a proposed commuter rail line to be operated by Metra, the commuter railroad service for the Chicago metropolitan area. The route of the proposed line would use tracks owned by CSX Transportation and the Union Pacific Railroad.[1]

## Past commuter service

[edit]

Formerly, the Chicago and Western Indiana Railroad and the Chicago and Eastern Illinois Railroad operated commuter service on this line out of Dearborn Station to Dolton and Momence, respectively. The Chicago and Eastern Illinois commuter line to Momence ended in 1935, while the Chicago and Western Indiana service to Dolton was discontinued in 1964.

## Proposal

[edit]

The building of a line from Chicago to the south suburbs ending at Balmoral Park has been discussed as early as 1986.[2] In 2003, Metra officials proposed the SouthEast Service at the insistence of Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr. that the south suburbs be included as part of Metra's larger request for federal dollars after they were largely excluded from the proposed STAR Line.[3][4] Its northern terminus would be LaSalle Street Station in downtown Chicago.[1] The line would then traverse Chicago's southern neighborhoods and its southern and far southern suburbs to Balmoral Park south of Crete, Illinois. Its average daily ridership was projected to be 9000.[1] A fleet of Diesel Multiple Units (DMUs) has been proposed for this service.[1]

In 2005, the SouthEast Service received initial funding authorization.[5] In 2010, Al Riley became the chief sponsor of House Bill 1644 which created the Southeast Commuter Rail Transit District as a municipal corporation under Illinois state law. The district created has the right of eminent domain to acquire private property which is necessary for the purposes of the district and the power to contract for public mass transportation with Metra. The district includes Crete, Steger, South Chicago Heights, Chicago Heights, Glenwood, Thornton, South Holland, Dolton, Calumet City, Lansing, and Lynwood. The bill was signed into law by Governor Pat Quinn on March 8, 2011.[6]

According to the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning's ONTO 2050 regionally significant projects benefit report published in October 2018, the SouthEast Service is undergoing alternatives analysis and the identification of a Locally Preferred Alternative is in process.[7] In 2019, the SouthEast Service was included in a Cost Benefit Analysis by Metra as a Tier 2 project.[8] As of 2022, the project is on hold as more studies were needed to determine the cost of running the line.[9]

The Center for Neighborhood Technology, an advocate for the new line, estimates that the SouthEast Service would more than double the number of average jobs accessible by transit in sixty minutes for the south suburbs on the line.[10] In a 2016 letter to the editor, Martin J. Oberman, while the Chairman of Metra, supported the SouthEast Service.[11]

### Proposed stations

[edit]

From north to south:[1][3]

* LaSalle Street Station
* 35th Street
* Gresham
* 115th Street
* Dolton
* South Holland. In 2012 South Holland spent $1.3 million to purchase land at 236 East 161st Place for the station.[12]
* Thornton
* Glenwood. According to the 2010 Village of Glenwood Station Area Plan, potential station locations in Glenwood include a station located mid‐way between Main and Center Streets along Young Street.[13]
* Chicago Heights. As of 2012, Chicago Heights has been assembling land for the creation of a station near its downtown.[14]
* South Chicago Heights. According to their 2008 Comprehensive Plan, the station would be located near the intersection of Sauk Trail and Jackson Avenue.[15]
* Steger
* Crete
* Balmoral Park

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c d e "Metra New Starts site on proposed SouthEast Service". Archived from the original on February 26, 2015.
2. ^ Tejeda, Gregory (March 29, 2014). "Proponents of southeast Metra line say project still on track". Times of Northwest Indiana. Retrieved January 14, 2020.
3. ^ a b Morales, Carlos (February 15, 2003). "Metra adds south line to plans; Agency buckles after criticism". Chicago Tribune.
4. ^ Hilkevitch, Jon (June 6, 2003). "RTA backs Metra link to O'Hare, suburbs; Agency gears up to vie for funding". Chicago Tribune.
5. ^ Singer, Sam; Hilkevitch, Jon (July 30, 2005). "City, regional wish lists OKd in U.S. transit bill". Chicago Tribune.
6. ^ Riley, Al (March 8, 2011). "House Bill 1644: Local Government Tech". Springfield, Illinois: Illinois General Assembly. Retrieved January 14, 2020.
7. ^ Staff (October 1, 2018). "Project Descriptions". ON TO 2050 Regionally Significant Projects Benefit Report. Chicago: Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning. p. 68. Retrieved January 14, 2020.
8. ^ AECOM Staff (January 16, 2019). "Systemwide Cost Benefit Analysis of Major Capital Improvements" (PDF). Metra. Retrieved January 20, 2020.
9. ^ Kukulka, Alexandra (23 September 2022). "Metra pauses plan for SouthEast line through south suburbs". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 21 October 2023.
10. ^ "Transit Future: Rx for a Prosperous Region" (PDF). Transit Future. Center for Neighborhood Technology. April 15, 2015. p. 3. Retrieved January 13, 2020.
11. ^ Oberman, Martin J. (July 29, 2016). "Voice of the People: Transit Deserts". Letter to Chicago Tribune. Retrieved January 13, 2020.
12. ^ Pratt, Gregory (September 20, 2015). "$1.3M spent on land for hoped-for Metra stop". Daily Southtown.
13. ^ Gormely-Barnes, Diane; Smith, Jonathan; Suprock, Julia; Supencheck, Lora; Kretchmer, Valerie; Dolin, Marissa (July 20, 2010). "Village of Glenwood Station Area Plan" (PDF). Regional Transportation Authority. Retrieved January 20, 2020.
14. ^ Paicely, Christopher (August 12, 2012). "What Metra's SouthEast Service Means for the Heights: Minutes With the Mayor". Patch. Retrieved January 25, 2020.
15. ^ Houseal Lavegine (April 15, 2008). "Village of South Chicago Heights Comprehensive Plan". Retrieved January 25, 2020.

* v
* t
* e

Metra

Lines|

| Current|

* BNSF
* Heritage Corridor
* Metra Electric
* Milwaukee District North
* Milwaukee District West
* North Central Service
* Rock Island
* SouthWest Service
* Union Pacific North
* Union Pacific Northwest
* Union Pacific West

|

Proposed|

* Rockford Intercity Passenger Rail
* Suburban Transit Access Route
* SouthEast Service

Stations and terminals|

* Chicago Union Station
* LaSalle Street Station
* Millennium Station
* Ogilvie Transportation Center

Rolling stock|

* EMD F40C
* EMD F40PH
* EMD F59PH
* MPI MP36PH-3S
* Gallery Car
* Highliner
* Car 553

Incidents|

* 1972 Chicago train crash (Illinois Central Gulf Railroad)
* 1995 Fox River Grove train crash
* 2005 Elmwood Park train crash

See also|

* Regional Transportation Authority
* South Shore Line
* Calumet
* Illinois Central West Line
* Chicago Region Environmental and Transportation Efficiency Program

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