Metra officials say what should've been a simple signal fix caused a 42-minute delay during rush hour on Monday. more ›

From the "Our Litigious Society" Desk: An appellate court ruled that a woman could sue the estate of a man who was killed by a train three years ago after she sustained injuries when a part of his body struck her. more ›

Amtrak confirmed one person was injured in the California Zephyr derailment in southwestern Nebraska. more ›

If America is rethinking movie ticket pricing, sigh, why stop there? Over at Urbanophile, they are thinking about Amtrak. And specifically, the Hiawatha Line, which runs from Union Station to Milwaukee (and soon all the way to Madison —hey, go see some wolves!) for a very reasonable $22. The route is by far the most popular Amtrak service out of Chicago with a record 783,060 trips taken last year. Given the ongoing highway construction season on I-94, that number may continue to increase this year. We have taken the Hiawatha many times and never had a quibble with the price, but Urban Milwaukee writer Jeramey Jannene thinks that a more interesting (and complicated) model might push ridership to ever-more dazzling heights (off-hours discounts seem pretty natural and the Megabus model is interesting). more ›

House Republicans are targeting $6.8 billion in transportation spending cuts across the country. Among the programs facing a removal in funding is $133 million allocated to build a bridge at 63rd and State which would allow Metra trains to pass over the Norfolk Southern tracks that also serve Amtrak lines. Dubbed the "Englewood Flyover," the project, when completed, would reduce a bottleneck affecting 80 Metra Rock Island Line trains and 60 Amtrak and freight trains a day. more ›

Gov. Quinn has asked Amtrak CEO Joseph Boardman to conduct a study looking into the feasibility of one day connecting Amtrak Service from Union Station to O'Hare as a nonstop commuter rail as an alternative to Mayor Daley's much-criticized plan for high speed rail from the unfinished Block 37 station to the airport. Quinn sees an opportunity to connect O'Hare with proposed high-speed rail lines between St. Louis and Chicago. the goal of the study is to measure the costs of doing so and figure out the logistics. more ›

Amtrak announced Monday that it's making a $40 million bet with taxpayer money that American's declining love affair with the airline industry will continue to falter, so they're undertaking a two-year project to give their Midwest hub, Union Station, a major upgrade. more ›

In honor of National Train Day on Saturday, we have decided to momentarily set aside any frustrations we may have with Chicago-area trains and remember why the rails are such an enduring and ideal form of transportation. Vice President Joe Biden loves trains - why shouldn't we? more ›

Union Station's massive Great Hall, which is popular for movie sets (but not with waiting passengers), may soon receive an overhaul. Amtrak has asked seven architecture and real estate firms to come up with ways to make the hall and its surrounding vacant office and retail space more vibrant and more transportation-oriented. How does Chicago's Union Station look in comparison to other heavily-trafficked and iconic train stations around the U.S.? See photos above for a look. more ›

The CTA trains are another story, but if you use Metra and Amtrack trains to get around Chicagoland area, your ride may soon get a little faster. more ›

• CPS officials are boasting about higher test scores, but are they misleading?
• Police caught a man accused of a rape in Logan Square.
• An Amtrak train bound for Chicago crashed into a sedan today, killing all five people in the car.

Amtrak in Illinois is receiving a good bundle of stimulus cash: $80 million, actually. U.S. Senator Dick Durbin made the announcement yesterday, saying the money was part of the state of Illinois' $1.3 billion stimulus package. The cash will be used for station upgrades, handicap accessibility, and increased security. $90 million will be distributed across the country - including Illinois - to refurbish train cars as well. [NBC 5] more ›

Last October, we took a look at the possibility of Chicago becoming the center of a nine-state high-speed Amtrak network. With the passage of President Obama's stimulus package, though, this could be much closer to reality. Among the bill's provisions is $8 billion for high-speed transit lines, now seemingly up for grabs. It hasn't yet been decided how much money will be spent and where, but there's already controversy over which proposed line will get the money and even over one of the lines itself, one GOP'ers have taken to calling "The Sin Express," which would connect San Diego to Anaheim and then Las Vegas. more ›

After yesterday's derailment that snarled train traffic at Union Station, Amtrak is dealing with another derailment, this time further down state. The train, Lincoln train No. 302 traveling from St. Louis to Chicago, was involved in an accident with a vehicle. The accident damaged the train and derailed it, but no injuries were reported onboard. Other trains on the route have been canceled and passengers will instead be transported by bus. more ›

Just in time for rush hour! An Amtrak train has derailed at Union Station, blocking three Metra routes: the BNSF to Aurora, the Heritage Corridor to Joliet, and the Southwest train to Manhattan. Damn, the BNSF is having a tough day. The blockage is bad enough it could force a closure of Union Station. Metra spokeswoman Judy Pardonnet said: "At this point in time we are waiting to hear from Amtrak the extent of the derailment, how long it will be for them to move that train and restore the switches. Right now nothing is coming in, nothing is going out and we are waiting to see how Amtrak proceeds with their investigation of thi. Right now nothing is going in. Nothing is going out." more ›

Got your Inaugural Road Trip plans finalized yet? While some of us are preparing to pile into the ol' Honda, hauling ass down to DC, and crashing on a park bench somewhere, a much more old-world trek in the lap of luxury could be yours for the low, low price of $2,599 per person. American Rail Excursions, based in Sauk Village, will be hitching their vintage railcars to an outbound Amtrak train and hauling you to our nation's capital with breakfast, dinner and drinks included, as well as private double-occupancy bedrooms, private bathrooms, and lodging for the full span of the six-day trip. It sounds like a good deal if you don't mind sleeping in the equivalent of bunkbeds, sitting on a railroad siding in DC's Union Station. more ›

Another fantastic skyline shot from rjseg1