Chicago Tribune reports that the governor envisions the proposed rail line, which at this point is strictly conceptual, as offering a more extensive reach than the O'Hare branch of the CTA Blue Line, which runs between the Loop and the airport, and Mayor Richard Daley's plan for premium "Airport Express" service between the uncompleted Block 37 "super station" downtown and O'Hare.

Quinn sees an opportunity to build a synergistic connection between O'Hare International and state efforts to draw customers to the 110 mph passenger rail corridors it is constructing, beginning with the 284-mile route between Chicago and St. Louis.

"Advancing this connection would also establish O'Hare as a central — and connected — component of the nine-state, 110-mph Midwest Regional Rail System," the governor wrote in a letter to Boardman this month.

According to Chicago Tribune, the governor asked Boardman to complete the study this summer. The initial questions he wants answered include how quickly service could be introduced, where Amtrak would accommodate the airport trains at Union Station, where the O'Hare station might be located on airport property and "how we would make rail-air ticketing and baggage connections seamless for passengers."

Amtrak officials are enthusiastic about exploring the proposal, said Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari.

"We know that on several of our routes, downstate people hop off the train at Joliet or Naperville to take taxicabs to O'Hare or Midway Airport," Magliari said.

Amtrak provides more than 150,000 rides each year on its Hiawatha service from Chicago Union Station to General Mitchell International Airport in Milwaukee. Amtrak also shares a station in St. Louis with light-rail trains serving Lambert-St. Louis International Airport.

Source: Chicago Tribune

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