SouthEast Service

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 (1892-1931) 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/49th Street shops & yard Green to Ashland/​63rd Green to Cottage Grove Amtrak to Michigan, Miami, New York, and Boston 6.7 mi 10.8 km Englewood Union Station 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 This diagram: view talk edit

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

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

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

From north to south: ^{[1] [3]}

• LaSalle Street Station
• 35th Street
• Gresham
• 115th Street, which would be a transfer station for the Michigan station on the CTA Red Line extention.
• 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

1. "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. 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.