Chicago Aims for 15-Minute O’Hare-to-Downtown Express on Private Rails

A privately funded project called the O’Hare Flyer would run a battery-electric express train on freight rails, linking O’Hare Airport to Downtown Chicago in about 15 minutes with service every 15 minutes. The train would use tracks owned by CSX, Canadian National and Union Pacific, with a Downtown and Terminal 2 station and luggage racks, and would require roughly $2.25 billion in funding and city approval. A Letter of Intent with CSX has been reached, and officials say a launch is hoped within five years, subject to labor agreements and other approvals; ticket pricing has not yet been set.