Chicago Union Station Company
| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Railroad transportation |
| Predecessor | Union Station Company (pre-1913) |
| Founded | 1913-07-03 |
| Defunct | 2017-05 |
| Fate | Merged into Amtrak |
| Headquarters | Chicago , United States |
Area served | Chicago metropolitan area, Midwest United States |
| Owner | Amtrak (from 1984) |
The Chicago Union Station Company functioned as a fully owned subsidiary of Amtrak, holding ownership of Chicago's Union Station—the largest intercity terminal in the Midwest—and the associated approach rail lines. Originally, ownership was divided equally among four railroads: the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne and Chicago Railway and Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad (both subsidiaries of the Pennsylvania Railroad), the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad (also known as the Burlington Route), and the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad (commonly called the Milwaukee Road). In 1984, Amtrak acquired full ownership of the company. The entity was ultimately merged into Amtrak in 2017.
History
Established on July 3, 1913, and formally organized by November 19 of the same year, the Union Station Company took over from the previous union station located on the identical site. It was renamed Chicago Union Station Company on May 7, 1915. The new station officially opened on May 16, 1925, while construction of viaducts for intersecting streets continued until 1927.
The company's rail lines connected to the south at Roosevelt Road with the PFW&C line and extended north near Kinzie Street where shared PCC&StL and CM&StP tracks diverged at Western Avenue. The CB&Q tracks branched westward after passing beneath the St. Charles Air Line Railroad at Roosevelt Road. The Chicago and Alton Railroad linked up at Alton Junction and commenced operations at Union Station in September 1915.
Following April 1927, passenger services operated by Pennsylvania Railroad were rerouted to travel south via PFW&C tracks, utilizing the South Chicago and Southern Railroad to access PCC&StL routes.
Development over the depressed approach tracks included construction of buildings through leased air rights.
In October 1971, a new connection at Englewood Union Station enabled Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad trains to reach Union Station using PFW&C trackage instead of LaSalle Street Station; despite this, Rock Island maintained passenger operations through LaSalle Street.
The CM&StP was renamed Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad in 1928; its approach tracks are currently owned by Metra. The CB&Q merged into Burlington Northern Railroad in 1970 and today forms part of BNSF Railway. Ownership of PFW&C trackage transferred from Conrail to Norfolk Southern in 1999.
Amtrak purchased shares previously held by BN and Milwaukee Road in 1984 after acquiring Penn Central’s interests earlier. Additionally, Amtrak owns former PFW&C trackage extending from Roosevelt Road southward to Alton Junction, including the 14th Street Maintenance Facility.
In May 2017, the Chicago Union Station Company was officially dissolved, with all assets absorbed directly under Amtrak’s control.