Rock Island District

Rock Island District

Company type	Commuter rail service
Industry	Transportation
Founded	1870
Headquarters	Chicago, Illinois , United States
Area served	Chicago metropolitan area
Owner	Metra
Parent	Metra

The Rock Island District (abbreviated as RID or RI) is a Metra commuter rail service extending southwest from Chicago, Illinois to Joliet. Although Metra does not assign colors to its routes, the Rock Island District schedule features the designation "Rocket Red," a tribute to the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad's iconic Rocket trains.

The line's Beverly Branch—also referred to as the Suburban Branch or Suburban Line—branches off westward from the main route near 89th Street, providing stops in neighborhoods such as Washington Heights, Beverly, Morgan Park, and Blue Island. It then reconnects with the primary line at the Blue Island–Vermont Street station.

History

Constructed in 1870 as a steam dummy railway, the Suburban Line diverged from the main track just north of 99th Street. It ran west along 99th before curving southward at an S-shaped bend located just below 99th. The intersection with the Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railway along 99th was historically called Dummy Crossing. During the early 1890s, this line was extended northward to 89th Street in conjunction with the growth of the Chicago Terminal Transfer Railroad, leading to the removal of the segment along 99th.

Ownership of the tracks belongs to Metra, which acquired them for $35 million in December 1982 following the bankruptcy of the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad. The Regional Transportation Authority had initially entered into a funding agreement with Rock Island in 1976 to support service. After Rock Island ceased operations in 1980, the Chicago and North Western Railway took over running the Rock Island District. However, by spring 1981, C&NW withdrew, and operational control passed to the Northeast Illinois Regional Commuter Railroad Corporation (Metra). Freight traffic is managed by CSX and Iowa Interstate Railroad under trackage rights agreements. Moreover, local freight operations are handled by Chicago Rail Link, which connects with both Iowa Interstate and Indiana Harbor Belt Railroads throughout the district.

On April 3, 2011, a new station commenced service at 35th Street and Federal Street to better serve U.S. Cellular Field and the Illinois Institute of Technology. Named 35th Street/'Lou' Jones/Bronzeville Station in honor of Illinois State Representative Lovana Jones, this addition improved transit access for the Bronzeville community.

The Englewood Flyover project replaced a diamond crossing with Norfolk Southern’s Chicago Line by constructing an overpass, thereby eliminating previous delays for trains on the Rock Island route. This $142 million initiative was part of the Chicago Region Environmental and Transportation Efficiency Program (CREATE) and reached completion in October 2014.

Metra has indicated plans for potential electrification and modernization of this line contingent upon available funding. In October 2023, Metra placed an order for sixteen lightweight Stadler FLIRT Akku electric multiple unit trainsets. These are anticipated to operate primarily on the Beverly Branch to enhance service frequency and speed.

In 2022, a CREATE proposal suggested rerouting Amtrak’s Lincoln Service and Texas Eagle trains between Joliet and Chicago Union Station via the Rock Island District. This alternative route aims to minimize delays and enable faster travel by circumventing diamond crossings and congested freight corridors present on current alignments.

Service

As of September 7, 2021, the Rock Island District is served by 80 trains on weekdays, evenly split with 40 inbound and 40 outbound trips. This schedule includes 21 roundtrips running to and from , three roundtrips to and from , and 16 roundtrips to and from . Between and Blue Island, trains that terminate at Blue Island along with four evening through-trains traveling to and from Joliet utilize the suburban branch line; all other trains remain on the mainline track.

On Saturdays, Metra schedules a total of 33 trains—16 inbound and 17 outbound. Among these, there are 10 roundtrips to Joliet, six roundtrips to Blue Island, plus an additional outbound train heading to Joliet. The Blue Island short-turn trains as well as certain Joliet through-trains operate via the suburban branch, while the remainder continue along the mainline.

Sunday service consists of 28 trains, forming 14 roundtrips: eight serving Joliet and six serving Blue Island. Blue Island short-turn trains and two Joliet through-trains run on the suburban branch; the rest stay on the mainline corridor.

Since June 2015, a weekend express service has been in operation with six trains running both Saturday and Sunday. These trains run express from 35th Street directly to Blue Island-Vermont Street using the main line, then proceed as local trains stopping at all stations en route to Joliet. This routing bypasses the suburban branch and reduces travel time by approximately 20 minutes. Local trains continue to cover all stops along the suburban branch. This express service was made permanent in November 2015.

The Rock Island District also conducts several weekday non-revenue equipment moves (deadheads), mainly inbound between Joliet, Mokena-Front Street, Tinley Park, and Blue Island-Vermont Street.

There have been proposals to extend the line beyond Joliet toward LaSalle-Peru in LaSalle County, including potential intermediate stops at Rockdale, Minooka, Morris, Seneca, Marseilles, Ottawa, among others. A feasibility study conducted in 2003 determined that only extending as far as Minooka was viable in the near term; however, no active plans are currently underway.

Under the Rebuild Illinois program, $20 million has been designated for building a new station at , with construction anticipated to commence in 2020.

In early 2021, fares on both the Rock Island District and Metra Electric District lines were reduced by fifty percent as part of a pilot initiative intended to increase ridership.

Ridership

Between 2014 and 2019, annual ridership declined from 8,544,753 to 7,338,133 passengers, representing a decrease of 14.1%. The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic caused ridership to fall sharply to 1,952,547 in 2020 and further declined to 1,669,273 in 2021.

Stations

County	Zone	Location	Station	Connections and notes
Cook	1	Chicago		Template:Rint Chicago "L": Template:Rcb (at Template:Cta), Template:Rcb, Template:Rcb, Template:Rcb, Template:Rcb (at Template:Cta) Template:Rint CTA Bus: 1, 7, 22, 24, 36, 126, 130, 151, 156 Template:Rint City of Valparaiso: ChicaGo Dash
	2			Chicago "L": Template:Rcb (at Template:Cta), Template:Rcb (at Template:Cta) CTA Bus: 24, 31, 35, 39
			Englewood	Closed late 1970s
			Normal Park	Closed
			Hamilton Park	Closed
			Template:Stn	Closed in 1978; planned reopening in 2025
	2			CTA Bus: 8A, 24, 87, N87
			Beverly branch begins
			(rush hours only)	CTA Bus: N9, 95, 112; Pace: 381, 395
				Closed since 1985
			(rush hours only)	CTA Bus: 9, 103, 112
				Closed in 1984
		Blue Island		"Metra" connections available at Blue Island station Pace Bus routes:348, 349, 359, 385
			Beverly branch ends
		Robbins	''	'Pace Bus: route 359'
		'Midlothian	''	'Pace Bus: route 354'
	3	'Oak Forest	''	'Pace Bus routes:354,364,383'
	Tinley Park	''	'Pace Bus route:386'
	4	''
	Mokena	''
Will	''
'New Lenox	''
'Joliet	''	"Metra" and Amtrak connections: Amtrak services include Lincoln Service and Texas Eagle Pace Bus routes:501;504-509;511;832;834

Beverly branch

This branch is entirely situated within Cook County, Illinois.

Zone	Location	Station	Connections and notes
2	Chicago		Template:Rint CTA Bus: 9 Ashland
			Template:Rint CTA Bus: 95 Template:Rint Pace: 381, 395
			Template:Rint CTA Bus: 103
			Template:Rint CTA Bus: 112
	Blue Island		Template:Rint CTA Bus: 119
		Template:BSflag
		Template:BSflag
			Template:Rint Metra: Template:Rcb (at ) Template:Rint Pace: 348, 349, 359, 385