Illinois Railroad Association

GOOD NEWS: Today, AAR President and CEO Ian Jefferies joined Senator Dick Durbin, Governor JB Pritzker, other officials and CREATE Program Chicago partners to celebrate $290 million in new funding for CREATE’s 75th St. Corridor Improvement Project on Chicago’s South Side, an extremely busy hub with approx. 120 trains passing through each day. This funding will support the next key phase of the project -- a significant step in eliminating the largest rail chokepoint in the area and paving the way for regional economic growth for decades to come.    Learn more about the 75th St. CIP project and CREATE at https://lnkd.in/gNw8uSyq 

A tremendous event celebrating the significant investment into CREATE Program Chicago, the ongoing program to develop a more efficient rail system in the nation's largest and most important rail hub. With this $290 million announcement, leveraged with state funding from Rebuild Illinois as well as support from our railroads, the largest project to date under CREATE will be accelerated. The members of #ILRail are proud to partner with all involved as we continue to ensure Illinois remains the freight rail hub of our continent!

Congratulations Omer Osman on your outstanding career as a public servant and your tireless efforts to enhance the infrastructure of our state. You have been a true friend to our industry and we appreciate all you have done to solidify Illinois as the freight railroad hub of our continent. Best of luck!

Congratulations to our 2023 Railroader of the Year Sen. Elgie Sims Jr. on ascending to 2025 National Chair for The Council of State Governments. We were honored to be at the CSG National Conference last week to support Sen. Sims and we look forward to helping host officials from the US and Canada next year in Chicago at CSG National!

Happy St. Louis Incorporation Day! OTD in 1822, St. Louis was incorporated as a city an the rest is history! Today, the greater St. Louis region is home to the third-largest railroad hub in the United States, with much of that activity on the Illinois side of the river. And while it no longer serves freight rail, Illinois and Missouri are connected at St. Louis via the historic Eads Bridge, the oldest bridge across the Mississippi River still standing. Today's freight rail enters and leaves Illinois via the Merchants Bridge and the MacArthur Bridge. Learn more about what's available in this vital railroad hub ⬇️

CREATE Program Chicago is not only vital to our state, but our entire continent! Learn more 👇

Happy Illinois Statehood Day! What would become the Land of Lincoln joined our Union OTD in 1818, becoming the 21st state. And railroads weren't far behind! #StateSovereigntyNationalUnion #21stState

Every day, our trains move the goods our nation depends on. What moves us is the dedication, resilience and focus our railroaders put in to make it all happen. This Thanksgiving, and year-round, we remain grateful for the hard work and commitment of our #ONECSX team for keeping America’s freight moving safely and efficiently. Happy #Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving from Union Pacific! Did you know that most of the items that make up your Thanksgiving dinner, at some point, traveled by train? Our railroaders helped transport: 🦃 More than 19 million average-sized frozen turkeys and other poultry. 🌽 Nearly 21 million tons of corn, which is enough corn to cover 16,200 football fields with a one-foot layer of corn. 🥔 Potatoes for 57 million pans of mashed potatoes, or 1.1 billion servings of French fries. 🥕 Enough canned vegetables to fill over 150 million standard 1-pound cans, which would stock the shelves of more than 3,000 supermarkets. Every day, we're thankful for our employees, customers and the communities we serve across our 23-state network. #UnionPacific #ShipByRail

Happy Thanksgiving and please stay safe if you are traveling on this great American holiday! 🦃🚂🇺🇸