Chicago: Passenger rail hub

摘要

Chicago's pre-eminent position in North American freight railroading is a given, but Chicagoland's longstanding role in passenger rail operations gets less attention from the rail industry and the media, and sometimes even Chicago residents themselves take their rail assets for granted. They shouldn't. Chicago Transit Authority, a municipal corporation launched in 1947, is second in size only to the New York MTA within the U.S. Companion Metropolitan Rail, far better known nationwide as Metra, includes Chicago's six surrounding Illinois counties (including Cook County, which including Chicago accounts for more than 40% of Illinois' population), and extends as far north as Kenosha, Wis.