#CRCLPlan

CRCL Plan CrossTowner regional rail network diagram

CRCL Plan system map with projects annotated. Download a version of this map as a PDF at yard-social.com/crcl

CRCL Plan improvements overlaid on the RTA downtown map

Chicago CrossTowner Tunnel Comparison Chart: State Street (Red Line) subway: 10 stations, 4.8 miles, opened 1943 Milwaukee-Dearborn (Blue Line) subway: 9 stations, 4.1 miles, opened 1951 Ohio-Columbus (2034sight) Tunnel: 7 stations, 3.6 miles Clinton-Roosevelt (CRCL) Tunnel: 4 stations, 3.1 miles Milwaukee-Kimball (Blue Line) subway: 2 stations, 1.2 miles, opened 1970

The six-line, 150-station #2034sight CrossTowner regional network for under $12 billion is a downright bargain, but if that's too rich for your blood, the #CRCLPlan version of the plan probably could keep everything in the single-digit billions, even at Los Angeles's current construction costs.

So tunneling costs at $1B/mi for subway, plus $200m/station (which matches the present-day D Line figures):

• #2034sight: $5.0B Ohio-Columbus + $3.0B Clinton = $8.0B
• #CRCLPlan: $3.9B Clinton-Roosevelt + $1.1B RI-CUS Connector = $5.0B

Those are entirely manageable figures to #BuildTheTunnel.

CrossTowner map with projects identified as part of the #2034sight Plan. Download this map as a PDF at yard-social.com/2034sight

CrossTowner map with projects identified as part of the #CRCLPlan. Download this map as a PDF at yard-social.com/CRCL

How would you #BuildTheTunnel? Are you Team #2034sight or Team #CRCLPlan?

www.yard-social.com/crosstowners

CrossTowners CrossTowners, or “regional rail”, are a vision to unlock Chicagoland by using our existing passenger rail infrastructure more efficiently for all-day service.

In our continued efforts to proselytize the good news of regional rail to the masses, we’ve created a new gateway website to CrossTowners as an introduction to #2034sight and the #CRCLPlan. Check it out, spread the word, and let’s #BuildTheTunnel.

CRCL Plan Another Plan For Regional Rail in ChicagolandTiers of ServiceBenefitsA Three-Phase Process to Regional RailWhat’s This Going to Cost?!What’s Next?Maps and ExhibitsSystem MapProject Site…

Finally got around to making a proper home for the #CRCLPlan, perhaps a slightly cheaper way to #BuildTheTunnel. www.yard-social.com/crcl

The original #2034sight CrossTowner regional rail plan

The updated #CRCLPlan iteration of CrossTowner regional rail service, which centralizes services at Chicago Union Station without requiring use of the St. Charles Air Line bridge, but at the expense of serving fewer dense downtown neighborhoods such as River North or Lakeshore East.

A combined #2034sight + #CRCLPlan CrossTowner regional rail concept. This combination focuses primarily on the CRCL Plan for the thru-routes and adds two new shorter service patterns via 2034sight’s Ohio-Columbus Tunnel.

We released the #2034sight vision back in 2023, and the potentially cheaper and easier #CRCLPlan option will be more formally introduced later this year. However, both these visions are forward-compatible with each other, so stay tuned for more details on the updated concept later this spring.

An annotated map of downtown Chicago with the improvements that would be needed to implement the CRCL Plan. The CRCL Plan has four major components: 🚉 Fulton Market Superstation/A-2 Interlocking (Phase I): Same as the original 2034sight Plan, a "superstation" in Fulton Market combined with upgrading the A-2 interlocking will provide new connectivity to Fulton Market and allow for transfers between trains outside of downtown, as well as provide infrastructure for some rerouting of trains (UP-W trains to CUS, MD-N trains to Ogilvie), a prerequisite for higher frequency trains through the junction. 🚆 RI-CUS Connector (Phase II-A): Replacing the need for a more complex St. Charles Air Line (SCAL) connector, the "upper tunnel" would utilize open cuts on both sides of the Chicago River to provide a new, faster connection to Union Station from Metra's Rock Island for Amtrak and Metra trains. With a shorter underground segment under the river, the Union Station Power House can be repurposed for ventilation to allow diesel operations. This connector would be combined with removing CUS Track 21 to create a two-track island platform in the North Concourse for thru-running trains that also connects CUS and Ogilvie for passengers and pedestrians. 🌉 SCAL Ramp (Phase II-B): To reduce conflicts for BNSF trains crossing all the South Concourse tracks to access the thru platform, the existing SCAL Ramp would be repurposed as a flyover to tie into the RI-CUS Connector. 🚇 Clinton-Roosevelt Connector Line (CRCL, Phase III): The final phase would be #BuildTheTunnel, connecting the Metra Electric to the UP-N/UP-NW lines via Roosevelt and Clinton. New stations would provide direct connections to CTA 🔴🟠🟢🔵⚪ (Pink) Line trains and both West Loop Metra stations and facilitate direct routings for electrified train service.

I will say that the infrastructure of the #CRCLPlan would be pretty straightforward and dare I say elegant, even if it would serve fewer new downtown markets and have some more complex engineering near Grant Park and under the river.

Diagram of CrossTowner regional rail service under a consolidated 2034sight Plan and CRCL (Clinton-Roosevelt Connector Line) Plan. Metra Electric lines would operate via the CRCL to the Union Pacific North and Northwest lines, with the BNSF line running thru Chicago Union Station to the North Central Service and the RI line running thru Chicago Union Station to the Union Pacific West line. The Ohio-Columbus Tunnel (#BuildTheTunnel) would be used for high-frequency shuttles between Clybourn (X7) or Western/Hubbard (X8) to McCormick Place to provide connectivity through River North, Streeterville, and Lakeshore East while also providing an alternative routing option for X1, X2, X3, and X4 lines in case of disruptions at Chicago Union Station. Additionally, the X8 line can be further extended to O'Hare Transfer in the future to increase frequencies between downtown and the airport once infrastructure and freight agreements allow.

Spent my day off trying to synthesize #2034sight with the #CRCLPlan and I think I might be onto something here

Doomscrolling palate cleanser: here’s a quick summary of the #CRCLPlan, one more way we can #BuildTheTunnel to unite Chicagoland with a proper regional rail network

A network map showing the 2034sight Plan with the #CRCLPlan highlighted in pink. A more detailed version can be downloaded here: https://yard-social.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/2034sight-20250106-crcl-plan-region-map-1.png

A diagrammatic map of #2034sight CrossTowner regional rail lines that would be created by the #CRCLPlan. As opposed to the original #2034sight Plan, all routes would connect directly into Chicago Union Station.

...and here are the #CRCLPlan network maps.

#BuildTheTunnel

An aerial map of the South Branch of the Chicago River from Van Buren Street to 18th Street. Three new pieces of infrastructure are sketched, creating the #CRCLPlan for Chicagoland regional rail connections: 1️⃣ Upper Chicago River Tunnel: A new connection from the Metra Rock Island to the Union Station South Concourse via the 78. The only actual subterranean parts of the UCRT are shown in red, a 750-foot length from the west bank to just past the Wells-Wentworth connector. Combined with a repurposing of the Union Station Power House (highlighted in pink) as a ventilation system and with 2500-foot open-cut approaches (orange), the UCRT would allow for diesel operations and serve as a connection for Amtrak trains to use the Metra Rock Island to Joliet in addition to CrossTowner regional rail service. 2️⃣ Lower Chicago River Tunnel/Clinton-Roosevelt Connector Line (CRCL): As a #BuildTheTunnel alternative, the CRCL (maroon) would be constructed under Roosevelt (including under the UCRT) and Clinton to connect to the Union Station Great Hall before continuing further north and tying into the Union Pacific North and Northwest lines between Chicago/Halsted and Diversey/Elston. 3️⃣ Lumber Street Flyover: With Amtrak trains using the UCRT instead of the SCAL bridge, the western SCAL approach can be repurposed to build a new flyover for CrossTowners on the BNSF Line to connect to the CUS riverfront thru-platform without interfering with Amtrak yard and other South Concourse operations. Due to the open cut for the UCRT, a "natural" flying junction is created to further reduce conflicts for CrossTowner regional rail service heading in and out of Union Station on the riverfront tracks.

For added context, here's how this concept helps to create the #CRCLPlan which would create a Clinton-Roosevelt Connector Line (CRCL) to link the Metra Electric with the Union Pacific North and Northwest lines. CRCL is a #BuildTheTunnel alternative that concentrates all regional rail service at CUS.

Okay, it’s a (relatively) beautiful Saturday night, and I haven’t done this in a bit, so open thread on #BuildTheTunnel and the #CRCLPlan, fire away, AMA

MetroDreamin' | Star:Line Chicago CRCL Plan Star:Line Chicago CRCL Plan | MetroDreamin' map by StarLineChicago

Anyway, the #CRCLPlan is on Metrodreamin if you're interested in taking a deeper look at the larger plan and the subsequent regional impacts. metrodreamin.com/view/S0llc3F...

Same sketch as previous tweet but with a flying junction at Columbus added to demonstrate forward-compatibility with the initial #BuildTheTunnel plan.

Also worth noting that this curve could still be forward-compatible with the original #BuildTheTunnel plan to run trains north under Columbus. Use case for this would be if #CRCLPlan was constructed first and additional capacity was later needed (e.g., adding HSR to the tunnel to CUS).

A sketch showing a possible curve to connect a tunnel under Roosevelt Road to the Metra Electric line near Soldier Field and 18th Street. The larger red curve would be underground; orange would be open-cut/portal; and green would be at-grade.

Musing on the #CRCLPlan idea again. The Grant Park curve would definitely be an engineering challenge given the One Museum Park skyscraper, but going into Grant Park could be feasible. For context, the red curve here has a radius larger than the South Chicago Branch curve at 71st/Dorchester.

The 2034sight #BuildTheTunnel regional map. As part of this version of the plan, NCS trains (shown as "G" trains under 2034sight wayfinding) would be extended from Union Station to McCormick Place via the St. Charles Air Line, providing direct express connections from McCormick Place to O'Hare Transfer via Chicago Union Station and Grand/Harlem.

The 2034sight #CRCLPlan regional map. The CRCL Plan would construct a new regional rail tunnel under Clinton Street and Roosevelt Road, with local trains every 7.5 minutes between Union Station and McCormick Place.

I'm at Union Station and I'm heading down to Wintrust Arena for the Marquette/DePaul game so it's a great time to talk about why we need #2034sight. #BuildTheTunnel or #CRCLPlan both provide convenient single-seat trips instead of whatever CTA adventures I'm about to subject myself to in this cold.

It’s a good question, #CRCLPlan is something I assembled very recently without much additional detail

Great question. #BuildTheTunnel is a plan that Chicagoland can generally pursue regardless of what happens with Amtrak and Union Station, whereas #CRCLPlan is what we could do if we focused all our efforts on Union Station to create a single, unified hub. Strengths and challenges to both approaches.

#BuildTheTunnel map, available at https://yard-social.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/20241220-split-loop-map.png

#CRCLPlan map, available at https://yard-social.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/2034sight-20250106-crcl-plan-region-map-1.png

Choose your own adventure for the future of Chicagoland regional rail and transit:

1️⃣ #BuildTheTunnel yard-social.com/wp-content/u...
2️⃣ #CRCLPlan yard-social.com/wp-content/u...

A regional transit map of the 2034sight Plan with a new regional rail connection tunnel via Ohio Street and Columbus Drive. Download the full version: https://yard-social.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/20241220-split-loop-map.png

A regional rail map of the 2034sight Plan showing the Clinton-Roosevelt Connector Line (CRCL) variation. Download the full version: https://yard-social.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/2034sight-20250106-crcl-plan-region-map-1.png

Choose your #2034sight adventure:

1️⃣ Ohio-Columbus ( #BuildTheTunnel )
2️⃣ Clinton-Roosevelt ( #CRCLPlan )

The Clinton-Roosevelt Connector Line has only two major components: 🟢 Upper Chicago River Tunnel: a new, short, diagonal tunnel through the 78 and the existing Amtrak yards to connect the Metra Rock Island to the Union Station South Approach. The inclines can both be open-cut, leaving only a short segment under the river that’s actually a tunnel. Combined with repurposing the old Union Station Power House as a ventilation plant, diesel operations could be feasible in the Upper Tunnel, allowing for Amtrak and X6 CrossTowner trains to use the tunnel in lieu of the St. Charles Air Line. 🟣 Clinton-Roosevelt Tunnel: the core of the project, the namesake tunnel would connect the Metra Electric lines to the Union Pacific North and Northwest Lines. While the curve near the skyscrapers of One Museum Park would be a challenge and likely require a fly-under of the Millennium Station approach tracks, the two-track line would only require four new subway stations (compared to 2034sight’s 10) while maintaining three direct connections to the CTA ‘L’ network. CrossTowner Lines X1, X2, X3, and X4 would use the CRCL, while X5 trains require no new infrastructure. 🟡 Four new stations: (1) Roosevelt/State, with direct connections to the CTA Red, Orange, and Green Lines; (2) Taylor/Clinton; (3) Union Station, spanning from Quincy to Congress to connect the Great Hall to the CTA Blue Line; and (4) Randolph/Clinton, spanning from Lake to Washington to connect Ogilvie Transportation Center to the CTA Green and Pink Lines.

A network map in the style of the original 2034sight Plan. All routes operate through Chicago Union Station, with the following terminal pairings: X1: Highland Park-South Chicago via CRCL X2: Palatine-South Chicago via CRCL X3: Des Plaines-Harvey via CRCL (extended to/from Arlington Park for events) X4: Winnetka-Blue Island via CRCL X5: Downers Grove-O’Hare Transfer via CUS X6: Elmhurst-Blue Island via CUS 👍 Pros relative to 2034sight: • Cheaper • Maintains all outlying CrossTowner service • All routes now serve Union Station • Does not require any lift bridges • X5 (BNSF-NCS) CrossTowner can begin with no new infrastructure • Forward-compatible with Ohio-Columbus Tunnel 👎 Cons: • No River North/Lakeshore East service • Double the frequency of CrossTowners thru the congested CUS trainshed • Single network point of failure at CUS • No South Side direct connection to O’Hare and subsequent equity concerns • No potential for express McCormick Place-O’Hare service • “U”-shaped X5 line results in lower efficiency for network-wide crosstown service • Potential engineering and operational constraints with two ~90° turns

This is the first draft of the Clinton-Roosevelt Connector Line: welcome to the #CRCLPlan. Details in alt text.

Get ready #CRCLPlan