Trains

The 1909 Plan contains a substantial amount of information regarding the reorganization of Chicago's freight and passenger railways.

 

The Plan acknowledges that Chicago already had plenty of railroad at the time of its publication to adequately serve the people for years to come. In the early 1900's each railroad company controlled certain tracks and the property around them, and therefore in order for another company to get to the same location, they would need to build another track on different property. In 1909, Chicago had twenty-two rail lines all entering the center city from different directions. Burnham, Bennett, and experts they consulted agreed that the number of railroads did not need to increase, but they did need to be used more efficiently. First, in order to improve the efficiency of freight delivery tracks should a be shared and a central clearing house should be constructed in order to better organize trains among these shared tracks. The Plan does not go into the detail and even states that it is not going to mandate that the businesses choose this option, but it does plead a case for how shared use of tracks and a relocation of freight storage away from center city would improve profits for all companies involved, since they would be able to more efficiently serve a greater portion of the surrounding area. 

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The second challenge the Plan takes on is the improvement of passenger train lines in the center city. Here the plan calls for the systematic relocation of some lines and the addition of several stations, most importantly a new string of stations where one older station (Union Station) already sat, two blocks west of the Chicago River, near the proposed Civic Center. The Plan proposes two possible solutions, one that matches the current raised platform system or one that takes the trains underground. 

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In 1911 a new station was constructed on the site that the Plan had proposed. It was named Chicago and North Western Terminal. Today it is named Ogilvie Station. In 1913 work began to replace Union Station with a new building designed by Daniel Burnham. Today these stations serve as the main terminals for passenger trains in and out of the city.