The River Forest Record

O’Hare Flyer — last updated

Nobody sells you quiet.

It isn’t in the listing. It isn’t on the appraisal. You don’t know you bought it until somebody takes it.

A hundred years ago they laid track behind these houses. Slow freight, a few cars a week. Then less. Then nothing. And in the space where the noise used to be, a village grew in. Garages at the bottom of the embankment. Gardens. A kid on a bike who knows exactly how long he has to cross.

They will tell you it is already a railroad. They are right. That is the whole trick of it. They are not taking anything, they will say. They are improving it.

Here is what improvement looks like. Eight blocks of wall, two storeys up, ten feet from a back door. A train every fifteen minutes, from four in the morning until ten at night, at eighty miles an hour — so that a man with a suitcase saves ten minutes getting to a plane he could already reach on two trains this city has run for forty years.

They are not asking to build a railroad. There is already a railroad. They are asking for the quiet.

Nobody is going to pay you for that. So the only thing left is to make them answer for it — in writing, on the record, with their name on it.

What follows is not an argument. It is what they have said in public, what they have refused to produce, and what the law actually requires. If you own property on this corridor, read what to expect before anyone comes to your door, and the glossary of the words they will use on you.

fencing + sound insulation height not stated residence garage 15 ft stated by developer total height: ? setback to nearest structure: not published SECTION — as described in public statements
The developer has said the track would be raised 15 feet and enclosed with sound insulation, and that the section would be fenced.02 06 The finished height of the completed structure — track, fencing and sound wall together — has not been stated publicly, and no alignment drawing has been released. This section is drawn from the company’s own published description; the dashed portion is what remains unspecified.

The record

Left: what the developers have said, as published, with the source. Right: what is documented, and what remains unverified.

Most of the tracks from Forest Park through River Forest and beyond are elevated. They only go to ground at Iowa Street, and that section is functionally two blocks — the track would be taken off ground level and put fifteen feet in the air with sound insulation around it, and it would not interfere in any way with ingress and egress into the neighborhood.

Dave Lundy, co-founder and CEO, O’Hare Flyer LLC — as reported 02 03 04

Accurate as to scope — and that is the problem

Read in full, the two-block figure describes the currently at-grade section beginning at Iowa Street, not the total length of affected right-of-way through the village. That distinction matters and should not be misstated by either side.

But the two blocks are not the peripheral part of this alignment. They are the only part that matters for crossings. The rest of the line through the village is already grade separated. By definition, the short at-grade section contains every place where a road and this railroad meet. The section is short precisely because that is where the streets are — and how many crossings sit inside it is a question the federal inventory answers, not the company.17

What remains unanswered is the total: the full length of right-of-way affected, how much existing structure is rebuilt as against left in place, and where new structure begins and ends. The route is reported as running between Forest and Park avenues, over Chicago Avenue, Iowa Street, Augusta Street and Thatcher Avenue, then toward Thatcher Woods.02

No alignment drawing showing the elevation profile or the crossings has been released. The village has requested one.

The right-of-way itself is designed for this kind of speed.

Co-founder Walbrun, as reported 05

Unverified

Maximum speed on any rail line is limited by curve radius and track condition, not by intent. The alignment includes curves on either side of the village, and the line has not carried regular traffic in over a decade.

No curve-by-curve maximum authorized speed has been published. No run-time analysis supporting the fifteen-minute figure has been released.

Once the agreements with the rail partners and the city are done, the company will have one hundred per cent end-to-end control, with no interaction with Amtrak, Metra or freight trains.

Dave Lundy, as reported 01

Conditional

The route requires agreements with three Class I railroads and uses roughly seven miles of CSX, seven and a half miles of Canadian National and two miles of Union Pacific track.01

As publicly reported, one non-binding letter of intent exists. Canadian National and Union Pacific have not signed. The Canadian National segment is the only route from this corridor to the airport.

The project is privately financed at approximately $2.25 billion and is not seeking federal, state or local subsidies, or funding that could otherwise go to the CTA or Metra.

O’Hare Flyer LLC 01 07

Incomplete

The CEO has declined to disclose how much capital has been raised, and has said the project may qualify for some existing federal lending programs.01

Asked on television who the investors are, a co-founder described funds raised from investors as having carried the project to this point.08

No ridership projection, revenue projection or fare has been published.09 The CEO has said only that the fare would be above a CTA fare and below an average rideshare or taxi fare.01

A whisper-quiet, battery-electric train. The rail would be continuously welded, eliminating the clicking heard with Metra and freight trains.

Dave Lundy, as reported 02 03

Partly accurate — incomplete

Continuously welded rail and electric propulsion do reduce certain noise. Neither addresses locomotive horn requirements at any crossing that remains at grade, structure-borne vibration, or the acoustic effect of an elevated structure adjacent to residences.

No noise or vibration study has been published for the River Forest segment.

There are two dozen of these around the world.

Dave Lundy, as reported 06

Open question

Airport express services exist in many cities. The company has not identified a comparable line operating at these speeds and frequencies on a reconstructed century-old embankment through a residential neighborhood.

Everyone who has tried to do this is replicating the Blue Line, or building a tunnel like Musk. None of that works.

Dave Lundy, as reported 10

Context

The company has stated that this alignment, rather than the Kennedy corridor or a tunnel, is central to the project’s feasibility, citing freight land becoming available at a Union Pacific yard on the Near West Side.10

The route through River Forest is therefore not incidental to the proposal.

What the village says it was told

Village Administrator Matt Walsh has said that River Forest officials learned of the proposal only weeks before its public announcement, that they raised concerns with project representatives and requested more information about what the service would mean for the village, and that they did not receive additional details before the announcement.15

The proposed route borders more than 200 homes.15

The company has said it approached the village presidents of River Forest and Forest Park a year before the announcement, and that it is actively looking at whether there is a reason to create a stop in the area.03

Not yet produced

Documents and figures that would normally exist for a project of this scale, requested or expected, and not publicly available as of the date above.

A note on circulating figures. Detailed specifications have been circulating locally — a stated total structure height, sound wall and fence dimensions, trainset counts, battery range, third-rail electrification, and a proposed railroad subsidiary — attributed to a September 2026 company presentation.

None of those figures are published here, because the underlying presentation has not been obtained and verified. If it exists, it is the single most useful document in this matter. Anyone holding a copy is asked to send it to the address below and it will be published in full.

The line as it stands today

Whether this is an existing railroad being improved or a new railroad being built is not a matter of opinion. It is a determination, and it decides whether a federal proceeding exists that River Forest can take part in. The determination rests on what is actually there now.

What is on the record

The developers’ own case for the route is that these freight corridors are becoming largely vacated as the railroads shift operations to other yards.30 The company has also described the Canadian National portion of the route as being expanded with an additional dedicated track.10

River Forest Village Administrator Matt Walsh has said the former freight route has not been used regularly in more than a decade, and that before that trains ran sporadically.15

Adding a track is construction. So is raising a line that runs at grade. Neither is maintenance of an existing railroad.

What has not been established

  • FRA track class of the line todayUnknown
  • Maximum timetable speed on file with the FRAPending — public record
  • Condition of rail, ties and ballastNot surveyed publicly
  • Date of last track inspectionUnknown
  • Condition and capacity of the embankmentUnknown
  • Width of the existing right-of-wayPending — county plat records
  • Whether the bridge over the Metra line is single or double trackPending — observable
  • Whether any portion of this line was formally abandoned, or is merely dormantPending — STB docket history

The last item on that list is the one that matters most, and it is answerable. A line that was formally abandoned and is being restored to service is new construction. A line that is dormant with its right-of-way intact is treated differently. The distinction is recorded in Surface Transportation Board docket history and is a matter of public record.31

If this is construction, Board authorization is required under 49 U.S.C. § 10901 and environmental review follows.25 If it is characterised as an upgrade, the basis for that characterisation should be stated, because a line rebuilt from the subgrade up with new rail, a widened embankment, a replaced bridge and a new elevated structure retains little of the railroad whose name it carries.

The corridor through River Forest

The company has described the section through the village as about two blocks.02 The sequence below is as reported by residents who have walked the line. It is published so that it can be checked against the alignment drawing when one is released, and corrected if wrong.

The route as publicly described

Reporting describes the line entering River Forest on a curve parallel with Van Buren Street between Forest and Park avenues, then continuing north over Chicago Avenue, Iowa Street, Augusta Street and Thatcher Avenue, and on toward O’Hare through Thatcher Woods.02 The company says most of the line through this area is already elevated and drops to ground level at Iowa Street, and that the at-grade portion — which it describes as functionally two blocks — would be raised.03

The corridor as reported by residents who have walked it

This account differs from the published description and is recorded here so the discrepancy is visible and can be resolved against the federal record.

  • Madison Street — River Forest sideGrade separated
  • Washington BoulevardGrade separated
  • South Boulevard and North Boulevard — overpass structure, adjacent to Keystone Park and village facilitiesGrade separated
  • Lake StreetGrade separated
  • Oak AvenueGrade separated
  • Chicago AvenueGrade separated
  • Forest AvenueAt grade
  • Iowa StreetAt grade
  • Augusta StreetAt grade
  • Keystone AvenueAt grade
  • Thatcher AvenueAt grade

Two accounts, one federal record that settles it. The published description lists four crossings and includes Chicago Avenue among them. Residents who have walked the line report Chicago Avenue as an existing bridge, and five crossings at grade: Forest, Iowa, Augusta, Keystone and Thatcher.

This is not a matter of interpretation. Every public crossing in the United States carries a USDOT crossing number and a federal inventory record stating whether it is at grade or grade separated.17 That record is being pulled and will be published here, crossing by crossing. Until then, neither count is asserted as final.

Why the number matters more than it appears to. The company has described the at-grade portion as functionally two blocks and has said it would be raised to eliminate grade crossings.03 04

By definition, that short section contains every grade crossing in the village. The stretch described as small is not the peripheral part of this alignment — it is the only part where roads and rail meet at all, and it is short precisely because that is where the streets are.

Eliminating a crossing requires the structure to remain elevated across it. Where an elevated line returns to ground level, the crossings below that descent are not eliminated. Which crossings remain at grade on the completed alignment has not been stated.

Federal crossing records — to be published here

Each crossing above has a USDOT crossing number and a federal inventory record showing the maximum timetable speed on file, daily train movements, warning devices installed, and reported incident history.17 The maximum timetable speed is set by the operating railroad according to the class of the track.28 These are being pulled and will be published with the crossing number for each.

Why no figures appear here yet. Numbers about this line have circulated locally that are not drawn from any federal record. Nothing will be published on this page that has not been pulled from the inventory and cited to a crossing number.

Parkland on the route

The strongest protective provision in federal transportation law applies to public parks, and this route appears to touch two.

Section 4(f) of the Department of Transportation Act, now codified at 49 U.S.C. § 303, prohibits a federal transportation agency from approving a project that uses publicly owned parkland unless there is no prudent and feasible alternative to doing so, and unless all possible planning to minimise harm has been carried out.32

  • Thatcher Woods — Forest Preserve District of Cook CountyOn the route02
  • Whether the railroad crosses forest preserve land by easement or owns it outrightCounty records
  • Keystone Park — public parkland; proximity to the alignment reported locallyTo confirm
  • Scope of the existing Canadian National easement through forest preserve landUnexamined
  • Whether Section 4(f) is triggered — depends on federal actionOpen

The alternative already exists. Section 4(f) turns on whether a prudent and feasible alternative is available. Metra’s North Central Service has operated to O’Hare Transfer since 1996 on a corridor that does not cross Thatcher Woods.01

Section 4(f) requires a federal action to apply. Whether Surface Transportation Board authorisation for a privately financed line constitutes one is an open question — which is another reason the construction question at § 10901 governs everything else.25

A separate provision, Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act, requires a federal undertaking affecting properties listed on or eligible for the National Register to be reviewed in consultation with the State Historic Preservation Office.33 Whether any part of the affected area of River Forest is a listed or eligible historic district has not been established here and should be confirmed with the Illinois SHPO before it is asserted.

The American precedent

The company has said there are two dozen airport express services around the world.06 There is one comparable American case, and its record is a matter of federal data.

Brightline operates in Florida over the Florida East Coast Railway — a line more than a century old which, in recent decades before Brightline, carried only slower freight trains. A private operator introduced passenger service at speeds up to 79 mph through residential South Florida.34

A joint investigation by the Miami Herald and WLRN, a Pulitzer Prize finalist, found 194 deaths on Brightline tracks between 2017 and 2025 — a rate of 24.55 deaths per million miles travelled, the highest of any major American railroad.35 An earlier Associated Press analysis of federal data found approximately one fatality for every 32,000 miles travelled, roughly four times the rate of the next-highest major railroad.36

Reporting on the pattern records that alongside suicides, many deaths involved motorists, pedestrians and cyclists who misjudged the speed of the trains and proceeded past bells, gates and other warnings.34 People calibrate to the trains they have always seen.

Stated fairly: no Brightline death has been attributed to crew error or equipment failure, and the Federal Railroad Administration has classified nearly all of them as trespassing.34 Brightline is also a far longer railway with many more crossings than a twenty-mile line, and the comparison is one of pattern, not of arithmetic.

The pattern is nonetheless the relevant one: a private operator, an old freight corridor through residential neighbourhoods, a large increase in speed and frequency, and a population accustomed to slow trains.

Emergency response across the corridor

Village hall, the fire department and the police department sit on one side of this line. A substantial part of the village sits on the other. Every emergency response between them crosses this corridor.

Federal preemption limits how a municipality may regulate a railroad. It does not remove a municipality’s responsibility for fire and police response, and the adequacy of emergency access is a traditional exercise of state and local police power rather than land-use regulation.

During construction

Reconstructing an embankment and rebuilding crossings requires street closures. Closing more than one crossing at a time on a corridor that separates emergency services from the population they serve is a response-time question before it is a traffic question. No construction sequencing or street-closure plan has been published.

After construction

At any crossing that remains at grade, warning devices activate ahead of every train. At 144 movements a day between 4 a.m. and 10 p.m., that is a recurring interruption of the routes emergency vehicles use. The company has said the currently at-grade section would be elevated to eliminate grade crossings;04 if any crossing remains at grade, the question stands.

What state law already requires

Under the Illinois Commerce Commission’s crossing rules, where a crossing is closed, an alternate public crossing is not considered adequate unless it is equipped with automatic warning devices conforming to 92 Ill. Adm. Code 1535, or it is grade separated.38 That standard applies to permanent closures and is the benchmark against which any temporary arrangement should be measured.

Questions for the record: what is the construction street-closure sequence, and how many crossings are closed at once? What is the modelled effect on fire and police response times to the far side of the corridor, during construction and after? Which crossings, if any, remain at grade on the completed alignment?

These are answerable with a traffic and response study. None has been produced.

Other authorities with a say

Approvals, agreements and jurisdictions this project appears to require, and the status of each as publicly known.

Questions on the record

Asked in public. Each question is followed by the rule or record that governs the answer, so that an answer can be checked rather than taken on trust. This list is updated as answers are given.

  1. What is the design speed through River Forest, and what is the maximum authorized speed through the curves on either side of the village? Governed by 49 CFR Part 213. Maximum speed is set by track class — Class 4 track permits 80 mph passenger operation, Class 3 permits 60, Class 1 permits 15. Curve speed is separately limited by radius and superelevation under 49 CFR 213.57, independent of track class. A number stated for the whole route does not answer the question for this segment.20
  2. To what FRA track class is the embankment being rebuilt, and does that reconstruction make the crossings on this alignment new crossings? Governed by 92 Ill. Adm. Code 1535. Section 1535.50 applies the establishment and construction requirements of Sections 1535.201–204 to crossings “hereafter to be constructed” — a different and more demanding standard than the maintenance requirements applied to existing crossings. If the line is reconstructed rather than maintained, that distinction is the whole question, and it is decided by the Illinois Commerce Commission with the village as a party. It also places the burden on the proponent: a crossing treated as newly constructed must be shown to meet the construction standard, rather than being presumed adequate because something has always been there.13
  3. Will locomotive horns sound at any crossing in River Forest, and if a quiet zone is required, who pays for it? Governed by 49 CFR Part 222. The horn is required at public grade crossings unless a quiet zone is established, which requires supplementary safety measures and FRA approval. Quiet zones are ordinarily funded locally. “Whisper-quiet” and “battery-electric” describe the train, not the horn.21
  4. Is there a minimum required distance between the track and a residence? There is no federal setback. The Federal Railroad Administration states that it does not prescribe distances or thresholds relating to structures near railroad trackage, and that clearance dimensions are set by each state.39 State clearance rules govern how close a structure may be built to a track, not how close a track may be built to a home. A statement that a project meets all federal requirements is therefore not an assurance on this point — the only setback that will exist here is the one the developer commits to in writing.
  5. Where does the six-mile double-track passing section begin and end, and does any part of it fall within River Forest? No rule governs this — it is a design fact the company has not published. The line is described as single track for most of its length with roughly six miles of double track midway to allow trains to pass.11 River Forest sits near the midpoint of the twenty-mile route.06
  6. Is the existing bridge over the Metra line single-track, and if a second track is required, is that bridge being replaced? Governed by 49 CFR Part 237, which requires railroads to maintain a bridge safety management program with inspection and capacity determinations. A single-track bridge is not widened; it is replaced. Work over an active commuter line additionally requires the agreement of that operator.22
  7. How wide is the existing right-of-way through the village, and can two tracks be accommodated within it without acquiring private property? Answered by the public record, not by the company. Right-of-way width is recorded in the plats held by the Cook County Clerk’s recording division and on file with the village engineer. Two tracks require roughly thirty feet of usable top width; a single-track embankment was typically built for less. The difference between those two numbers is the amount of private property at issue.23
  8. Where is construction equipment staged along a right-of-way with no road access, and will temporary easements be sought from residents? Governed by the Illinois Eminent Domain Act, 735 ILCS 30. Land that cannot be purchased must be condemned, which is a court proceeding with an appraisal and a right to contest both public use and valuation. Federal preemption of local land-use regulation does not convey land or waive that process.24
  9. What is the derailment containment provision where the toe of the embankment meets a residential structure? No federal standard requires containment structures adjacent to residences — and that is itself the answer. Fencing prevents access to the track. It does not address a derailment. Where no regulation compels a provision, the only record of one is what the developer commits to in writing.
  10. What is the effect on fire and police response times to the far side of the corridor, during construction and after? Relevant standard: 92 Ill. Adm. Code Part 1536 provides that where a crossing is closed, an alternate public crossing is not adequate unless it has automatic warning devices conforming to Part 1535 or is grade separated.38 Emergency access is a traditional exercise of police power, not land-use regulation.
  11. Have you filed, or do you intend to file, for construction authority with the Surface Transportation Board? If this is characterised as an upgrade rather than construction, on what basis? Governed by 49 U.S.C. § 10901, which requires Board authorization to construct a new rail line and triggers environmental review. The distinction between rebuilding an existing line and constructing a new one determines whether a federal proceeding exists at all — and whether River Forest can participate in one.25
  12. Are you a rail carrier subject to the jurisdiction of the Surface Transportation Board? Governed by 49 U.S.C. § 10501(b), which gives the Board exclusive jurisdiction over rail transportation and preempts state and local regulation of it. The answer cannot be both ways: preemption from local regulation and freedom from federal jurisdiction are not available at the same time.26
  13. Has any elected or appointed official of River Forest been asked to sign a non-disclosure agreement in connection with this project, and has any signed one? Relevant law: the Illinois Open Meetings Act, 5 ILCS 120, and the Illinois Freedom of Information Act, 5 ILCS 140. A private agreement does not remove a public body’s obligations under either. This question is asked of River Forest officials and is answerable yes or no.27

This is not legal advice. The citations above identify the rules that govern each question so that answers can be checked against them. Residents and the village should retain counsel experienced in rail regulatory practice before acting on any of it.

What a project like this needs from residents

Federal preemption limits how a village may regulate a railroad. It does not convey land, and it does not remove anyone’s rights as a property owner. These are the physical and legal steps any reconstruction of this kind requires, set out so that nobody learns them for the first time at their own front door.

Construction has to reach the right-of-way somehow

Residents report that along the embankment through the village there is no road access to the track. [To be confirmed against the right-of-way plat.] Material, spoil and equipment must either move on the railroad itself by work train, which is slower and costlier than truck access, or come across adjacent private property. Widening an embankment, installing retaining structures, rebuilding drainage and replacing a bridge are not tasks that can all be performed from on top of a single track.

No construction staging plan for this segment has been published. Until one is, the question of whose property is needed, and for how long, is unanswered.

If private property is needed, it is bought or condemned

Land that cannot be purchased by agreement must be taken through the courts under the Illinois Eminent Domain Act.24 That is a proceeding with an appraisal, a right to contest the valuation, and a right to contest whether the taking is for a public use. It is slow, it is parcel by parcel, and preemption of local zoning does not shorten it.

Temporary construction easements — permission to use part of a property for the duration of the work — are acquired the same way.

Under Illinois law, property may be taken or damaged

Article I, Section 15 of the Illinois Constitution provides that private property shall not be taken or damaged for public use without just compensation.29 The words “or damaged” do not appear in the corresponding federal provision. A structure built at a property line can affect a property without any part of it being taken.

How acquisition normally proceeds

Property for projects of this kind is ordinarily acquired one owner at a time, by direct approach, before any public process concludes. That is routine practice and not in itself improper. It does mean that an owner approached alone is negotiating without knowing what a neighbour has been offered, what the project actually needs, or whether the need is real.

If someone comes to your door about this property, the useful step is not to refuse and not to sign. It is to find out what is being asked for, what it is worth, and what your neighbours are being told.

Owners along a corridor who share counsel and an independent appraisal are in a materially different position from owners negotiating separately. Nothing about that is obstruction; it is the ordinary way a landowner establishes what an easement is worth.

Nothing on this page is legal advice. Before signing any easement, option, access agreement or non-disclosure agreement concerning this project, speak to a lawyer who represents you.

What this page is not

This is not a claim that a train to O’Hare is a bad idea. The CTA Blue Line has provided service to the airport since 1984, and Metra’s North Central Service has operated the O’Hare Transfer station since 1996.01 Neither runs through a residential village in River Forest.

Freight has run through this village for a century, and Metra runs through it now. Nobody here is asking a railroad to disappear.16

It is also fair to record that the proposal has credible supporters. A transportation researcher at DePaul University has described it as grounded in reality, using off-the-shelf technology.12 The technology was never the question. The route is.

The position is narrow. A private company has advertised a set of figures and has not produced the engineering, financial or operating documents behind any of them. Until it does, those figures are assertions.

Every correction to this page is welcome and will be published. If a document listed above is released, the entry will be updated with a link to it.

What to expect

These are recognised patterns in large privately financed infrastructure projects. Some have already occurred in this corridor and are sourced below. Others are listed because residents who recognise a move when it happens are in a far better position than residents who see it for the first time at their own door. None of this is improper in itself. All of it is effective, and it works best on people who are not expecting it.

1. The station offer

A village that is unanimously opposed becomes divided the moment some of its residents are offered a benefit. A stop is the most effective instrument available for that, because it is genuinely valuable to households away from the tracks and worthless to the households under them.

In Forest Park, the mayor has publicly advocated for a stop and emailed residents his personal support, while two commissioners said they learned of the project the way every other resident did.14

What to do: decide the village position on a station before one is offered, not after.

2. Non-disclosure agreements with public officials

An NDA signed by an official converts a public question into a private one and removes that official from the opposition without any public disagreement occurring.

Forest Park’s mayor has confirmed that the project owners asked him to sign a non-disclosure agreement and that he signed their document.14

What to do: ask River Forest officials, publicly and on the record, whether any have been approached or have signed. A private agreement does not displace a public body’s obligations under the Open Meetings Act or FOIA.27

3. Individual property offers, before any public process concludes

Land is acquired one owner at a time, by direct approach, usually well before a village or an agency has finished considering anything. An owner approached alone does not know what the project actually needs, what a neighbour was offered, or whether the need is real. Sixty separate owners are sixty separate transactions; sixty owners with shared counsel and an independent appraisal are one negotiation.

What to do: do not sign an easement, option, access agreement or NDA without a lawyer who represents you. Find out what your neighbours have been told.

4. Describing only the new-build portion

A project’s footprint can be described accurately and still leave the wrong impression, if the figure given counts only the segments where new structure is added and treating existing infrastructure as somebody else’s concern — even where that infrastructure will be entirely rebuilt.

What to do: ask for the total length of affected right-of-way through the village, not the length of new structure.

5. “It is an existing rail line”

This framing does a great deal of work. It makes reconstruction sound like maintenance, it makes a dormant corridor sound active, and it suggests residents are objecting to something they already live with.

What to do: establish on the record what the line is today — its filed speed, its train count, whether it was abandoned or dormant — before accepting any characterisation of what it will become.

6. Announcement first, engineering later

A project announced before its drawings exist generates opposition that peaks against a press release rather than against a plan. By the time documents appear, the news cycle has moved on and the objections on the record are the vague ones.

What to do: put specific, answerable questions in writing and publish both the questions and the silence. That is what the questions section of this page is for.

7. Inevitability

A project with no financing, no signed railroad agreements and no permits can still be discussed publicly as though it is going to happen. Treating it as settled discourages the scrutiny that would settle it.

What to do: ask for the signed agreement with Canadian National. Until that exists, there is no route to the airport.

8. Costs that arrive later, and locally

Quiet zones, crossing improvements, utility relocation and street reconstruction are frequently funded by the municipality rather than the operator, and that allocation is often settled after approval rather than before.

What to do: get every cost allocation in writing before, not after.

9. Third-party validators

Favourable commentary from trade press, academics and business organisations is normal and often sincere. It is also cultivated. A supportive expert opinion about technology is not an assessment of a specific alignment through a specific village.

What to do: read what the supporter actually evaluated. Usually it is feasibility, not routing.

10. Waiting

Organised opposition is expensive to sustain and cheap to outlast. A pause in public activity is not always a retreat.

What to do: keep the record current whether or not anything is happening. A page that is visibly updated is the cheapest form of persistence there is.

Nothing above alleges wrongdoing by anyone. Items 1 and 2 describe events that have been publicly reported and are sourced. The remainder are common practices in infrastructure development, described so that they are recognisable.

If any item here is inaccurate, or if the company wishes to state that it will not do one of these things, that statement will be published on this page in full.

Glossary

The vocabulary this project will be discussed in. Most of these terms are doing persuasive work while sounding purely technical. For each: what it means, how it is likely to be used, and what answers it.

Preemption — ICCTA, 49 U.S.C. § 10501(b)
Federal law gives the Surface Transportation Board exclusive jurisdiction over rail transportation, displacing state and local regulation of it.
How it will be usedThe village has no say; zoning does not apply; objecting is futile.
What answers itPreemption applies to regulation. It does not convey land, does not waive condemnation, does not remove state authority over grade crossings, does not displace emergency-access responsibility, and does not exempt anyone from the federal agency doing the preempting. Claiming preemption also concedes STB jurisdiction.26
“Existing rail line”
A line already in the right-of-way, as distinct from new construction.
How it will be usedTo make a total rebuild sound like maintenance, and to suggest residents are objecting to something they already live with.
What answers itThe filed record of what the line is today: track class, maximum timetable speed on file, daily movements, and whether it was formally abandoned or merely dormant.17 31
Upgrade vs. construction
The difference between improving a railroad and building one.
How it will be used“Upgrade” avoids a federal proceeding. It is the single most consequential word in this project.
What answers it49 U.S.C. § 10901 requires Board authorization to construct a new line, and authorization triggers environmental review and intervention rights. New elevated structure and an added track are construction on their face.25
Rail carrier
An entity providing rail transportation subject to STB jurisdiction.
How it will be usedAsserted when preemption is useful; left vague otherwise.
What answers itMake the position stated on the record. Preemption from local regulation and freedom from federal jurisdiction are not available at the same time.26
“Eliminating grade crossings”
Removing at-grade road-rail intersections by raising or lowering the track.
How it will be usedAs a safety benefit, which it genuinely is — where it happens.
What answers itAsk across what length. A line that comes off an elevated structure and returns to ground level does not eliminate the crossings below the ramp. Eliminating them requires continuous elevation, which is more construction, not less.
Track class — 49 CFR Part 213
The federal classification that sets maximum operating speed. Class 4 permits 80 mph passenger; Class 1 permits 15.
How it will be usedRarely mentioned, because it is the number that reveals the scale of reconstruction.
What answers itAsk the target class. Eighty miles per hour requires Class 4, which a dormant line does not meet. Curves are separately limited by radius and superelevation under 213.57 regardless of class.20
Maximum timetable speed
The highest speed any train may travel through a crossing, recorded at Part II, Box 3 of the federal crossing inventory form and set by the railroad according to track class.
How it will be usedNot at all, if the current figure is low.
What answers itIt is public. Pull it by USDOT crossing number and cite it.28
Quiet zone — 49 CFR Part 222
A stretch of crossings where the locomotive horn is not routinely sounded, permitted only with supplementary safety measures and FRA approval.
How it will be usedOffered as reassurance, without saying who pays or whether one has been applied for.
What answers itQuiet zones are ordinarily funded locally. Get the commitment and the cost allocation in writing.21
“Whisper-quiet” / continuously welded rail
Electric propulsion and jointless rail, both of which do reduce certain noise.
How it will be usedTo answer a noise objection without addressing horns, vibration, or an elevated structure at a property line.
What answers itAsk for the noise and vibration study, and ask whether horns sound at any remaining grade crossing.
Setback
A required minimum distance between the track and a building.
How it will be used“The project meets all federal requirements.”
What answers itThere is no federal setback. FRA states it does not prescribe distances relating to structures near trackage.39 Meeting a standard that does not exist is not an assurance. The only setback will be the one committed to in writing.
Right-of-way
The strip of land the railroad owns or holds an interest in, including the airspace above it.
How it will be used“We are staying within our right-of-way,” without stating its width.
What answers itThe recorded plat. Width is a public record, and it is the only thing limiting how large the structure can be.23
Letter of intent
A non-binding statement that parties intend to negotiate.
How it will be usedReported as though it were an agreement.
What answers itAsk for the executed trackage agreement, and ask whether it permits passenger service and reconstruction, not merely occupancy.
Trackage rights
Permission from an owning railroad for another operator to run over its line.
How it will be usedDescribed as a formality once terms are agreed.
What answers itCanadian National has not signed. Without the CN segment there is no route from this corridor to the airport.
Temporary construction easement
Permission to use part of a private property for the duration of construction.
How it will be usedPresented door to door as a routine formality with a cheque attached.
What answers itIt is a property interest with a value. Do not sign without your own lawyer and an independent appraisal, and find out what neighbours are being offered.
Eminent domain / condemnation — 735 ILCS 30
Compulsory acquisition of property through the courts, with compensation.
How it will be usedAs the reason refusing is pointless.
What answers itIt is a proceeding, not a transfer. There is a right to contest public use and valuation, parcel by parcel, and it is slow.24
“Taken or damaged” — Illinois Constitution, Art. I, § 15
Illinois requires compensation where property is damaged for public use, not only where it is taken.
How it will be usedIt will not be mentioned.
What answers itNothing — it is simply available. The words “or damaged” do not appear in the federal provision.29
Section 4(f) — 49 U.S.C. § 303
A federal transportation action may not use public parkland unless there is no prudent and feasible alternative and harm has been minimised.
How it will be usedIt will not be raised unless someone raises it.
What answers itTwo public parks are on this route. A prudent and feasible alternative already carries passengers to O’Hare.32
Party status / intervention
Formal standing to participate in an agency proceeding, file evidence and receive filings.
How it will be usedNot mentioned; the hope is that objections stay in village meetings.
What answers itSeek it at the Illinois Commerce Commission on every crossing proceeding, and at the STB if a construction application is filed.19
Abandonment vs. dormancy
A line formally abandoned through the STB has left the national rail network. A dormant line has not.
How it will be usedThe distinction will be blurred into “the tracks are already there.”
What answers itSTB docket history, which is public. It is a binary answer and it is perhaps the most valuable hour of research available.31
Non-disclosure agreement
A contract restricting what a party may say about a discussion.
How it will be usedPresented to officials as standard commercial practice. One has already been signed in Forest Park.14
What answers itA private agreement does not displace a public body’s obligations under the Open Meetings Act or FOIA.27 Ask publicly who has been approached.

Sources

Every statement attributed to the developers on this page comes from one of the published reports below. Quotations are presented as reported rather than as verbatim transcripts except where a source records them as direct speech.

  1. Capitol News Illinois — “O’Hare Flyer would whisk travelers between airport, Chicago Loop in 15 minutes.”
    capitolnewsillinois.com
  2. Wednesday Journal — “Proposed O’Hare Flyer train already drawing opposition from River Forest,” 1 September 2026.
    oakpark.com
  3. Forest Park Review — Report on the O’Hare Flyer proposal, 1 September 2026.
    forestparkreview.com
  4. Trains — David Lassen, “Chicago suburb voices ‘vehement opposition’ to O’Hare Flyer proposal,” 2 September 2026.
    trains.com
  5. WTTW News — “Proposed Express Train Would Take People From Downtown to O’Hare Airport in 15 Minutes,” 27 August 2026.
    news.wttw.com
  6. High Speed Rail Alliance — “The O’Hare Flyer: Chicago May Finally Get Its Airport Express Train.”
    hsrail.org
  7. Trains — David Lassen, “New company seeks to offer rail service from downtown Chicago to O’Hare Airport,” 25 August 2026.
    trains.com
  8. WTTW “Chicago Tonight” — “‘O’Hare Flyer’ Would Offer 15-Minute Rides From Airport to the Loop” (interview segment).
    pbs.org
  9. Highways.Today — “O’Hare Flyer Plans 15-Minute Chicago Airport Express on Existing Rail Corridors,” 26 August 2026.
    highways.today
  10. WBEZ — “O’Hare to the Loop in 15 minutes? This company thinks it can finally bring fast rail to Chicago,” 25 August 2026. Also published by the Chicago Sun-Times.
    wbez.org
  11. Wikipedia — “O’Hare Flyer,” route description including single-track configuration and passing section. Cited for convenience; underlying sources should be checked.
    en.wikipedia.org
  12. CBS News Chicago — “O’Hare Flyer proposal marks latest plan for express transit between downtown Chicago, O’Hare.”
    cbsnews.com
  13. Illinois General Assembly — 92 Ill. Adm. Code Part 1535, Crossings of Rail Carriers and Highways.
    ilga.gov
  14. Forest Park Review — “Forest Park mayor Rory Hoskins gets pushback on support for O’Hare Flyer,” 4 September 2026.
    forestparkreview.com
  15. NBC Chicago — “Proposed O’Hare Flyer train faces pushback from River Forest residents, officials,” quoting Village Administrator Matt Walsh on the line’s dormancy and on the village’s notice, and reporting a route bordering more than 200 homes.
    nbcchicago.com
  16. Crain’s Chicago Business — “O’Hare Flyer faces opposition from River Forest residents.”
    chicagobusiness.com

Primary records anyone can check

  1. Federal Railroad Administration — National Highway-Rail Crossing Inventory. Crossing-by-crossing records including maximum timetable speed, daily train counts and warning devices.
    fra.dot.gov — crossing inventory
  2. FRA Office of Safety Analysis — Crossing inventory queries, incident history and the Quiet Zone Calculator.
    railroads.dot.gov/safety-data
  3. Illinois Commerce Commission — Rail-highway crossing dockets and orders.
    icc.illinois.gov

Statute and regulation cited above

  1. 49 CFR Part 213 — Track Safety Standards. Classes of track and operating speed limits (213.9); curves, elevation and speed limitations (213.57).
    ecfr.gov
  2. 49 CFR Part 222 — Use of Locomotive Horns at Public Highway-Rail Grade Crossings, including quiet zone requirements.
    ecfr.gov · FRA quiet zone guidance
  3. 49 CFR Part 237 — Bridge Safety Standards. Bridge management programs, inspection and capacity.
    ecfr.gov
  4. Cook County Clerk — Recording division; recorded plats and right-of-way records.
    cookcountyclerkil.gov
  5. 735 ILCS 30 — Illinois Eminent Domain Act.
    ilga.gov
  6. 49 U.S.C. § 10901 — Authorizing construction and operation of railroad lines.
    law.cornell.edu
  7. 49 U.S.C. § 10501 — General jurisdiction of the Surface Transportation Board; exclusive jurisdiction and preemption at subsection (b).
    law.cornell.edu
  8. 5 ILCS 120 and 5 ILCS 140 — Illinois Open Meetings Act and Illinois Freedom of Information Act.
    Open Meetings Act · FOIA
  9. U.S. DOT Crossing Inventory Form, FRA F 6180.71 — Maximum timetable speed is recorded at Part II, Box 3, and is determined by the railroad in accordance with operating conditions and track class.
    railroads.dot.gov — inventory requirements
  10. Illinois Constitution, Article I, Section 15 — “Private property shall not be taken or damaged for public use without just compensation as provided by law.”
    ilga.gov
  11. Chicago YIMBY — “Initial Details Revealed For Potential O’Hare Direct Connection,” describing the project’s use of freight lines expected to be relatively vacated as operations shift to other yards.
    chicagoyimby.com
  12. Surface Transportation Board — Public docket and filings search, including abandonment and discontinuance proceedings.
    stb.gov
  13. 49 U.S.C. § 303 — Section 4(f); policy on lands, parks, recreation areas, wildlife refuges and historic sites.
    law.cornell.edu
  14. 54 U.S.C. § 306108 — Section 106, National Historic Preservation Act; review of effects on historic properties.
    law.cornell.edu
  15. NPR — “Florida’s Brightline Railroad Is Nation’s Deadliest After High Rate Of Track Deaths,” 29 January 2020, including the history of the corridor and FRA classification of deaths.
    npr.org
  16. WLRN and the Miami Herald — Joint investigation into Brightline fatalities; methodology and death-rate-per-million-miles analysis. Pulitzer Prize finalist.
    wlrn.org
  17. Associated Press analysis — Analysis of Federal Railroad Administration data on Brightline fatality rates, as reported by CBS News Miami and others.
    cbsnews.com
  18. 49 CFR Part 236, Subpart I — Positive Train Control Systems.
    ecfr.gov
  19. 92 Ill. Adm. Code Part 1536 — Closure of grade crossings; adequacy of alternate crossings and roadways.
    ilga.gov
  20. Federal Railroad Administration — Track division FAQ: FRA does not prescribe distances or thresholds relating to structures near railroad trackage; clearance dimensions are prescribed by each state.
    railroads.dot.gov