Rail Freight Carriers in

Illinois

A Chicago, South Shore & South Bend Railroad freight train crosses the South Torrence Avenue bridge in Chicago.
Although the railway is electrified for NICTD commuter trains, all freight trains are diesel hauled.
Locomotive 2005 is an EMD GP38-2 2000hp Bo-Bo diesel electric.

Long Haul Railways

BNSF, CN, CPKC, CSX, Norfolk Southern, Union Pacific

Regional & Local Railways

• 325 South Route 31 Railroad switching railway in Montgomery, interchanging with BNSF. Total length of line about 2 miles (3 km) (No website located at present)
• A & R Terminal Railroad switching railway serving the A & R Logistics transload facility in Morris (Website contains few details relating to railway)
• ADM has a private railway serving its mill on West Carroll Avenue, Chicago, interchanging with Norfolk Southern near North May Street (Website contains no details relating to railway)
• AgRail switching railway at its own grain loading terminal in Bloomington, interchanging with Norfolk Southern and Union Pacific
• Ag Valley Railroad switching railway in Chicago, interchanging with Chicago Rail Link at its East 104th Street Yard. Total length of line about 3 miles (5 km) (No website located at present)
• Alton & Southern Railway switching railway in East St Louis, interchanging with CPKC, Norfolk Southern, Terminal Railroad Association of St Louis and Union Pacific. Although a wholly owned subsidiary of Union Pacific, it is operated as a separate entity.
• Azcon Metals switching services at its metal reprocessing facility in Sterling, interchanging with Union Pacific (Website contains no details relating to railway)
• Belt Railway Company of Chicago major switching railway in the Chicago area with 28 miles (45 km) of main line and over 300 miles (480 km) of sidings and industrial leads, including Chicago’s largest freight yard, the Clearing Yard. Interchanges with virtually all carriers in the area.
• Bloomer Line Gibson City (interchange with CN) via Risk (branch to Colfax) and Chatsworth (interchange with Toledo Peoria & Western) to Kempton; total length of line about 50 miles (80 km).
• Burlington Junction Railway switching railroad in several locations:
  • Montgomery, interchanging with BNSF; total length of line about 1 mile (2 km)
  • Rochelle, interchanging with BNSF and Union Pacific; total length of line about 12 mile (19 km)
  • Quincy, interchanging with BNSF and Norfolk Southern; total length of line about 7 miles (11 km)
  There are further operations in IA and MO.
• Buzzi Unicem has a private railway between La Salle (interchange with CSX and Iowa Interstate) and its Oglesby Terminal (Website contains no details relating to railway)
• Cairo Public Utility Company has acquired the former Shawnee Terminal Railway, a switching railway in the Cairo area interchanging with CN but currently out of service, with the intention of creating a warehousing and transload facility. Total length of line about 2½ miles (4 km) (Website contains no details relating to railway)
• Central Grain Company switching services at its grain storage facility in Belvidere, interchanging with Union Pacific (Website contains few details relating to railway)
• Chicago Chemung Railroad Harvard (interchange with Union Pacific) to Chemung, over 3 miles (5 km). Owned by Seegers Grain Harvard Division (No website located at present)
• Chicago, Fort Wayne & Eastern Railroad located in OH and IN, enters IL by trackage rights over CSX from Tolleston IN to Blue Island Yard, where there is interchange with most other railways in the area
• Chicago Junction Railway switching railway in the Centex Industrial Park in Chicago, interchanging with Union Pacific at Elk Grove. Total length of line about 25 miles (40 km)
• Chicago Port & Rail switching railway serving its loading wharf on the east bank of the Calumet River near East 106th Street. Interchanges with Indiana Harbor Belt; total length of line about ¾ miles (1.2 km). Not to be confused with Chicago Port Railroad (No website located at present)
• Chicago Port Railroad switching railway serving the Ozinga loading wharf on the Calumet River near South Torrence Avenue. Interchanges with Indiana Harbor Belt and Norfolk Southern near South Deering Yard; total length of line about 1¼ miles (2 km). Not to be confused with Chicago Port & Rail (Website contains little information relating to railway)
• Chicago Rail Link switching railway in the southern Chicago area with about 72 miles (116 km) of line. Interchanges with most other carriers in the area.
• Chicago, St Paul & Pacific Railroad switching railway in Bensenville, interchanging with CPKC
• Chicago, South Shore & South Bend Railroad Kensington via Burnham to South Bend IN, with a branch from Michigan City IN to Dillon IN. Interchanges in IL directly with Belt Railway of Chicago, Chicago Rail Link, Indiana Harbor Belt and Norfolk Southern, and indirectly with most other carriers. The main line is electrified at 3kV DC overhead and is shared with passenger trains of Northern Indiana Commuter Transport District, although all freight is now diesel hauled. Total length of line about 182 miles (293 km)
• Cicero Central Railroad switching railway in Stickney, interchanging with CN. Total length of line about 1 mile (2 km)
• Crab Orchard & Egyptian Railroad Marion (interchange with BNSF and Union Pacific) to Ordill, about 8 miles (14km)
• Coffeen & Western Railroad railway owned by Dynegy serving its Coffeen Power Plant. At the time of writing the main line extends just 0.2 miles (0.3 km) to a connection with Norfolk Southern, but proposals exist for extension to Walshville for interchange with BNSF and Union Pacific at Walshville, a distance of about 13 miles (21 km) (Website contains no details relating to railway)
• Decatur & Eastern Illinois Railroad two lines, which cross each other at Chrisman:
  • Decatur (interchange with CN, Decatur Central, Decatur Junction, and Norfolk Southern) via Tuscola (interchange with CN and Union Pacific), Metcalf (branch to Neoga, where there is interchange with CN), Chrisman (see below) and Raven to Hillsdale IN (interchange with CSX)
  • Vermillion Grove Mine via Chrisman (see above), Paris, and Vermilion to Terre Haute IN (interchange with CSX and Indiana Rail Road)
  Total length of line about 180 miles (290 km)
• Decatur Junction Railway Decatur (interchange with CN and TFG Transport) to Assumption, about 24 miles (40 km)
• Effingham Railroad switching railway in Effingham, interchanging with CN and CSX; Total length of line about 9 miles (14 km)
• Elwood Joliet & Southern Railroad switching railway in Joliet, interchanging with CN. Length of line about 2 miles (3 km)
• Evansville Western Railway Okawville, via Woodlawn (interchange with BNSF), Mount Vernon (interchange with Norfolk Southern and Union Pacific), McLeansboro (branches to White Oak, and to Sugar Camp where there is interchange with CN) and Epworth to Evansville IN (interchange with CSX); total length of line about 141 miles (227 km)
• Fisher Farmers Grain & Coal Railway Rintoul (interchange with CN) to Dewey, about 7 miles (11 km); also performs switching services at Thomasboro (No webite located at present)
• Gateway Industrial Railroad switching railway in University Park, interchanging with CN. Length of line about ½ mile (730 m) (No website located at present)
• Great Lakes Terminal Railroad switching railway in Chicago, interchanging with Indiana Harbor Belt. Length of line a little over 2 miles (about 4 km) (No website located at present)
• Herrin Railroad Herrin Junction (interchange with BNSF) to Herrin, about 4 miles (6 km) (No website located at present)
• Hoffman Transportation switching railway at its transload facility in Channahon, interchanging with BNSF
• Hussey Terminal Railroad switching railway in North Chicago, interchanging with Union Pacific and potentially also CN. Length of line about 0.1 miles (165 m) (No website located at present)
• Illinois & Midland Railroad Pekin (interchange with CN and Tazewell & Peoria) via Powerton (interchange with Union Pacific and trackage rights over Union Pacific to Sommer - where there is interchange with Toledo, Peoria & Western - and via Sweetwater to Barr, see below), Havana and Barr (interchange with Union Pacific and trackage rights over Union Pacific via Sweetwater to Powerton, see above) to Springfield (interchange with CN, CPKC, Norfolk Southern and Union Pacific), trackage rights over CN from Springfield to Cimic, own line from Cimic to Taylorville (interchange with Norfolk Southern). Total length of line about 154 miles (248 km)
• Illinois Railway four separate lines:
  • Montgomery (interchange with BNSF and trackage rights over BNSF to Eola Yard) via Ottawa (interchange with CSX) to Streator (interchange with CSX and Norfolk Southern)
  • La Salle (interchange with CSX) via Dalzell (branch to Peru, where there is interchange with Peru Industrial) to Zearing (interchange with BNSF)
  • Davis Junction (interchange with CPKC) to Rockford (interchange with CN, CPKC and Union Pacific)
  • Oregon (interchange with BNSF) to Mount Morris
  Total length of line about 102 miles (164 km).
• Illinois Terminal Belt Clinton (interchange with CN) to Heyworth. Length of line about about 11 miles (17 km). Owned by Motive Rail (When last checked, website contained no details of railway)
• Illinois Western Railroad Greenville (interchange with CSX) to Smithboro (interchange with BNSF and CSX). Length of line about about 2½ miles (4 km)
• Indiana Harbor Belt Railroad transfer and switching railway running from Franklin Park in the west, to the south of Chicago and entering IN (where there is a large network of lines) near Calumet City. Interchanges in IL with Belt Railway of Chicago, BNSF, CN, CPKC, CSX, Great Lakes Terminal, Iowa Interstate, Norfolk Southern, South Chicago & Indiana Harbor and Union Pacific. Total main line length about 54 miles (87 km) plus about 266 miles (428 km) of yard tracks and sidings
• Indiana Rail Road located mainly in IN, enters IL near Riverton IN and continues to Newton (interchange with CN). Indiana Rail Road also reaches Chicago, Clearing Yard by trackage rights from Terre Haute IN over CSX, Union Pacific and Belt Railway of Chicago.
• Ingredion has a private internal rail network totalling some 17 miles (27 km) serving its Argo facility in Bedford Park, near Chicago, interchanging with Belt Railway of Chicago, CN and Indiana Harbor Belt (Website contains no details relating to railway)
• Iowa Interstate Railroad Bureau (interchange with CSX, trackage rights over CSX to Chicago and branch to Peoria, where there is interchange with BNSF, Keokuk Junction, Norfolk Southern, Pioneer Industrial, Tazewell & Peoria, Toledo Peoria & Western and Union Pacific) via Quad Cities (interchange with BNSF and CPKC) to destinations in IA; total length of line about 580 miles (935 km)
• JBC Rail Services switching services and railcar storage at Chicago Heights, interchanging with CN; at Elk Grove, interchanging with Union Pacific; at Madison, interchanging with Terminal Railroad Association of St Louis and at Savanna, interchanging with BNSF
• Joliet Bulk Barge & Rail switching railway at the Joliet Terminal of Arc Logistics Partners, interchanging with Union Pacific. Total length of line about 6½ miles (10 km)
• Joliet Terminal Railroad switching railway at the CenterPoint Intermodal Center in Joliet, interchanging with BNSF and Union Pacific
• Joppa & Eastern Railroad railway owned by Dynegy connecting its Joppa Power Plant with BNSF at Joppa Junction; total length of line about 5 miles (8 km) (Website contains no details relating to railway)
• Kankakee, Beaverville & Southern Railroad Kankakee (interchange with CN and Norfolk Southern) via St Anne (interchange with Union Pacific), Iroquois Junction (branches to Hooper and via Sheldon where there is interchange with Toledo Peoria & Western to destinations in IN), Webster (interchange with Toledo Peoria & Western) and Cheneyville (branch via Ambria IN to destinations in IN) to Danville (interchange with CSX and Norfolk Southern); total length of line about 155 miles (250 km)
• Kaskaskia Regional Port District two separate groups of lines operating within the Port District:
  • serving docks on the Kaskaskia River, interchanging with CSX at Baldwin and New Athens
  • serving Kellogg Dock on the Mississippi River, interchanging with Union Pacific
  (Website contains no details relating to railway)
• Keokuk Junction Railway Keokuk IA (interchange with BNSF) via Hamilton (branch to Warsaw), La Harpe (branch to Lomax, trackage rights over BNSF to Fort Madison IA) and Bushnell (interchange with BNSF) to Peoria (interchange with BNSF, Iowa Interstate, Norfolk Southern, Tazewell & Peoria, Toledo Peoria & Western and Union Pacific); total line length of about 126 miles (203 km).
• KM Railways switching railway at the KCBX Terminals Company petroleum coke transload facility at South Burley Avenue, Chicago, interchanging with Indiana Harbor Belt. Total length of line almost 2 miles (2.8 km) (Website contatins no details relating to railway)
• Manufacturers’ Junction Railway serves various industries in the Cicero area, interchanging with Belt Railway of Chicago, BNSF, CN and CSX; total length of line about 6 miles (10 km). Believed currently out of use
• Material Sciences Corporation switching railway at its steel processing facility in Elk Grove Village, Interchanging with Chicago Junction (Website contains no details relating to railway)
• Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (formerly Sanitary District of Chicago) has a private railway connecting the Stickney Water Reclamation Plant with the Lawndale Avenue Solids Management Area in Justice. Total length of line about 10 miles (16 km). No connection with any other railway (Website contains no details relating to railway)
• Missouri North Central Railroad switching railway in Galatia, interchanging with CN. Total length of line about 2 miles (3 km). Company has other operations in MI and MO. Owned by Motive Rail (Website contains no specific details of railway)
• Peru Industrial Railroad switching railway in Peru, interchanging with Illinois Railway. Total length of line about 3 miles (5 km)
• Pioneer Industrial Railway switching railway in Peoria, interchanging with Iowa Interstate, Tazewell & Peoria and Union Pacific. Total length of line about 6 miles (10 km)
• Port Harbor Railroad switching services at America’s Central Port in Granite City, interchanging with Terminal Railroad Association of St Louis. Total length of line about 5 miles (8 km)
• Respondek Railroad two separate operations in IL:
  • Illini Terminal Railroad System switching services at Litchfield Industrial Park, interchanging with BNSF and Norfolk Souhern
  • Switching railway serving oil refineries at Wood River, interchanging with Union Pacific; total length of line about 2 miles (3 km)
  Respondek also owns the Port Harbor Railroad (see separate entry), and there is a further operation in IN (Respondek website does not contain detailed information of operations)
• R Bult Rail Lines switching railway at the Marigold facility on South Greenwood Avenue, interchanging with Chicago Rail Link; total length of line about ½ mile (0.7 km) (Website contains no details relating to railway)
• Riverport Railroad switching railway serving industrial developments in the former Savanna Army Base, interchanging with BNSF; total length of line about 55 miles (88 km)
• R J Corman Switching switching services at Tate & Lyle, Decatur, interchanging with CN, CSX and Norfolk Southern
• Scrap Metal Services Terminal Railroad (Illinois) switching railway in Burham, interchanging with Indiana Harbor Belt; length of line about 0.3 miles (0.5 km) (No website located at present)
• Shelbyville Industrial Railroad switching railway in Shelbyville Industrial Park, interchanging with Union Pacific (No website located at present)
• South Chicago & Indiana Harbor Railway switching railway serving South Chicago and East Chicago IN, interchanging with Belt Railway Company of Chicago, CPKC and Indiana Harbor Belt; total length of line about 27 miles (43 km). Owned by Cleveland-Cliffs (Website contains no details relating to railway)
• Tazewell & Peoria Railroad transfer and switching railway in the Peoria area, interchanging with BNSF, Iowa Interstate, Keokuk Junction, Norfolk Southern, Pioneer Industrial, Toledo Peoria & Western and Union Pacific in Peoria; and with CN and Illinois & Midland at Pekin. Total length of line about 81 miles (130 km)
• Terminal Railroad Association of St Louis major transfer and switching railway in St Louis MO and East St Louis. Jointly owned by BNSF, CN, CSX, Norfolk Southern and Union Pacific, interchanging with all of these, with Alton & Southern and with Respondek’s Port Harbor Railroad
• TFG Transport Decatur (interchange with CN and Decatur Junction) to Cisco, about 15 miles (25 km). Owned by Topflight Grain Cooperative (Website contains no details of railway)
• Toledo, Peoria & Western Railway Peoria (branch to Mapleton; interchange with BNSF, Illinois & Midland, Iowa Interstate, Keokuk Junction, Norfolk Southern, Tazewell & Peoria and Union Pacific; trackage rights over BNSF to Galesburg; trackage rights over Norfolk Southern to Crandell, with own branch from Crandell to Morton), Chenoa (interchange with Union Pacific), Chatsworth (interchange with Bloomer Line), Gilman (interchange with CN), Watseka (interchange with Union Pacific), Webster (interchange with Kankakee Beaverville & Southern) and Sheldon (interchange with Kankakee Beaverville & Southern) to destinations in IN. Total length of line about 273 miles (439 km)
• TransDistribution Brookfield Railroad switching railway at the Sweetener Supply Corporation facility in Brookfield, interchanging with Union Pacific; length of line about ¼ mile (0.4 km) (Website contains no details of railway)
• TransDistribution Ridgeland Railroad switching railway at the Sweetener Supply Corporation facility in Berwyn, interchanging with BNSF; length of line about ½ mile (0.7 km) (Website contains no details of railway)
• Vandalia Railroad switching railway in the Vandalia area, interchanging with CSX; length of line about 3½ miles (5.6 km)
• Vermilion Valley Railroad Pan (interchange with CSX and trackage rights over CSX to Danville for interchange with CSX, Kankakee Beaverville & Southern and Norfolk Southern) to Olin IN; length of line about 10 miles (16 km)
• Watco Rail Services switching services at Watco Mechanical Services, Wood River, interchanging with Norfolk Southern and Union Pacific
• Wisconsin & Southern Railroad located mainly in WI the system enters IL near Hebron and runs to Fox Lake (interchange with CPKC and trackage rights over CPKC via Rondout to Cragin Junction, trackage rights over Belt Railway of Chicago from Cragin Junction to Clearing Yard. There are also trackage rights over CPKC from Grand Avenue (Milwaukee WI) to Rondout. Total length of line about 820 miles (1320 km)

Military Railway

Websites do not in general contain details of railway facilities

• US Army serving Rock Island Arsenal near Davenport IA (junction with Iowa Interstate)