Canadian National has opened a new 4-mile stretch of double track on its former Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Chicago bypass route.
The track, between Sutton and Spaulding, Ill., has increased velocity through the area by 30%, Patrick Whitehead, the railway’s executive vice president of network operations, said in a post on LinkedIn.
The 17% in capacity makes “travel smoother and more reliable for our customers and neighbors, especially during passenger rush hours,” Whitehead wrote. The new track was placed in service last month.
“Beyond proud of the incredible cross-functional collaboration of our teams to make this happen. Talk about starting 2025 on the right track,” Whitehead wrote.
The project involved grading, signal work, and a bridge expansion.
“Bonus fun fact: movie buffs may recognize the Poplar Creek bridge extension pictured here from the final scenes of 1993’s Dennis the Menace, a family favorite,” Whitehead wrote.
The former EJ&E forms a congestion free-route around Chicago and laces together CN’s former Wisconsin Central, Illinois Central, and Grand Trunk Western main lines that radiate out of Chicago to Western Canada, Eastern Canada, the Gulf Coast, and Iowa.
