A group of Chicago business and civic leaders announced plans on August 25 for the O’Hare Flyer, a $2.25 billion privately funded battery-electric express train that would carry passengers between downtown Chicago and O’Hare International Airport’s Terminal 2 in 15 minutes. The project would use existing freight rail routes, operate without government subsidies, and aims to launch within five years.
Key Takeaways
- The O’Hare Flyer would run battery-electric trains every 15 minutes on dedicated tracks between a downtown station near the Old Post Office and O’Hare Terminal 2, with a capacity of 2,000 passengers per direction per hour.
- The $2.25 billion project is entirely privately funded and is not seeking government subsidies or diverting resources from the CTA or Metra.
- The train would use existing freight rail rights-of-way owned by CSX, Canadian National, and Union Pacific, with a Letter of Intent already signed with CSX.
- The project team has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Chicago and Cook County Building and Construction Trades Council toward a Project Labor Agreement ensuring union construction labor.
- The proposal follows multiple failed attempts at an O’Hare express connection, including the unfinished Block 37 station and a 2018 underground rail concept.
- The O’Hare Flyer has been in exploratory development for three years and is backed by a platform of Chicago-based engineering, law, architecture, and consulting firms, including two of the Big Four accounting firms.
The Route: Three Freight Corridors Stitched Into a Single Dedicated Track
The O’Hare Flyer’s engineering approach centers on repurposing three existing but underused freight rail rights-of-way into a single dedicated express corridor. The route would begin at a downtown station located near the Old Post Office on Canal Street and terminate at O’Hare’s Terminal 2. The tracks belong to three Class I freight railroads: CSX, Canadian National, and Union Pacific. By running on existing rail infrastructure rather than tunneling underground or building elevated tracks, the project avoids the construction timeline and cost escalation that derailed previous proposals.
Mark Walbrun, O’Hare Flyer co-founder and chief engineering officer, described the approach as combining three underused freight corridors into a dedicated express service. The trains would operate on continuous rail with battery-electric propulsion, recharging at both the downtown and O’Hare terminal stations. The battery-electric system eliminates the need for overhead catenary wires or third-rail electrification along the route, reducing both construction complexity and visual impact on the freight corridors the trains would share.
CSX has already signed a Letter of Intent with the O’Hare Flyer team. Andy Daly, CSX senior director of passenger operations, confirmed the railroad’s willingness to work with the project on a safe and reliable transportation option for Chicago travelers. Negotiations with Canadian National and Union Pacific are ongoing. Securing agreements with all three freight carriers is a prerequisite for the project to move forward, as the route passes through rights-of-way controlled by each.
Capacity, Service Model, and the Kennedy Expressway Comparison
At full operation, the O’Hare Flyer would move 2,000 passengers in each direction every hour. Dave Lundy, the project’s founder and CEO, framed that throughput in terms Chicago commuters would recognize, calling it “functionally the equivalent of putting a new lane on the Kennedy.” The Kennedy Expressway, Interstate 90/94, is the primary highway corridor between downtown Chicago and O’Hare and is one of the most congested stretches of roadway in the Midwest. A trip from the Loop to O’Hare by car during peak hours routinely takes 45 minutes to over an hour. The CTA Blue Line, the existing rail option, covers the same trip in approximately 45 minutes with multiple stops.
The O’Hare Flyer’s service model is designed for a different market segment than the Blue Line. The project describes a concierge-level experience with comfortable seating, luggage racks in every car, and clean, quiet trains. The positioning suggests a price point above the CTA’s standard fare but below the cost of a rideshare or taxi from downtown, which can range from $35 to $70 depending on traffic and surge pricing. The project has not yet announced a ticket price.
Trains would depart every 15 minutes, a frequency that eliminates the need for passengers to consult a schedule. The regularity is designed to make the service function more like a transit system than a scheduled shuttle, reducing the friction that has historically limited ridership on airport rail connections in other U.S. cities.
Private Funding and the Decision to Bypass Government Subsidies
The O’Hare Flyer is structured as a privately funded venture. The project team has stated explicitly that it is not seeking government subsidies and is not drawing resources that could otherwise go to the CTA, Metra, or other regional transit agencies. That distinction matters in Chicago, where the CTA faces ongoing fiscal pressures and Metra has struggled with service reliability and deferred maintenance across its commuter rail network.
The $2.25 billion price tag places the project in the range of a major infrastructure investment, but the private funding model insulates it from the political dynamics that have stalled or killed previous airport rail proposals. The project team includes two of the Big Four accounting and consulting firms, alongside Chicago-based engineering, law, architecture, urban planning, design, and public relations firms. The depth of the advisory team signals that the project has moved past the conceptual stage into active financial and engineering development.
The Memorandum of Understanding with the Chicago and Cook County Building and Construction Trades Council commits the project to a union construction workforce. Mike Macellaio, president of the Trades Council, characterized the O’Hare Flyer as a job creation engine that would deliver lasting economic benefits across the region. The MOU is a preliminary step toward a formal Project Labor Agreement, which would govern wages, work rules, and hiring practices for the construction phase.
Chicago’s History of Failed O’Hare Express Proposals
The O’Hare Flyer enters a landscape littered with unrealized airport rail projects. The most infamous is the Block 37 superstation, an underground transit hub beneath the Loop that was intended to serve as a terminal for express airport trains. Construction began in the early 2000s, and the city spent more than $300 million on a partially built station that has never been completed or operationally used. The hollowed-out station remains beneath Block 37 on State Street, a physical monument to the project’s failure.
In 2018, the city entertained a proposal for an underground express rail system using modified tunnel boring technology. That project, which would have run beneath the existing road network, generated significant public attention but ultimately collapsed amid questions about financing, ridership projections, and the feasibility of the proposed technology at scale. The O’Hare Flyer’s backers have drawn a deliberate contrast with both predecessors. By using existing above-ground freight corridors rather than tunneling, and by operating without public funding rather than relying on city or state appropriations, the project avoids the two failure points that defined earlier efforts.
Kristi Lafleur, an O’Hare Flyer co-founder, described the fast downtown-to-airport connection as economic development fuel that Chicago’s leaders have pursued for decades. The Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce, World Business Chicago, and other business organizations have publicly endorsed the project. Phil Clement, CEO of World Business Chicago, said the O’Hare Flyer team found a solution that was hiding in plain sight, using existing infrastructure rather than inventing new technology.
FAQs
How long would the O’Hare Flyer take to get from downtown to O’Hare?
The O’Hare Flyer would make the trip from its downtown station near the Old Post Office to O’Hare Terminal 2 in 15 minutes, with trains departing every 15 minutes throughout the operating day.
Is the O’Hare Flyer funded by the city or state?
No. The O’Hare Flyer is a $2.25 billion privately funded project. The team has stated it is not seeking government subsidies and is not drawing funding from CTA, Metra, or other regional transit agencies.
What railroad tracks would the O’Hare Flyer use?
The train would run on existing freight rail rights-of-way owned by CSX, Canadian National, and Union Pacific. A Letter of Intent has been signed with CSX, and negotiations with the other two carriers are underway.
When would the O’Hare Flyer begin operating?
The project team has set a target of launching within the next five years. The O’Hare Flyer has been in exploratory development for three years and is now engaging with public officials, business leaders, and community groups ahead of the construction phase.
How does the O’Hare Flyer differ from the CTA Blue Line?
The CTA Blue Line takes approximately 45 minutes from the Loop to O’Hare with multiple stops. The O’Hare Flyer would be a nonstop, 15-minute express service on dedicated tracks with a concierge-level experience including comfortable seating and luggage racks. The two services target different rider segments and would operate independently.
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