O’Hare to the Loop in 15 minutes? This company thinks it can finally bring fast rail to Chicago

People have tried and failed over the years to build a nonstop, quick rail connection from the Loop to O’Hare International Airport. Think of Elon Musk’s proposed crosstown tunnel from the unfinished superstation in the basement of Block 37.

But a new company says they can succeed where others have failed.

They call it the O’Hare Flyer.

They envision a 15-minute trip from the Old Post Office to O’Hare on battery-powered trains leaving every 15 minutes at an average of 80 mph — and with tickets much cheaper than a ride-share.

The $2.25 billion pitch is from veteran Chicago train consultant Mark Walbrun — who led the redesign of Chicago Union Station in the 1990s — and fellow cofounders David Lundy, a strategic consultant, and Kristi Lafleur, former director of the Illinois Tollway and former CEO of the Chicago Skyway.

“Everyone who’s tried to do this is replicating the Blue Line … or a tunnel like Musk. … None of that works,” says Lundy, O’Hare Flyer’s CEO.

The key to success, they say, is using newly freed up freight railroad land at a Union Pacific yard on the Near West Side.

It’s now possible for a private company to run quick crosstown service — through the West and Northwest sides — with minimal construction on 100% dedicated tracks, they say.

“This is the only way we can make this happen,” Lundy says.

They plan to build a station just west of the Old Post Office, using the long abandoned tracks under Canal Street. Heading to O’Hare, trains would initially go south and turn west near Roosevelt Road, where they’d navigate a mix of CSX and UP rail lines before turning north on Canadian National tracks, which would be expanded with an additional dedicated track.

Trains will run along a single track, except for 6 miles of double track midway along the route so trains can pass each other, Lundy says.

At O’Hare, the company plans to build a 90-foot track flyover above the two-plane taxiways that cross over I-190. Tracks will have to be built along the ring road, with a platform covering the length of Terminal 2, with easy connections to Terminals 1 and 3, and a short distance from the “people mover” connection to Terminal 5.

O’Hare Flyer has a tentative agreement with freight company CSX, and “a pathway to ‘Yes’” with CN and UP, Lundy says. Their team also has briefed Mayor Brandon Johnson, whose aviation and transportation departments must approve the construction of tracks near the Old Post office and O’Hare.

Johnson, in a statement, said the proposal “is just the latest evidence of the growing confidence private investors” have in the city, and that his “administration looks forward to further discussions with those seeking to make transformative investments in Chicago.”

The project could be finished in five years, Lundy says, and preliminary construction could begin in 2027.

The trains could be similar to the battery-powered ones recently ordered by Metra, made either by Stadler or Siemens Mobility. Those trains have a top speed of 120 mph and can go 60 miles on a single charge, well beyond the 20 miles between O’Hare and downtown.

The fare for each trip hasn’t been set, but will be more than the Blue Line but less than an Uber, Lyft or other ride-hailing service, which typically costs over $50.

Four trains would operate simultaneously and run daily from 4 a.m. to 10 p.m.

As for the $2.25 billion price tag, the group says this will be a mainly commercially funded venture. They won’t say how much they’ve raised, but say fundraising shouldn’t be a problem once they get the final OKs from the city and rail companies.

Any construction timeline depends on those final approvals and the community engagement process, which could begin soon after the downtown station design in the next few months.

The project could be a major win for Chicago, if completed, says Joseph Schwieterman, director of DePaul University’s Chaddick Institute for Metropolitan Development.

“A remarkable set of opportunities have opened up to make this possible,” he said, citing the available freight tracks and private financing. And battery-powered train technology is finally feasible, he says, “that’s much more affordable than some of the pie-in-the-sky proposals of the past.”

In 2018, Musk was chosen by then-Mayor Rahm Emanuel to build an underground tunnel from downtown to O’Hare, with then-untested “Hyperloop” technology that promised 12-minute trips, $25 each, in autonomous vehicles racing over 100 mph. The project fell through after Emanuel chose not to seek reelection and Musk was scrutinized for smoking pot on Joe Rogan’s podcast.

Schwieterman said there are several risks around the O’Hare Flyer: its reliance on debt financing, the need for strong ridership to pay the bills, the potential for construction cost overruns and the reliance on a single track for most of its service.

Chicago’s business community has long wanted a quick, direct rail link between downtown and O’Hare, Lundy says. A trip on the CTA Blue Line train can take over an hour, sometimes, between downtown and the airport.

Phil Clement, president and CEO of World Business Chicago, says he has been working with the O’Hare Flyer team for over a year. “If realized, this investment will strengthen [Chicago’s] competitive position across business and tourism,” he said in a statement.

Walbrun has been thinking of an O’Hare rail link for two decades. Dozens of major cities worldwide have them — but Chicago doesn’t.

“If we’re a world-class city,” Lundy says, “let’s have a world class transportation system.”