New Rock Island District Signal System??

I don't know the type of deal Amtrak and Metra have, it might be a long term contract in which Amtrak can't raise "rent". I'm sure CUS ownership is one thing in the back of Metra's mind, if Amtrak ever does stop running, CUS would be turned over to Metra.

That's an interesting thought. I wonder if Metra has any contingency funds in place should that eventuality occur, which, by the way, I hope doesn't happen.

Thinking more about it, Amtrak is probably "safe to remain" in Chicago, since they operate several short-to-medium distance runs out of CUS. I think the discussion over on the Amtrak board relates to the LD trains' possible demise, not the likes of Hiawatha service, etc.

And then we have the stumbling Midwest Rail Initiative: a perfect example of how the Bush Administration's plan of "letting the states do it", and how smoothly THAT works.

But I digress..........

I agree that Amtrak will probably never completely stop running in Chicago, but I'm not sure if CUS will always be under Amtrak control. In a way I think Metra should control more of CUS considering the number of trains and the amount of people in a comparison to Amtrak, are higher.