Questions

Frequently asked questions.

Short answers to what people ask most about the proposed O’Hare Flyer and the Great Western Railroad. Everything here is sourced. Where a claim is unconfirmed, we say so.

Who benefitsQ: Who does the O’Hare Flyer/Great Western Railroad benefit?

A: The proposed trains do not benefit commuters or the community. For commuters, a rider would have to get to the old Post Office to board the O’Hare Flyer, ride at least 15 minutes, and arrive at one station serving one terminal. Even that depends on building 1.5 miles of new track and a flyover over two active taxiways, which needs approvals the company does not have yet. The Blue Line can be boarded at 33 stations and already runs into the airport, connected to Terminals 1, 2, and 3 by walkway.1

Meanwhile, the proposed train would harm 11 communities. Residents would have to endure the O’Hare Flyer racing through their community every 7.5 minutes during the day and then hear freight trains at night.2 Besides the disruption from the noise and vibrations, communities would have to deal with stopped traffic at ground-level crossings in Forest Park, River Forest, Melrose Park, Franklin Park, River Grove, and Schiller Park.3

Only the O’Hare Flyer/Great Western Railroad and its financial backers will benefit.

MoneyQ: Who is funding the O’Hare Flyer/Great Western Railroad?

A: Corporate leaders claim they are raising $2.25 billion in private funds, but they have refused to reveal who is behind this funding and who will eventually profit.4

MoneyQ: How will taxes increase because of the O’Hare Flyer/Great Western Railroad?

A: The company claims they won’t use taxpayer money, but they are planning on applying for funding from the Department of Transportation.5 And as the increase in taxes from AI data centers have shown, taxpayers might not be on the hook immediately, but their pocketbooks will eventually be raided. In Aurora, electricity bills have increased by 50 percent in the past three years because of electricity demands from CyrusOne data center.6 In Northlake, annual property taxes went up by $2,000 on average because data centers were able to score a lower property tax valuation.7 The data centers will pay less while the communities pay more.

Residents in the eleven communities should plan on The O’Hare Flyer/Great Western Railroad profiting at their expense. The electric trains will increase electricity demand, and the company will likely seek a lower property tax value for their depot and station.

TrafficQ: How will traffic be impacted?

A: The O’Hare Flyer/Great Western Railroad claims they will build overpasses but they have not fully committed in their plans and only refer to the overpasses as “possible.”8

In Barrington, an increase in freight traffic has stalled the 55,000 vehicles that pass through the community each day. The town has had to initiate an overpass construction project. And although the town received government funding, taxpayers will have to cover as much as $2 million.9

AlternativesQ: Is there a better way to have airport transportation?

A: Yes – the CTA’s Blue Line. The blue line is currently suffering from slow zones due to 70 year-old tracks that need replacement. The CTA plans to replace the tracks and update stations with work beginning in later 2026, according to an August 2026 story in the Chicago Tribune. Work will take at least two years, which means that if the O’Hare Flyer came to fruition, the Blue Line would already be able to take passengers from Clark/Lake to terminal two in 33 minutes for just $2.50.10

The bottom lineQ: What is this really about?

A: The O’Hare Flyer/Great Western Railroad is not about getting riders to O’Hare in a timely manner. It’s about a corporation interrupting 11 communities and profiting at residents’ expense.

Sources

Where a sentence names its source, that is the citation.

  1. The O’Hare Flyer presentation to the High Speed Rail Alliance, September 3, 2026: a station in front of Terminal 2, reached by 1.5 miles of new track including a 90-foot flyover crossing two taxiways; no agency approvals to date. Chicago Transit Authority, Blue Line route and O’Hare station information: the station connects to Terminals 1, 2, and 3 by underground walkway. ↩
  2. The O’Hare Flyer presentation to the High Speed Rail Alliance, September 3, 2026 (question-and-answer session): the developers confirmed a train roughly every seven and a half minutes, and CEO Dave Lundy said Great Western Railroad would deliver freight overnight when passenger service is not operating. ↩
  3. Residents’ review of the alignment at street level; the O’Hare Flyer presentation to the High Speed Rail Alliance, September 3, 2026. The named street-level crossings are listed on our What We Know page. ↩
  4. The O’Hare Flyer presentation to the High Speed Rail Alliance, September 3, 2026; Crain’s Chicago Business. The developers put the project cost at $2.25 billion and have not disclosed their investors or the amount raised to date. ↩
  5. The O’Hare Flyer presentation to the High Speed Rail Alliance, September 3, 2026. The developers described a U.S. Department of Transportation loan that would replace about three quarters of their private financing once the line is built. They have not named the program. ↩
  6. ABC7 Chicago, interview with an Aurora resident; Aurora officials have confirmed data centers contributed to rising utility costs, and the city imposed a moratorium on new data center development. ↩
  7. Illinois Answers Project and Chicago Tribune analysis, August 2026: the average Northlake homeowner would save more than $2,000 a year, almost 30 percent of the bill, if local data centers did not receive valuation reductions and incentives. ↩
  8. The developers’ public materials and the O’Hare Flyer presentation to the High Speed Rail Alliance, September 3, 2026. No grade separation has been committed to in writing or funded. ↩
  9. Chicago Tribune, September 2026, and the Village of Barrington: the U.S. Route 14 underpass beneath the Canadian National tracks, expected to be complete in late 2027, is a $94 million project of which Canadian National paid $5.1 million; the remainder is Federal, state, and village money. ↩
  10. Chicago Transit Authority, Blue Line schedule and fares. ↩
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