CHICAGO — Commuters arriving today (Nov. 12) at the Ogilvie Transportation Center in downtown Chicago — the former Chicago & North Western commuter terminal that serves Metra’s UP North, Northwest, and West lines — today may have been a bit surprised to find a train on Track 6 that was definitely not the usual Metra trainset. The Union Pacific executive train was on hand for a 12:30 p.m. “CEO Media Day” trip from downtown to UP’s Global IV intermodal facility in Joliet, via the Belt Railway of Chicago’s Clearing Yard. The roughly 2½-hour trip featured media presentations from CEO Jim Vena and other UP executives on the proposed merger with Norfolk Southern, the complexities of Chicago operations, and other topics.
The six-car train, led by C44ACM No. 6017 and the railroad’s Abraham Lincoln unit, SD70M No. 1616, included a power car, business car St. Louis, sleeping car Lake Mead, dining car City of Denver, dome car City of San Francisco, and inspection car Fox River.
