Some switching equipment in the Chicago area dates back to the turn of the century. Experts say upgrading the crossings will improve traffic and make crossings safer for drivers.

We have all been stuck at rail crossings waiting for slow moving freights. We all know that it would cost more money than anybody has to separate roads from rails, but Congress is now ready to start spending more than $300-million to improve the rail system in and around Chicago.

Despite some quite remarkable technology on the railroads today, you might be surprised to see that in some areas they still do things the old-fashioned way. At a very busy railroad intersection in Albany Park on the Southwest Side, 90 trains a day -- freight and passenger -- pass through the crossing, and every one of them -- before they can proceed -- must come to a full stop. And, they must wait for an operator in a weather-worn shack to manually throw signals and switches. It is not a model of railroad efficiency.

"We're in the 21st century and were here operating with a 19th century railroad system," said Rep. Dan Lipinski, (D) Illinois.

While the dated equipment at the Albany Park rail intersection is the exception rather than the rule, there are enough of these bottlenecks around the Chicago area to cause big headaches in the rail capital of America.

A freight train bound from west coast to east coast takes as much time just getting through Chicago as it does to get here from California.

"The gridlock has to be unlocked here in Chicago," said Rep. James Oberstar, (D) Minnesota.

As part of a project called CREATE, Congress, the state and railroads now have $330-million to start spending on rail improvement projects. The first phase of that effort will devote money to modernizing the rail system -- a step many argue is badly needed with the amount of rail freight traffic expected to double in the next twenty years.

"Without projects like this, we will lose our competitive edge," said Sec. Tim Martin, Il. Dept. of Transportation.

The other part of the focus is aimed at where to best engineer separating trains from traffic -- like a South Side crossing on Morgan. The trains are constant  sometimes they stop and sit for a half hour and more, and so does the truck traffic until the drivers get fed up and back away. CREATE will look at the feasibility of grade separations at dozens of area intersections.

"It's not going to be a quick fix. It's going to take a generation, but it's a start," said Rep. Thomas Petri, (R) Wisconsin.

The Brighton Park rail intersection should be modernized in a year's time. That makes the freight carriers happy, as well as passengers on Metra and Amtrak who use that route.

Congressman Lipinski says that the phase one money will produce a lot of change over the next three years. If there isn't, Congress might not be inclined to set aside more, and bigger money, to fund some of the projects.

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