Urban Transportation Center

UTC Fall 2025 Seminar Series

September 18: Plans underway to transition commuter rail from diesel to electric service though the lenses of regional long range planning in Northeast Illinois was the focus of “Long-Range Plans to Transition Commuter Rail in NE Illinois from Diesel to Zero-Emissions,” the debut online Seminar Series presentation. Thanks to our speakers: Maulik Vaishvav, Senior Deputy Executive Director of Planning and Capital Programming at the, Regional Transportation Authority and David Kralik, AICP, Director of Planning and Programming, Metra Commuter Rail.  Visit this link to download the zoom presentation and PowerPoint decks.

October 16: The second session provided an overview of the region’s unique transportation emissions profile and spotlighted key strategies to reduce emissions in support of CMAP’s Comprehensive Climate Action Plan.  The presentation, “Electrification Alone Can’t Solve Our Climate Goals: Diverse Strategies for a Sustainable Transportation Future,” drew participation from a wide audience.  Jesse Altman and Noah Harris, policy analysts from the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning,  led a provocative discussion and shared details of the CCAP. Interested in what was discussed?  We recorded the conversation and PowerPoint presentation.  Access by visiting this Box folder.

November 20: The Chicago Region Environmental and Transportation Efficiency Program (CREATE) was formed in 2003 as a public-private partnership that works to improve the way passengers and goods move over rail within metropolitan Chicago. The final presentation will feature an update on CREATE projects from Velicia Goode, P.E, Freight Section Rail Chief with the Illinois Department of Transportation, and Rebecca Wingate, CREATE Program Manager at the Association of American Railroads.  Learn more and register.

UTC Spring 2025 Seminar Series

Topics that center on rail transportation were the focus of the online Spring 2025 Seminar Series.

February 20:  Insight on the practice of using data to increase rail safety and bolster the state of good repair was the subject of “Leveraging Emerging Railway Track Health Data for Railway and Rail Transit Track Condition Assessment.”  Dr. J. Riley Edwards of RailTEC at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign led the discussion. Download the zoom recording and presentation.

March 20:  A presentation on how to improve the iconic Chicago Union Station was delivered by Rick Harnish, Executive Director of the Chicago-headquartered High Speed Rail Alliance.  The webinar, “A Rail Revolution Begins with Fixing Chicago Union Station,” included an analysis of planned upgrades from Amtrak and the State of Illinois.  Download the zoom recording and presentation.

April 17:  The results from a just-finalized FRA freight study were addressed in “Quantifying and Improving the Energy Consumption of Railroad Track Maintenance and Material Transportation.” Our featured speakers were Dr. C. Tyler Dick, Ph.D., P.E. Assistant Professor, Texas Railway Analysis & Innovation Node (TRAIN), and Dr. Pasi Lautala, Ph.D., P.E., Professor, Civil, Environmental & Geospatial Engineering and Director, Michigan Tech Transportation Institute.  Download the zoom recording and presentation.

Access archived UTC Seminar Series presentations.