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Illinois Railroad Jobs

If you are interested in Illinois railroad jobs the Prairie State has its fair share. All seven Class I railroads operate within the Illinois, along with Amtrak. Additionally, Illinois is home to more than three dozen smaller Class II and Class III railroads (regionals and shortlines). For any historian who has studied railroads, however, this is not surprising as Illinois has always historically been the epicenter of rail activities with companies converging at Chicago, which still holds true today. You can also find commuter trains operating around Chicago including Metra, the Chicago Transit Authority, and the venerable "South Shore Line". For more information about Illinois's railroad network please click here.

It may be a good idea to have a better understanding of the railroad industry if you are rather unfamiliar with it all. A career in either transportation or maintenance (which includes positions such as conductor, engineer, signal maintainer, or general track maintenance) can be fairly difficult. These days railroading is almost entirely mechanized although that does not mean the work can not still be pretty physically demanding at times. Additionally, fatigue is a major issue affecting train crews as they can be away from home for days at a time. While if you hire on with a smaller railroad this latter issue is not quite as serious they do not offer the same level of excellent pay as Class Is.

Also, if you are a college student or plan to attend college most Class I railroads offer either internships, graduate work, or scholarships. To learn more about these programs please visit each railroad's career pages listed below. On that note, for more information regarding Illinois railroad jobs, please visit the links below or the railroad's individual contact information concerning possible openings. Finally, please do not contact me regarding potential job openings or questions regarding such. There is not a lot of help I can provide in answering those inquiries, you will need to contact the railroad directly.

Lastly, to search for Illinois railroad jobs directly please use the below search box from Indeed.com.

Class I Railroad

Amtrak

BNSF Railway

Canadian National Railway

Canadian Pacific Railway

CSX Transportation

Kansas City Southern Railway

Norfolk Southern Railway

Union Pacific

Illinois Railroad Jobs For Class II, Regionals

Indiana Rail Road: The Indiana Rail Road serves a system which operates in both Indiana and Illinois, reaching Chicago. For contact information regarding employment please click here.

Iowa Interstate Railroad: The Iowa Interstate operates a mostly linear system stretching from Omaha, Nebraska to Chicago (via trackage rights). For contact information about possible job openings please click here.

Wisconsin & Southern Railroad: The W&S is a large regional that operates all across southern Wisconsin stretching into northern Illinois reaching Fox Lake. For job openings and contact information please visit their website.

Illinois Railroad Jobs For Class III, Shortlines

Alton & Southern Railway: The historic Alton & Southern serves switching needs around the St. Louis area and is owned by Union Pacific. For possible employment please contact them by clicking here.

Belt Railway of Chicago: The Belt is another historical railroad which has been in operation since the late 19th century serving the Chicago region. To contact them regarding job openings please click here.

Bloomer Shippers Connecting Railroad: Also known as the "Bloomer Line", this railroad operates a line just northeast of Bloomington. The railroad is owned by the Alliance Grain Company. For contact information please visit their website.

Burlington Junction Railway: This railroad operates about 12 miles of unconnected trackage mostly in Iowa but also includes a line near Quincy. For information regarding possible employment please click here.

Central Illinois Railroad: 1861 Willowcreek Road, Portage, Indiana 46368-1323. Phone 219-764-0465.

Chicago, Fort Wayne & Eastern Railroad: The CFW&E is a RailAmerica shortline which operates a substantial amount of trackage in Ohio and Indiana with trackage rights to Chicago. For contact information please visit their web page by clicking here.

Chicago Port & Railroad: This privately owned terminal railroad serves the Chicago area. For contact information please click here.

Chicago Rail Link: Chicago Rail Link is an OmniTRAX property operating more than 72 miles of trackage around Chicago. For contact information please click here.

Chicago, SouthShore & South Bend Railroad: The historic CSS&SB has been in operation since the early 20th century. Today, it continues to serve freight interest around Chicago. For contact information please click here.

Chicago Terminal Railroad: This railroad is owned by Iowa Pacific Holdings operating three different broken segments of trackage around Chicago. For contact information please click here.

Crab Orchard & Egyptian Railroad: 514 North Market Street, Marion, Illinois 62959. Phone 618-993-5769.

Coffeen & Western Railroad: The C&W is a privately owned railroad which is owned by the Ameren Corporation, and strictly is in service to shuttle loads of coal to its power plant.

Decatur Junction Railway: The Decatur Junction Railway is a division of the Pioneer Rail Corporation and operates between Assumption and Cisco, Illinois. For contact information please click here.

Eastern Illinois Railroad: P.O. Box 1132, Charleston, Illinois. Phone 217-345-4832.

Effingham Railroad: To contact this railroad please visit their website by clicking here.

Evansville Western Railway: A relatively new operation this railroad is a subsidiary of Four Rivers Transportation, Inc. which is owned by CSX Transportation. For contact information concerning employment please click here.

Illinois Railway: This railroad is another division of OmniTRAX, operating 113 miles of unconnected track in northwestern Illinois. For contact information please visit their web page.

Illinois & Midland Railroad: This historic railroad is a division of Genesee & Wyoming, operating south of Peoria to Taylorville. For contact information please click here.

Illinois Western Railroad: To contact the Illinois Western Railroad please click here.

Indiana Harbor Belt Railroad: The historic Indiana Harbor Belt Railroad has been in operation since the late 19th century. The IHB operates terminal services around Chicago. For contact information please visit their website.

Joppa & Eastern Railroad: This railroad is another subsidiary of Ameren serving its power plant at Joppa, Illinois.

Kankakee, Beaverville & Southern Railroad: This privately owned shortline railroad operates about 25 miles of track near Iroquois. For contact information please visit their website.

Keokuk Junction Railway: The Keokuk Junction Railway is another division of Pioneer Rail Corporation operating just 12 miles of track near Lomax. For contact information please click here.

Manufacturers Railway: This historic railroad was owned by the Anheuser-Busch brewing company and has operated since the late 19th century. However, the company has decided to sell off the railroad to a new operator.

Manufacturers Junction Railway: The Manufacturers Junction Railway is another OmniTRAX property operating just six miles of trackage near Cicero. For contact information please click here.

Pioneer Industrial Railway: The Pioneer Industrial Railway is another Pioneer Rail Corporation property operating less than 10 miles of trackage. To contact them regarding possible employment please click here.

Riverport Railroad: This small shortline railroad serves northern Illinois near Chicago. For contact information regarding job openings please click here.

Shawnee Terminal Railway: This railroad is yet another Pioneer Rail Corporation shortline operating just 2.5 miles of trackage. For contact information please visit their web page.

South Chicago & Indiana Harbor Railway: This railroad is owned by Mittal Steel. For contact information; 3100 East 45th Street, Cleveland, Ohio 44127. Phone 216-429-6009.

Tazewell & Peoria Railroad: This small shortline, owned by Genesee & Wyoming, operates just around Peoria on about 20 or so miles of trackage. For contact information please click here.

Terminal Railroad Association of St. Louis: The Terminal Railroad has served St. Louis since the late 19th century. For contact information regarding possible employment opportunities please click here.

Toledo, Peoria & Western Railway: The historic TP&W has been around since the 19th century serving both Indiana and Illinois. Today the company is a RailAmerica property. To contact the railroad about possible job openings please click here.

Vandalia Railroad: The Vandalia Railroad is yet another Pioneer Rail Corporation shortline but operates just than four miles of track around Vandalia. For contact information please click here.

Vermilion Valley Railroad: This railroad is owned by the Indiana Boxcar Corporation and operates around five miles of track. For contact information please visit the corporation's website (I am not entirely sure how they operate their railroad as they may contract out the work).

Commuter and Light Rail Transit

Chicago Transit Authority: The CTA operates many of Chicago's transit and commuter rail operations. However, I am unsure if they hire their own employees or contract out the work. Please visit their website by clicking here for more information.

Metra: Metra is the Chicago area's large commuter rail operation. However, BNSF Railway handles all operations and maintenance for the commuter agency.

For more information about shortline railroads that serve Illinois please click here to visit the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association's website.

Please Click Here To Return To The Main Railroad Jobs Section

Finally, if a career in railroading is right for you but you would like to learn more about what it takes to work in the industry you might want to consider the book Working on the Railroad from noted author Brian Solomon. Solomon's book details the history of working in the railroad industry and the difficulties and hardship employees faced back then as well as today. After reading this book you should have no doubts about whether working in the industry is something you are truly interested in. In any event, if you're interested in perhaps purchasing this book please visit the link below which will take you to ordering information through Amazon.com, the trusted online shopping network.

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