Metra Woodstock Layover Yard Virtual Open House

About the Project

The Woodstock Layover Yard relocation and expansion project aims to improve operational efficiency and maximize safety, security, and personnel time.

The Woodstock Layover Yard project would consolidate operations across multiple existing yard locations to a larger, cleaning and light maintenance facility near Woodstock, Illinois.

This new facility will include the following:

Seven storage tracks to accommodate 14 trains
Two equipment storage tracks
An 8,700 square foot maintenance and crew building with two garages
Power feeds to supply all storage tracks and generator for emergency power
A 45,000-gallon above-ground diesel storage tank for locomotive fueling
Three driveways, access roads, and at least 80 employee and visitor parking spaces
Miscellaneous facilities such as material storage, waste disposal, high-mast light towers, security fencing, security system and a communications tower

Goals & Benefits

The overall goal of the Woodstock Layover Yard Project is be more efficient and support anticipated ridership growth along the UP-NW line.

Goals & Objectives

Beyond meeting current and future demand, the new Woodstock Yard is intended to expand train storage, improve operational efficiencies, maximize safety and security, and promote sustainable travel patterns in McHenry County.

Project Benefits

Increased commuter rail service
Operational cost savings
Job opportunities at the layover yard
Reduced train idling at Crystal Lake Station
Opportunity for future development in station areas
Shift commuting patterns from car to commuter rail

? More Tracks = More Trips

The UP-Northwest line is the second busiest across the Metra system! Unfortunately, the capacity of the UP-NW line is heavily constrained by the current infrastructure.

Additional trains and train storage are essential to meet the growing demand.

In the proposed plan, the seven new storage tracks will allow for up to 21 additional trips during weekday service.

Proposed Sites

The process of identifying a new rail yard location began with an analysis by our project team of 12 potential sites along the UP-Northwest line, including an evaluation of expansion potential at existing yards.

Preliminary Site Criteria

Location
Adequate space
Meets goals and objectives

Preferred Area

The preferred location is within five miles of the Woodstock Station.

Screening Process

Our team implemented a screening process and scoring criteria that evaluated each site on factors including current and future land use, available acreage, environmental considerations, and geographic locations best suited to meet future ridership growth.

1. Identification of Initial Site Alternatives

Wide range of potential locations

2. Preliminary Screening of Initial Site Alternatives

12 sites identified
Preliminary Screening Criteria:
- Location of site
- Available area
- Meets goals and objectives of project

3. Detailed Screening of Remaining Site Alternatives

10 sites eliminated that did not meet Preliminary Screening Criteria
Detailed Screening Criteria:
- Right of Way Needs
- Civil Design/Construction Complexity
- Railroad and Roadway Operations
- Environmental Considerations
- Socioeconomic Impacts including Title VI Equity considerations
- Cost

4. Recommended Site Alternatives

2 sites selected for detailed analysis
Public input
Additional analysis

Screen Results

Only two recommended site locations emerged from our project team’s screening process. Our team assigned positive, neutral, or non-preferred rankings for each scoring criterion to each site under consideration. These two sites, near the City of Woodstock, scored the highest positive rankings through the scoring matrix and are recommended as those best able to meet the project goals and objectives and achieve benefits for the community

Screening Criteria		Site 1A – MP 52.8 East of Lamb Road	Site 1B – MP 52.8 East of Lamb Road	Site 2A – MP 54.1 West of Lamb Road	Site 2B – MP 54.1 Northwest of Lamb Road
ROW Needed	Acres, Right-of-Way (ROW)	Positive	Positive	Positive	Positive
ROW Needed	Demolition Required	Neutral	Positive	Positive	Positive
Construction Complexity	Utility Relocations	Neutral	Neutral	Positive	Positive
	Proximity to Existing Utilities	Positive	Positive	Neutral	Neutral
	Existing Construction Access	Positive	Positive	Neutral	Neutral
Railroad and Roadway Operations	Rail Yard Access	Positive	Positive	Positive	Neutral
	Facility Circulation	Positive	Positive	Neutral	Neutral
	Freight Interference	Positive	Positive	Positive	Positive
	Sufficient Space for Drainage Detention	Positive	Positive	Positive	Positive
	Minimize Earthwork	Neutral	Neutral	Positive	Positive
	Yard Tracks, Lead Tracks	Neutral	Neutral	Positive	Negative
	Grade Crossing Closures or Additions	Positive	Positive	Positive	Positive
	Proximity to Existing UP Control Point or Crossover	Positive	Positive	Positive	Positive
	Capacity for Train Storage Needs and Operations	Positive	Positive	Positive	Neutral
	Safety and Security (Emergency Access)	Positive	Positive	Neutral	Neutral
Environmental Considerations	Mapped Wetlands (in acres)	Positive	Positive	Negative	Negative
	Potential for Unmapped Wetlands and Waters of the U.S.	Neutral	Neutral	Neutral	Neutral
	Noise Sensitive Receptors	Neutral	Neutral	Positive	Positive
	Known Cultural Resources within Site	Positive	Positive	Positive	Positive
	Prime and Unique Farmland (in acres)	Positive	Positive	Neutral	Neutral
	Critical Habitat and/or Sensitive Biological Areas	Neutral	Neutral	Negative	Negative
	Special Waste	Positive	Positive	Positive	Positive
	Consistent with Land Use	Positive	Positive	Neutral	Neutral
	Socioeconomic Impacts including Title VI Equity Impacts	Positive	Positive	Positive	Positive

Positive
Neutral
Not Preferred

* None of the sites or design options screened in detail would result in a disparate impact on the basis of race, color, or national origin.

Environmental Considerations

Environmental considerations are key to our project team’s site evaluation criteria. For the remaining two reviewed sites, our team considered potential impacts to wetlands, wildlife, cultural resources, and community impacts, such as noise and light.

Optimal Site Characteristics

Minimal wetlands
Absence of critical habitat for protected species
Compatibility with existing and future land uses and zoning
No conflicts with Special AquiferRecharge Areas
Minimal hazardous waste concerns
No known cultural resources
Minimal impact to surrounding community, including noise, light, glare

Recommended Site Alternatives

Throughout the site screening process, we identified two recommended sites near the City of Woodstock. These two sites received the most positive rankings during our screening. We will continue to evaluate and gather public input on these options.

East of Lamb Road

Pros:

Adequate footprint available for desired train storage
Adjacent to planned and partially constructed roadway for ease of access
Adjacent to planned and partially constructed utilities in Airway Drive anticipated to be complete prior to Metra project construction
Subdivided site allows property acquisitions of undeveloped lots with minimal impact to adjacent properties

Cons:

Potential need to relocate 4 garage buildings
Impacts prime farmland
Extensive off-site fill required
Potential impacts to stream and habitat within yard footprint
Site geometry requires yard tracks on a slight grade

West of Lamb Road

Pros:

Adequate footprint available for desired train storage
Significant portion of site area within existing Metra Right-of-Way
Limited grading and off-site fill required
Less constrained by adjacent properties, allows improved track geometry and flatter storage yard.

Cons:

Larger site footprint required to add roadway and utility access from Lamb Road
Impacts prime farmland
Impacts wetland and potential habitat
Located entirely within Sensitive Aquifer Recharge Area

Next Steps

As the project moves forward, the next steps include a National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) study, traffic analysis, and collecting your input to select and develop a preferred alternative. These next steps of the project, considered Phase I, will continue through early to mid-2025.