Metra

Metra (officially the Northeast Illinois Regional Commuter Railroad Corporation) is Chicagoland's commuter rail system, serving over 200 stations on eleven lines across the Regional Transportation Authority's six-county service area (Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry and Will Counties).

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The RTA was formed in a March 1973 referendum to provide financial support from local and county governments to railroads providing commuter service between Chicago and its suburbs. Purchase of service contracts with all the railroads operating commuter service in the area were signed in 1976. In the wake of the 1980 bankruptcy and liquidation of the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad, the RTA also inherited ownership and operational responsibilities of that railroad's commuter operations (known today as Metra's Rock Island District) in 1982. That same year it also leased the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad's (Milwaukee Road) lines, now the Milwaukee District/West Line and Milwaukee District/North Line (it bought the lines in 1985).

Chicagoland: Chicagoland is the preferred name for the Chicago metropolitan area and locally has the standing of an official name. Chicagoland includes the City of Chicago at its core and encompasses smaller cities and suburban communities located in nine surrounding counties in the states of Illinois, Indiana,...

Commuter rail: [[File:Unit 376029 at Slade Green.JPG|right|thumb|A Southeastern (train operating company)|Southeastern commuter train at Slade Green railway...

Regional Transportation Authority: The Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) is the financial and oversight body for the three transit agencies in northeastern Illinois: Chicago Transit Authority, Metra, Pace...