I am also curious about the "success" of the Milwaukee-Chicago rail line. It has seen recent popularity increases, but I wonder if that will be the cas3 when the 8-lane I-94 is finished. Most likely, people will choose to drive. I have gone to Chicago many different ways, including the train. I found that the most convenient/cheap is to drive to the northern suburbs, park for free, and take the commuter rail into the city. A group of 4 of us once took the train to Chicago: the total cost was $160! Gas is going to have to cost about $10/gallon to make that a smart decision for a family. -------------------------------------------- A few points on that: - ridership began to increase even before it was announced they were widening this stretch of road - There was never a traffic problem on that section of highway....there still isn't and it's down to two lanes on the northbound side. - It will always be faster to take the train at rush hour. Always. The traffic issues reside once you get about 10 miles from downtown Chicago. The train is almost always a 90 minute ride downtown to downtown. A car is 90 minutes on Sunday morning - and might be 180 minutes at rush hour. - It will always be cheaper to drive an entire family than take a train or fly. The cost benefit of a train is topped out at a group of maybe two people - travel by car may be cheaper in real dollars, but you still have to drive, pay attention to the road, deal with accidents, etc. My time is valuable and worth something too. If I can work, read, sleep, drink, etc. that means a great deal to me.