My suggestion is for the Metra Electric District. Metra's 5th busiest line, the MED is an electrified commuter line operating from downtown Chicago's underground Millennium Station (of Dark Knight fame), formerly known as Randolph Street Terminal, to the south suburbs. The line is a continuation of electrified commuter service, the IC Electric, once run by fallen flag Illinois Central before selling it to Metra in 1987. To date, MED is Metra's only electrified line. After leaving Millennium Station, trains travel south through Chicago's famous Grant Park and past landmarks such as Buckingham Fountain, the historic Soldier Field (Home of the Chicago Bears football team), and the Museum Campus which is home to several of Chicago's most iconic museums. The line then rises from it's trench through Grant Park to elevated tracks and travels through Chicago's historic Bronzeville neighborhood--once known as the "Black Metropolis" for its significant concentration of African-American business and culture in the 20th century. The line then travels through Hyde Park, a trendy and rapidly developing area that is home to expensive lakefront condos, the Museum of Science and Industry, and the world-renowned University of Chicago, often called a Midwest Ivy. Hyde Park is also the site of the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition and 1933 Century of Progress Exposition--two events which are each represented by one of the four red stars on the Chicago flag commemorating formative historic events in the city's history, the other two being the establishment of Fort Dearborn and the Great Chicago Fire. From Hyde Park, the route continues through Chicago's South Side passing through neighborhoods like Woodlawn, Grand Crossing, and Pullman (the birthplace of the historic Pullman Company and its Pullman Sleeper, and site of the historic 1894 Pullman Strike) and landmarks like Apostolic Church of God, Mount Carmel High School, and Chicago State University. South of 63rd Street, the MED's first branch, the South Chicago Branch splits off, running at-grade down the median of 71st Street and Exchange Avenue in the South Shore neighborhood, ending in the diverse South Chicago neighborhood. The main line continues south to Kensington/115th street--it's last stop within city limits and home to the MED's largest yard and maintenance facility. South of Kensington, the second branch, the Blue Island Branch splits off, heading west through Pullman to the town of Blue Island, where passengers can transfer to Metra's diesel hauled Rock Island District running between Chicago and the City of Joliet. After Kensington, main line trains leave the city limits, cross the Calumet River and travel through Chicago's south suburbs running parallel to freight and Amtrak trains traveling on Canadian National's Chicago Subdivision. Some highlights include Homewood, a cozy town whose station has a second platform for Amtrak trains. Homewood also hosts Canadian National's Markham Yard, as well as restored Illinois Central GP10 8408 and an IC caboose on display next to the station. The next stop, Flossmoor, has a rail themed restaurant and brewery known as Flossmoor Station next to the tracks. This restaurant provides trackside pickup service to those who order ahead with their train arrival time! Flossmoor Station also has an ice cream shop open in the summer on its back patio built out of a converted caboose, appropriately named The Caboose, where families can eat ice cream and watch trains pass. Trains cover the last few miles before finishing in University Park, mere steps from Governors State University, although some rush-hour trains turn back before this point. All in all, the route covers 31.5 miles. For rolling stock along the route, Metra now exclusively uses the Highliner II gallery car EMU produced by Nippon Sharyo and first entering service in 2005, with a much larger order entering service between 2012 and 2016 to phase out the aging St. Louis Car Company and Bombardier built Highliners Metra inherited from the Illinois Central Railway. The Highliner II looks almost identical to the Nippon Sharyo gallery car used on Metra's diesel lines as well as Caltrain in California, with key differences including traction motors and pantographs for the line's 1.5 kV overhead electrification, electro-pneumatic brakes, high-level doors for use with the line's high level platforms, and digital train number displays at each cab end. The trains operate in two-car sets that can operate by themselves or be coupled up to create trains as long as eight cars. Amtrak trains running parallel to the line use P42DC Genesis locomotives with Superliner coaches for City of New Orleans services, and SC-44 Charger locomotives with Bombardier Horizon and Siemens Venture coaches for state-sponsored IDOT routes. Various CN freight locomotives can also be seen along the route. The Metra Electric District is also traveled on by the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District's (NICTD) South Shore Line, one of America's last interurbans. South Shore Line trains travel from their own concourse in Millennium Station making limited stops along the MED before splitting off at Kensington/115th street and heading east through the Hegewisch neighborhood, into Indiana, and terminating in South Bend, Indiana. South Shore Line trains operate using single-level trains produced in three orders by Nippon Sharyo between 1982 and 2001 as well as modified versions of the Highliner II (in a configuration slightly different from Metra's orders including, for example, end vestibules) built by Nippon Sharyo and entering service in 2009. In the Metra Electric District and South Shore Line, many significant locations, operators, and other hallmarks of Chicago's rich railroading history live on today, transporting 7.7 million and 1.4 million riders annually respectively, and carrying the legacy of the Illinois Central, the Panama Limited, and the Midwest's last interurban!
