Joliet Today

After years of neglect and decay, the station building was restored between 1989-1991. Today, the City of Joliet owns two-thirds of the facility and Metra (Chicago's commuter rail system) owns the other third.

The Michigan Central line was abandoned in the early 1970s. East of Joliet, the right-of-way is a biking and hiking path called the Old Plank Road Trail.

Tracks 1 and 2 on the east side belong to BNSF while tracks 3 and 4 are used by Union Pacific and Canadian National. Metra's Heritage Corridor trains and all Amtrak trains use tracks 3 and 4.

Thanks to mergers, trackage rights and nearby intermodal and transloading facilities, freight trains from BNSF, CN, Norfolk Southern and Union Pacific can be seen on the east side throughout the day. Typical of today's operations, power from CSX, Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern can also be seen.

The single remaining track on the south side is used by Metra's Rock Island District trains, as well as CSX freight trains to Ottawa, Illinois and Iowa Interstate freight trains to Council Bluffs, Iowa.