Join Transport Chicago and the CTA's Red and Purple Modernization (RPM) team for a one-of-a-kind pre-opening tour of the RPM Phase One project opening this summer!

The 2-hour mobile tour will feature a project overview, the Red-Purple Bypass and new track structure north of Belmont, a visit to the RPM Community Office, the Under-L Activation plans, and an exclusive sneak preview into one of the four brand new stations still under construction and not yet open to the public.

This is a ticketed event and is separate from the conference registration. Participants should plan to wear closed-toed walking shoes for safety purposes.

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UIC’s Urban Transportation Center and Transport Chicago are co-sponsoring this special noontime webinar as part of our 40th Anniversary programming series.

Key topics to be addressed include:

• Technological improvements that BNSF (and much of the industry) is doing to improve air quality around our operations

• Freight/economic trends we are seeing at UP

• The CREATE program – a first-of-its-kind public-private partnership between the freight railroads, Amtrak, Metra, Chicago DOT, IDOT, FHWA/FRA to improve Chicago’s rail transportation network. $2 billion has been spent so far to untangle Chicago’s freight and passenger rail networks, making it more efficient and environmentally friendly

The event will be held via zoom. Questions? Contact Edward Bury at ebury@uic.edu

Meet Our Speakers

Peter Skosey | Executive Director, State Government Affairs | BNSF Railway

As Executive Director for public and government affairs, Peter Skosey oversees all of BNSF's interactions with local and state governments in Illinois and Iowa, including monitoring all legislative action in each general assembly, responding to media inquiries and coordinating rail projects within local jurisdictions. Additionally, Skosey oversees the charitable giving for BNSF and manages its Political Action Committee. Today's BNSF Railway is the product of some 390 different railroad lines that merged or were acquired during more than 160 years. BNSF is a critical link that connects consumers with the global marketplace. For more than 160 years, BNSF has played a vital role in building and sustaining this nation's economy.

Tom Evenson | Senior Director of Public Affairs for Illinois and Wisconsin | Union Pacific Railroad

Tom Evenson is Union Pacific’s senior director of Public Affairs for Illinois and Wisconsin, covering state and local government relations, community relations, and philanthropic giving. Union Pacific is the nation’s largest railroad with more than 32,000 miles of track in the western two-thirds of the United States and $24 billion in annual revenue.

Kevin Donahue | State & Local Affairs Manager | Canadian National Railway

Kevin Donahue is a State & Local Affairs Manager for Canadian National, responsible for the development and implementation of strategies to enhance stakeholder relationships with state, municipal, and local government officials to ensure policies that support continued growth. Canadian National transports more than C$250 billion worth of goods annually for a wide range of business sectors, ranging from resource products to manufactured products to consumer goods, across a rail network of approximately 20,000 route-miles spanning Canada and mid-America.