Speakers: Mark Walbrun, chief development officer, and Dave Lundy, chief executive officer, O'Hare Flyer

The O’Hare Flyer is a privately funded rail project that aims to bring travelers from downtown Chicago to O’Hare Airport in just 15 minutes.

The proposal, announced on Aug. 25, would take advantage of underused, freight-owned rights of way to deliver a practical path toward a long-sought commuting experience. The O’Hare Flyer would run battery-powered trains between the airport’s Terminal 2 and a station near the Old Post Office proximate to a variety of multimodal “last-mile” connections such as Chicago Union Station.

Listen to learn more about this exciting new development from its leadership team.

[00:00] Intro — High Speed Rail Talk
[00:19] Welcome from Rick Harnish, High Speed Rail Alliance
[01:27] Introducing the O'Hare Flyer team and project background
[04:17] World-class partners and vendors
[05:11] Vision: a 15-minute, battery-electric airport express
[06:59] Private funding, no public subsidy
[07:41] Operating plan and schedule
[10:09] Train specs, range, and battery charging
[10:39] Route overview: CN, CSX, Union Pacific rights-of-way
[12:02] Downtown terminal at Canal Street
[13:10] End-to-end control and grade separation
[14:34] Track configuration and third rail details
[15:30] Route schematic and maintenance center
[16:18] Grade crossings and safety upgrades
[18:17] Crossing the airport taxiways
[19:03] Arrival at the airport terminal platform
[20:19] Connecting to Terminal 1, 3, 5 and the ATS
[21:07] Passenger experience and luggage handling
[22:26] Downtown station and connections to Union Station/Blue Line
[23:13] Engineering, environmental, and title research
[24:26] Community relations approach
[25:51] Possible Forest Park stop
[26:20] Grade separation details in River Forest
[28:00] Q&A begins
[28:11] CTA ridership overlap and market differences
[30:26] Speed and top speed details
[31:27] Why not terminate at Union Station
[32:56] Funding and comparison to Brightline (Florida)
[35:07] Fare pricing expectations
[36:01] ROI and investor questions
[36:16] CDA/CDOT/city cooperation
[37:41] Conversations with CTA and Metra
[38:10] Ridership market research
[40:07] Forest Park stop travel times
[40:30] Investors and backers confidentiality
[41:22] Addressing residential noise concerns
[42:48] Comparison to Toronto's Union-Pearson Express
[44:03] Closing thoughts and next steps
[45:16] Outro and credits

Originally recorded Sept. 4, 2026