Amtrak to convert historical mail platforms at Union Station into passenger boarding areas

Posted November 10, 2026 6:15 pm

Marni Pyke

An Amtrak train sits at Union Station on Dec. 9, 2024. Construction is beginning on rail platforms that once were used for U.S. mail trains to return them to active use. (Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune)

For years, once bustling platforms at Union Station, where U.S. mail trains delivered thousands of letters and packages, have collected dust.

That’s changing as Amtrak begins converting the structures into accessible platforms, which also will indirectly benefit Metra.

The level-boarding platforms will enable Amtrak travelers to get in and out of trains without stairs or lifts, creating a more “streamlined experience,” the passenger railroad announced Tuesday.

The project, which includes a climate-controlled waiting area with washrooms, will take 30 months and cost about $112 million. The upgraded facilities will accommodate passengers when Amtrak later shifts to reconstructing platforms currently in use.

The improvements will trickle down to Metra riders, spokesperson Michael Gillis said.

“We won’t use those mail platforms, but that work would enable the widening of other platforms that we would be using, and also enable the construction of exits to Van Buren Street,” at Union Station.

“That additional work is in design right now, and we don’t have any construction funding yet identified,” Gillis explained.

Dormant platforms that once were used for U.S. mail trains will be returned to active use for Amtrak passengers. (Marni Pyke/Daily Herald)

At Union Station in Chicago, defunct elevators near rail platforms that once were used for mail cars are seen on July 14, 2022. The platforms will be converted for use by Amtrak passengers. (Terrence Antonio James/Chicago Tribune)

Rail platforms once used for U.S. mail trains at Union Station will be lowered and modernized so people can board trains. (Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune)

The platforms became defunct when the U.S. Postal Service moved its offices above the tracks.

The transformation is part of Amtrak’s ambitious Chicago Hub Improvement Program modernizing Union Station and related track infrastructure. The program includes improving routes to and from the station.

“Today marks an exciting milestone for the Chicago Hub Improvement Program,” Amtrak Vice President of Infrastructure Project Delivery Warren LeBeau said in a statement. “This investment will deliver a fully ADA-compliant, level boarding platform that makes travel easier and more convenient for all Amtrak passengers, while launching a new chapter of improvements at the station.

“Together, these investments are creating a more welcoming, modern, and customer-focused station for the millions of travelers who pass through it each year.”

However, Amtrak has faced significant pushback from Chicago residents, the city, and federal lawmakers for the proposed relocation of its 14th Street maintenance yard south of Union Station to a facility owned by Union Pacific near the Bridgeport neighborhood.

mpyke@dailyherald.com

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