Transportation

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Illinois provides an impressive infrastructure for transportation, guaranteeing its successful economic position as a major hub of the United States and the world. The Interstate highways of Illinois alone create a vast network of roads which aid commerce; twelve Interstates cross the Prairie State. Over 6,000 trucking companies serve Illinois.

Illinois is a major rail hub for the United States. Amtrak provides several routes for Illinois, including the Illinois Zephyr, connecting Chicago and Quincy; the Illinois Service, connecting Chicago and Carbondale; and the Lincoln Service, connecting Chicago to St. Louis, Missouri.

Illinois also offers over 1,100 miles (1770.2 kilometers) of navigable waterways, connecting the Prairie State to the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico by Lake Michigan, via the St. Lawrence Seaway. Additionally, the Mississippi and Illinois Rivers aid shipping of agricultural products.

The central location of Illinois gives the state a distinctive edge in air travel as well. Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport (ORD) is one of the busiest airports in the world, servicing nearly 200,000 passengers every day, and a hub for American Airlines and United Airlines. The Midway International Airport (MDW) also serves the Chicago metropolitan area.

Chicago is served by the Chicago Transit Authority, whose buses provide over 1 million passenger trips per day, and rapid transit trains which provide over 500,000 passenger trips per day.

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