During the heyday of rail transportation in the first half of the 20th century, Chicago, Illinois reigned as the undisputed railroad center of the United States and was served by six intercity train terminals. With the decline of rail passenger service many of these facilities disappeared; today only Union Station remains in use in a substantially original form, and is the only one served by Amtrak trains. The Chicago and North Western Passenger Terminal has been replaced with a newer station and renamed Ogilvie Transportation Center, and LaSalle Street Station has also been replaced with a newer facility. Millennium Station is on the site of the pre-1893 Illinois Central Railroad Great Central Station, used since then only for commuter trains. All four stations are used by Metra commuter service.
The table below shows all lines that have served downtown Chicago and what terminal they used. A red background indicates that the railroad owned a part or full share of the terminal.
NOTE: The Chicago, Terre Haute and Southeastern Railway, later part of the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad, never had passenger service in the Chicago area.