Illinois Railfans Live
Illinois rail tracking: Chicago is the densest rail hub in North America — every Class I freight road (BNSF, UP, NS, CSX, CN, CPKC) interchanges here, plus Metra commuter (11 lines), NICTD South Shore Line, Amtrak Union Station (Lincoln Service, Texas Eagle, Lake Shore Limited, Southwest Chief, California Zephyr, Hiawatha, Empire Builder), CTA L, and active railfan spots from Rochelle (BNSF/UP diamond) to Hodgkins (BNSF) to Joliet to Galesburg.
Illinois is active right now.
Everything a railfan keeps in browser tabs — one app.
Live Passenger Rail
Amtrak — live tracking from official GTFS-realtime feeds. Schedule estimates when realtime drops; every marker labeled with its data confidence.
Railfan Spots
Illinois-curated railfan locations with safety notes, parking, best time of day, and access rules.
Freight & community sightings
BNSF, CN, CSX, Norfolk Southern — community-tracked. No public realtime feeds exist for Class I freight (BNSF, UP, CSX, NS, CPKC, FEC, CN, KCS) so we surface them via railfan-reported sightings only. Every entry tagged with confidence + freshness.
Personal Logbook
Private logbook to record every catch with locomotives, tags, locations, and dates. Search and stats included.
AI Railfan Assistant
Clean up messy sighting notes, summarize spots, plan trips, check safety. Every AI suggestion is reviewed before save.
Illinois-First
Built locally for Illinois's mainlines and depots — railfan-built, by people who know the ground.
- Stay on public property. Never trespass on railroad property.
- Obey all signs, crossing gates, and law enforcement instructions.
- Train data may be delayed, incomplete, estimated, or community-reported — do not use this app for safety-critical decisions.
- Freight sightings are community reports, not official railroad tracking. Treat them as anecdotal.