The Barr Subdivision is a railroad line owned and operated by CSX Transportation

CSX Transportation

CSX Transportation operates a Class I railroad in the United States known as the CSX Railroad. It is the main subsidiary of the CSX Corporation. The company is headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida, and owns approximately 21,000 route miles...

 in the U.S. state

U.S. state

A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...

s of Indiana

Indiana

Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...

 and Illinois

Illinois

Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...

. The line runs from Willow Creek (a neighborhood in Portage, Indiana

Portage, Indiana

Portage is a city in Portage Township, Porter County, Indiana, United States. The population was 36,828 as of the 2010 census. It is the largest city in Porter County, and third largest in Northwest Indiana.-Geography:...

), west to Blue Island, Illinois

Blue Island, Illinois

Blue Island is a city in Cook County, Illinois. The population was 22,556 at the 2010 census. Blue Island was established in the 1830s as a way station for settlers traveling on the Vincennes Trace, and the settlement prospered because it was conveniently situated a day's journey outside of Chicago...

, along a former Baltimore and Ohio Railroad

Baltimore and Ohio Railroad

The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was one of the oldest railroads in the United States and the first common carrier railroad. It came into being mostly because the city of Baltimore wanted to compete with the newly constructed Erie Canal and another canal being proposed by Pennsylvania, which...

 (B&O) line. At its east end, it junctions with the Porter Subdivision and Garrett Subdivision

Garrett Subdivision

The Garrett Subdivision is a railroad line owned and operated by CSX Transportation in the U.S. states of Ohio and Indiana. The line runs from Deshler, Ohio, west to Willow Creek, Indiana , along a former Baltimore and Ohio Railroad line. At its east end, just east of Deshler, the Garrett...

; its west end is at the south end of the Blue Island Subdivision, with access to the New Rock Subdivision via trackage rights

Trackage rights

Trackage rights , running rights or running powers is an agreement whereby a railway company has the right to run its trains on tracks owned by another railway company....

 over the Metra

Metra

Metra is the commuter rail division of the Illinois Regional Transportation Authority. The system serves Chicago and its metropolitan area through 240 stations on 11 different rail lines. Throughout the 21st century, Metra has been the second busiest commuter rail system in the United States by...

 Rock Island District

Rock Island District

The Rock Island District is a commuter rail line operated by Metra from Chicago, Illinois, United States, southwest to Joliet. While Metra does not specifically refer to any of its lines by a particular color, the timetable accents for the Rock Island District line are printed in "Rocket Red"...

 and access to the Indiana Harbor Belt Railroad

Indiana Harbor Belt Railroad

The Indiana Harbor Belt Railroad is a Class III railroad in the United States. The line comprises of track—30 miles of single mainline track, of double-main track and of additional yard and side track—starting northwest of Chicago in Franklin Park, Illinois, traveling southeast...

. Junctions exist with the Lake Subdivision at Pine Junction in Gary, Indiana

Gary, Indiana

Gary is a city in Lake County, Indiana, United States. The city is in the southeastern portion of the Chicago metropolitan area and is 25 miles from downtown Chicago. The population is 80,294 at the 2010 census, making it the seventh-largest city in the state. It borders Lake Michigan and is known...

 and with the Chicago Heights Subdivision at Harvey Junction (near Blue Island).

History

The line east of Pine Junction was opened by the Baltimore, Pittsburgh and Chicago Railway in 1874. From Pine Junction west to Blue Island, the Chicago and Calumet Terminal Railway built a line in the late 1880s. Both sections became part of the B&O and CSX through leases and mergers.