If you ship containers through Chicago, the first question is usually which ramp. The Chicago market has several public intermodal terminals, run by different railroads, in different suburbs, on different interstates. This guide names those ramps, puts them on the map, and stops there. It does not invent volumes, wait times or railroad contracts.
Freight Network Solution Company can pick up from or deliver to the public ramps listed below. The formal naming disclaimer sits under the full table.
The southwest complex: Elwood and Joliet
A large share of the region's international containers now land about 40 miles southwest of downtown, in Will County, at two different facilities that people often lump together and should not.
BNSF Logistics Park Chicago (LPC) is in Elwood, Illinois, at 26664 Elwood International Port Road (some older directories still use the Baseline Road name). It is a public BNSF intermodal facility. The local roads feed I-55 and, a few miles north, I-80.
Union Pacific Joliet Intermodal Terminal, also called Global IV or Global 4, is in Joliet, Illinois, at 3000 Centerpoint Way, inside the CenterPoint logistics area. Union Pacific's own pages use both the "Global 4 Intermodal Terminal" name and the "Joliet Intermodal Terminal (JIT)" name for this ramp. It is a different railroad, a different city and a different gate from LPC.
If a delivery order says Elwood or LPC, the plan is BNSF. If it says Joliet, JIT or Global IV, the plan is Union Pacific. Mixing those up costs a wasted trip and, some days, a last free day.
In town and just west: BNSF, CSX and Norfolk Southern
Not every box lands in Will County. Several public ramps still sit in the city or on its inner edge, which is a shorter drive to Midway-area, Southwest Side and South Side docks.
- BNSF Chicago (Corwith) Intermodal Facility, 3526 W. 43rd Street, Chicago. A BNSF ramp on the Southwest Side.
- BNSF Chicago (Cicero) Intermodal Facility, 5601 W. 26th Street, Cicero, just west of the city line.
- BNSF Willow Springs Intermodal Facility, 7600 Santa Fe Drive, Hodgkins, near I-294 and I-55.
- CSX Bedford Park, in Bedford Park (public directories list 7000 W. 71st Street), and CSX 59th Street in Chicago (2101 W. 59th Street). These two are a short drive apart and are the public CSX intermodal gates in this market.
- Norfolk Southern 47th Street (361 W. 47th Street, Chicago), Norfolk Southern Landers (listed in public directories on S. Western Avenue / the Landers area of the South Side), and Norfolk Southern Calumet (2040 E. 106th Street, Chicago), on the far Southeast Side near the Calumet River.
Addresses above come from railroad facility listings and public terminal directories. Gates and GPS points can change, so confirm the gate with the railroad or your steamship line for a live move.
The south and the O'Hare side
CN Harvey, also called the Gateway Intermodal Terminal, is Canadian National's public Chicago-area intermodal gate, listed at 16800 South Center Street, Harvey. I-57, I-294 and I-80 are the highways that serve it. It is a natural pair for south-suburban docks and for runs into Northwest Indiana.
CPKC Bensenville Intermodal Terminal sits on the O'Hare side of the region, listed at 10800 S. Franklin Avenue, Franklin Park, on the Bensenville yard complex. A few minutes away in Northlake is Union Pacific Global II, at 301 West Lake Street. Those two ramps are different railroads. Elk Grove Village, Wood Dale and the O'Hare cargo area are the usual nearby warehouse destinations.
The full list, in one table
| Railroad | Ramp | City |
|---|---|---|
| BNSF | Logistics Park Chicago (LPC) | Elwood, IL |
| BNSF | Chicago (Corwith) Intermodal Facility | Chicago, IL |
| BNSF | Chicago (Cicero) Intermodal Facility | Cicero, IL |
| BNSF | Willow Springs Intermodal Facility | Hodgkins, IL |
| Union Pacific | Joliet Intermodal Terminal (Global IV) | Joliet, IL |
| Union Pacific | Global II | Northlake, IL |
| CSX | Bedford Park | Bedford Park, IL |
| CSX | 59th Street | Chicago, IL |
| Norfolk Southern | 47th Street | Chicago, IL |
| Norfolk Southern | Landers | Chicago, IL |
| Norfolk Southern | Calumet | Chicago, IL |
| Canadian National | Harvey (Gateway) | Harvey, IL |
| CPKC | Bensenville Intermodal Terminal | Franklin Park / Bensenville, IL |
These are public intermodal ramps in the Chicago market that Freight Network Solution Company can pick up from or deliver to. Naming a ramp describes geography in a market we serve. It is not a claim of a contract, lease, or exclusive partnership with any railroad.
How to use this, practically
When you request a quote, give us the ramp name as it appears on your railroad or steamship-line message, not just "Chicago." Elwood and Joliet are not interchangeable. Bensenville and Global II are not interchangeable. Calumet and Harvey are close, and still different gates.
For a community-level picture of the roads and the docks around each ramp, see our Chicago service-area pages. For the steps of the truck move itself (last free day, chassis, out-gate, empty return), see How drayage works in Chicago. For FNS rail coverage beyond this market, including the USA, Canada and Mexico, see the Rail ramps section on our Drayage / transload page.
We left fleet counts, chassis ownership and yard size out of this essay on purpose. Those are facts we will publish when the client confirms them, not before.