[3] While Metra does not explicitly refer to any of its lines by color, the timetable accents for the Metra Electric District are printed in bright "Panama orange" to reflect the line's origins with the Illinois Central Railroad (IC) and its Panama Limited passenger train.

The trunk stretch of the line shared between all branches from Millennium Station to 63rd Street is the most heavily traveled section on the entire Metra system.

[6] The line was built by the Illinois Central Railroad, one of the first commuter services outside the major metropolitan areas of the northeastern United States.

At McCormick Place just south of downtown Chicago, the two non-electrified tracks to Central Station crossed over the new electric alignment.

Service was extended 1.1 miles (1.8 km) southward from Matteson to Richton Park, a new station at the south end of the coach storage yard, in 1946.

A major contributing factor was that Illinois Central Gulf used a dark gray color scheme on the front ends of the Highliner fleet, which was very difficult to see on the cloudy morning of the accident.

After the accident the ends of all of the ICG 1926 heavyweight still in use and Highliner MU fleet were partially painted with bright orange added for additional visibility.

In 1976 the Regional Transportation Authority signed a contract with Illinois Central Gulf to fund its commuter service.

Two inter-city freight tracks retained by the ICG are now part of the Canadian National Railway, used by Amtrak's City of New Orleans, Illini and Saluki trains.

People with paper tickets or weekend passes, on reduced fares or who had trouble with the vending machines had to use a blue or orange pal phone to contact an operator who would unlock the turnstiles.

On other Metra lines, express service operates exclusively during the morning and afternoon rush hours.

[12] Since the Gold Line was proposed, the idea of providing rapid transit service along Chicago's south lakefront has gained considerable support from neighborhoods along its route.

Despite its popular support, officials from CTA and Metra have largely dismissed the plan, focusing on other expansion projects.

[13] An extension to Peotone, Illinois, the Proposed Chicago south suburban airport, or even Kankakee, with a stop in Monee has been considered since the SouthWest Service was extended to Manhattan.

The new schedule will provide rapid service for the Hyde Park stations every 20 minutes on weekdays until 7 p.m. and every half-hour on Saturdays.

However, the proposed schedule also calls for the elimination of lightly used Blue Island trains, including all Saturday service.

[17] After reviewing community feedback, Metra decided to keep four Saturday Blue Island trains and one late night trip to South Chicago.

The Metra Electric District uses second-generation bi-level Highliner multiple unit cars built by Nippon Sharyo.