The potent mix of traffic and trains along that stretch of County Farm produces what DuPage County Board member Linda Kurzawa, of nearby Winfield, describes as "an enormous amount of windshield time—people just sitting there staring at their windshields."

Consolidated Network, a subsidiary of Consolidated Communications Inc. of Mattoon, Ill., says its video conference room has raised productivity by eliminating many 150-mile trips to Mattoon for meetings with its parent company and other subsidiaries. 'When you place a value on the windshield time of certain employees, it has paid back its cost at a reasonable rate for the amount of investment,' said Richard Gibbens, president of Consolidated Network.

"Parking here and going in by train, I'll get an extra hour of reading time, which is a lot better than windshield time," said Lou Kennedy of Annapolis as he parked at New Carrollton. Kennedy used to drive to the Stadium-Armory station and park.