MUNSTER, Ind. (AP) — A private investor says an $8 billion, 278-mile rail line from northwest Indiana to Wisconsin could greatly relieve Chicago-area freight congestion.

Great Lakes Basin Transportation says the rail line could handle 110 trains a day and would be the largest railroad project in the U.S. since 1911.

Great Lakes president Jim Wilson tells The (Munster) Times that freight traffic could increase by 50 percent in the next four decades.

It takes a train three days to get from Los Angeles to Chicago — and then another three days to get through packed Windy City terminals.

Great Lakes will present its plan to the U.S. Surface Transportation Board this month.

Wilson says existing Chicago rail lines cannot be expanded.