North Central Service

The North Central Service (NCS) is a Metra commuter rail line running from Union Station in downtown Chicago through northwestern and far northern suburbs to Antioch, Illinois. In June 2018, the public timetable shows 10 weekday departures from Chicago. This line does not run at all on weekends or holidays.[2] While Metra does not explicitly refer to any of its eleven routes by colors, the NCS' timetable accents are lavender, a shade of purple. It is the only Metra line that does not have a specific color for a fallen flag railroad that used to operate on this route.

North Central Service
A North Central Service train at O'Hare Transfer in 2010.
Overview
Owner	Metra (Union Station to River Grove) CN beyond River Grove
Termini	Union Station Antioch
Stations	18
Service
Type	Commuter rail
System	Metra
Operator(s)	Metra
Daily ridership	5,800 (Avg. Weekday 2016)[1]
History
Opened	August 19, 1996
Technical
Line length	52.9 mi (85.1 km)
Track gauge	4 ft 8 ^1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Route map 55.7 Antioch 50.7 Lake Villa 48.5 Round Lake Beach 46.5 Washington Street MD-N to Fox Lake to Union Station 43.4 Prairie Crossing | MD-N Prairie Crossing 39.6 Mundelein 35.7 Vernon Hills 34.4 Prairie View 32.0 Buffalo Grove 29.9 Wheeling 26.6 Prospect Heights UP-NW to McHenry or Harvard to Ogilvie 19.8 O'Hare Transfer ATS Blue / I-190 18.6 Rosemont 17.4 Schiller Park 15.8 Belmont Avenue MD-W to Elgin Des Plaines River 11.4 mi 18.3 km River Grove 10.2 mi 16.4 km Nonstop placeholder 10.2 mi 16.4 km Elmwood Park 9.5 mi 15.3 km Mont Clare 9.1 mi 14.6 km Mars 8.6 mi 13.8 km Galewood 7.7 mi 12.4 km Hanson Park 7.0 mi 11.3 km Cragin 6.5 mi 10.5 km Grand/Cicero 5.9 mi 9.5 km Hermosa MD-N to Fox Lake Amtrak to Milwaukee Coach Yard 2.9 mi 4.7 km Western Avenue UP-W to Elburn Chicago "L" Logan Square branch UP-N to Kenosha UP-NW to McHenry or Harvard GreenPink Ogilvie 0 mi Union Station BNSF to Aurora HC to Joliet SWS to Manhattan

Between Union Station and River Grove station the North Central Service shares tracks with the Milwaukee District/West Line, but does not stop at any of the intermediate stations used by the MD-W between Western Avenue and River Grove. About a mile west of River Grove, this route turns north at a junction known as tower B-12. The rest of the route operates on track owned and dispatched by the Canadian National Railway ("CN"). A single daily inbound train, #120, makes all stops along the North Central Service from Antioch to Washington Street, then switches to the Milwaukee District/North Line's tracks at a diamond in Prairie Crossing, makes stops at Libertyville and Lake Forest, and then runs express to Union Station.

The CN assumed ownership of this route on September 7, 2001, when it absorbed the Wisconsin Central Railroad ("WC"). The WC operated this route after it was purchased from the Soo Line Railroad in April 1987. Like most routes, Metra provides its own crews for this service and operates under a trackage rights agreement with the CN.

Service began August 19, 1996.[3] As of 2020, this is the only new line in the Metra system since its formation. Prior to the start of NCS, the last passenger service on this route ended in 1965, when the Soo Line discontinued the overnight Chicago-Duluth Laker.

The North Central Service serves O'Hare International Airport, but a limited number of trains. O'Hare has much more frequent service from the CTA Blue Line.

The North Central Service, the Heritage Corridor, and SouthWest Service are the only Metra lines that are fully ADA-accessible.

No tickets are sold at any North Central Service stations outside Chicago. Passengers must purchase tickets either on the train or with Ventra.

Recent history

On January 30, 2006 four new stations on the North Central Service opened: Franklin Park, Schiller Park, Rosemont, and Washington Street.[4] Another station, at Grand and Cicero Avenues in Chicago (between the Western Avenue and River Grove stops), was built in 2006. Service doubled from 10 to 20 trains per day with this change in the timetable, combined with double tracking of large portions of the line and the CN rerouting freight traffic south of Mundelein.[5]

On September 11, 2006 service expanded from 20 to 22 trains when Metra split one rush-hour local train in each direction into two express trains.

Notably, the line goes through Des Plaines but does not have a station there. The station in Des Plaines was on Thacker Street and closed in 1965. However, Des Plaines is currently serviced by the Union Pacific/Northwest Line.

Metra has considered adding weekend service to the North Central Service ever since Saturday service was added to the SouthWest Service, and has also considered operating six trains between Chicago and Antioch, like the SouthWest Service.

On February 5, 2018 service was reduced from 22 to 20 trains when Metra combined two rush-hour express trains into one rush hour semi-express.

Ridership

Since 2014 annual ridership has declined from 1.8 million to 1.6 million, an overall decline of 9.7%.[6]

500,000

1,000,000

1,500,000

2,000,000

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

Stations

Zone	Location	Station	Connections and notes
J	Antioch	Antioch	Western Kenosha County Transit: Antioch Service
	Lake Villa	Lake Villa
	Round Lake Beach	Round Lake Beach
I	Grayslake	Washington Street
H	Libertyville	Prairie Crossing	Metra: Milwaukee District / North Line
	Mundelein	Mundelein	Pace: 572, 574
G	Vernon Hills	Vernon Hills
	Prairie View	Prairie View
F	Buffalo Grove	Buffalo Grove	Pace: 234, 272, 626
	Wheeling	Wheeling	Pace: 234
E	Prospect Heights	Prospect Heights	Pace: 221
D	Chicago	O'Hare Transfer	Airport Transit System to O'Hare International Airport Pace: 250, 330
	Rosemont	Rosemont	Pace: 330
C	Schiller Park	Schiller Park
	Franklin Park	Belmont Avenue	Pace: 319
	River Grove	River Grove	Metra: Milwaukee District / West Line Pace: 307, 319, 331
A	Chicago	Western Avenue	Metra: Milwaukee District / North Line, Milwaukee District / West Line CTA Bus: 49, X49, 65
		Union Station	Amtrak (long-distance): California Zephyr, Capitol Limited, Cardinal, City of New Orleans, Empire Builder, Lake Shore Limited, Southwest Chief, Texas Eagle Amtrak (intercity): Blue Water, Hiawatha Service, Illini and Saluki, Illinois Zephyr and Carl Sandburg, Lincoln Service, Pere Marquette, Wolverine Metra: BNSF Railway, Milwaukee District / North Line, Milwaukee District / West Line, Heritage Corridor, SouthWest Service Chicago "L": Blue Line (at Clinton), Brown, Orange, Pink, Purple lines (at Quincy) CTA Bus: 1, 7, J14, 19, 28, 56, 60, 120, 121, 124, 125, 126, 128, 130, 151, 156, 157, 192 Pace: 755 Amtrak Thruway Motorcoach: Chicago-Madison and Chicago-Rockford (Van Galder), Chicago-Louisville (Greyhound)

References

1. "Operations and Ridership Data". Metra. Retrieved October 7, 2017.
2. https://metrarail.com/sites/default/files/metra_79900_fm00_antioch_tt_proof_north_central.pdf
3. http://web.me.com/willvdv/chirailfan/mmnc.html Metra Railfan Tips - North Central Service
4. metrarail.com
5. newstart.metrarail.com
6. "RIDERSHIP TRENDS ANNUAL REPORT 2018" (PDF). Metra. p. 4. Retrieved 12 May 2019.

• J. David Ingles, Ready or not, here we come, Trains November 1996

External links

Media related to Metra North Central Service at Wikimedia Commons

• Metra North Central Service schedule