SouthWest Service

The Southwest Service (SWS) is a Metra commuter rail line, running southwest from Union Station in downtown Chicago, Illinois, to Manhattan, Illinois. Metra does not refer to its lines by color, but the timetable accents for the SouthWest Service line are "Banner Blue," for the Wabash Railroad's Banner Blue passenger train.[3] The trackage is owned by Metra north of a junction with the Belt Railway of Chicago at Loomis Boulevard, and is leased from Norfolk Southern Railway south of the junction (NS has trackage rights over Metra's portion).[4]

SouthWest Service
SouthWest Service #827 leaves Union Station in 2011.
Overview
Owner	Norfolk Southern Railway (Leased to Metra)
Termini	Union Station Manhattan
Stations	13
Service
Type	Commuter rail
System	Metra
Operator(s)	Metra, Norfolk Southern Railway
Daily ridership	9,600 (Avg. Weekday 2014)[1]
Technical
Track length	40.6 miles
Track gauge	4 ft 8 ^1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Route map Dist[2] Station NCS to Antioch MD-W to Big Timber Road MD-N to Fox Lake 0 mi Union Station Blue Dearborn Station closed BNSF to Aurora Chicago River IC West to Randolph Street Orange to Loop IC West to Addison HC to Joliet Orange to Midway Calumet to Valparaiso 47th Street closed Englewood closed Green Halsted closed Racine closed Ashland closed 9.6 mi 15.4 km Western Avenue closed 11.5 mi 18.5 km Wrightwood 12.2 mi 19.6 km Ashburn 14.7 mi 23.7 km Oak Lawn Stony Creek 16.6 mi 26.7 km Chicago Ridge 17.8 mi 28.6 km Worth 18.6 mi 29.9 km Palos Heights Calumet Sag Channel 19.8 mi 31.9 km Palos Park Southmore closed 23.0 mi 37 km 143rd Street Orland Park 25.2 mi 40.6 km 153rd Street Orland Park 28.7 mi 46.2 km 179th Street Orland Park Hickory Creek RI 33.6 mi 54.1 km Steele closed Jackson Creek (Jackson Branch) 34.6 mi 55.7 km Brisbane closed 35.4 mi 57 km Laraway Road Jackson Creek 40.3 mi 64.9 km Manhattan

History

The line south of the curve at the east end of the section aligned with 75th Street was built by the Wabash, St. Louis and Pacific Railway, which opened in 1880 to Chicago. That curve was a junction with the Chicago and Western Indiana Railroad, of which the Wabash owned one-fifth, and used to reach Dearborn Station in downtown Chicago. Commuter service from Chicago began as early as 1893, with trains running as far south as Orland Park,[5] and by 1909, the service had been extended with several trains operating as far south as Manhattan.[6] The level of service deteriorated in the 1930s, with commuter operations effectively reduced to one train in each direction making local stops from Chicago to Decatur. By 1964, the once daily Chicago–Decatur trains were cut back to Orland Park.[5]

After several reorganizations the Wabash Railroad was leased by the Norfolk and Western Railway on October 16, 1964.[7]^:145 The single round trip continued under the new ownership, who named the train the Orland Park Cannonball.[8] On May 1, 1971, Amtrak assumed control of most intercity passenger trains in the United States. On this date all intercity services operating into and out of Chicago were either routed into Union Station or discontinued, leaving the single Orland Park Cannonball as the only train to still use Dearborn Station. Dearborn Station closed, but the commuter train continued to use a small platform and track on the property until 1976 when it relocated to Union Station, via a new connection at Alton Junction.[9]^:71

The Regional Transportation Authority began to subsidize the service in 1978.[10] N&W merged with Southern Railway to form the Norfolk Southern Railway in 1982, and for the next decade the line was known as the Norfolk Southern Line (NS). The RTA closed the Western Avenue station on May 15, 1984, as part of a cost reduction plan which saw the closure of twelve other lightly used stations and the removal of ticket agents from an additional seventeen stations across the system.[11] On June 1, 1993 Metra took over operations and renamed it the SouthWest Service.[4]

The rail line expansion project, which includes 11 miles (18 km) of new track and at least two additional train stations, was completed (except for the Laraway Road station) in January 2006. The number of trains per day increased from 16 to 30, 15 in each direction. For years, Pace operated Route 835, whose bus service enhanced the limited train service in the SouthWest Service corridor. With the rail service expansion, ridership on route 835 became so poor that Pace eliminated it on August 17, 2007.

Metra started Saturday service on March 21, 2009, with six trains between Union Station and Manhattan.[12]

SouthWest Service trains will shift from Union Station to LaSalle Street Station with the reconfiguration of the 75th Street Corridor under the auspices of the Chicago Region Environmental and Transportation Efficiency Program (CREATE).[13] This will happen no earlier than 2025 when construction is scheduled for completion.[14] Additional mainline trackage will also be built between LaSalle St Station and 74th to handle the increase in traffic. LaSalle St Station will also be expanded.[15] This would relieve congestion at Union Station and improve reliability for the SouthWest Service, as well as allowing more trains to run in each direction.[13]

Service frequency

As of February 5, 2018, the last time Metra revised the timetable, the SouthWest Service has fifteen round-trips per day on weekdays and three on Saturday. There is no Sunday/holiday service. All Saturday trains run through to Manhattan. Of the weekday trains, one terminates at Orland Park 153rd Street, two at Manhattan, and the remainder at Orland Park 179th Street.[16]

From 2006 to early 2018, a third weekday train (a midday one) terminated at Manhattan. Due to lack of ridership as well as service cuts, this train became a short-turn to Orland Park 179th Street effective Spring 2018.

The Laraway Road and Manhattan stations see a combined ridership of under 60 people daily, making them two of the least-used stations on Metra's system.

Ridership

Since 2014 annual ridership has declined from 2.6 million to 2.4 million, an overall decline of 9%.[17]

500,000

1,000,000

1,500,000

2,000,000

2,500,000

3,000,000

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

Chicago–Decatur local
0.0 mi 0 km Dearborn Station 4.6 mi 7.4 km 47th Street 6.6 mi 10.6 km Englewood 7.6 mi 12.2 km Halsted 8.6 mi 13.8 km Racine 9.6 mi 15.4 km Ashland 10.0 mi 16.1 km Western Avenue 11.4 mi 18.3 km Landers 12.2 mi 19.6 km Ashburn 14.6 mi 23.5 km Oak Lawn 16.6 mi 26.7 km Chicago Ridge 17.8 mi 28.6 km Worth 19.9 mi 32 km Palos Park 21.2 mi 34.1 km Southmoor 23.2 mi 37.3 km Orland Park 30.1 mi 48.4 km Marley 33.6 mi 54.1 km Steele 34.6 mi 55.7 km Brisbane 40.3 mi 64.9 km Manhattan 47.0 mi 75.6 km Symerton 52.9 mi 85.1 km Ritchie 54.2 mi 87.2 km Custer Park 59.8 mi 96.2 km Essex 66.0 mi 106.2 km Reddick 72.2 mi 116.2 km Campus 76.6 mi 123.3 km Emington 82.4 mi 132.6 km Saunemin 87.4 mi 140.7 km Wing 92.4 mi 148.7 km Forrest 99.4 mi 160 km Strawn 104.0 mi 167.4 km Sibley 112.1 mi 180.4 km Gibson City 120.2 mi 193.4 km Foosland 123.4 mi 198.6 km Lotus 125.1 mi 201.3 km Osman 127.3 mi 204.9 km Blue Ridge 131.2 mi 211.1 km Mansfield 136.1 mi 219 km Galesville 140.0 mi 225.3 km Lodge 145.0 mi 233.4 km Monticello 153.0 mi 246.2 km Bement 161.3 mi 259.6 km Cerro Gordo 165.4 mi 266.2 km Oakley 172.6 mi 277.8 km East Decatur 174.2 mi 280.3 km Decatur

Stations

Zone	Location	Station	Connections and notes
A	Chicago	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, North Central Service, Heritage Corridor 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)
		Dearborn Station	Closed 1976, service switched to Union Station
		47th Street	Closed between 1976 and 1984
B		Englewood (flag stop)	Closed between 1976 and 1984
		Halsted	Closed between 1976 and 1984
		Racine	Closed between 1976 and 1984
		Ashland	Closed between 1976 and 1984
		Western Avenue	Closed May 1984
C		Wrightwood	CTA Bus: 52A, 79
		Ashburn
D	Oak Lawn	Oak Lawn	Pace: 381, 395, 769, 774
	Chicago Ridge	Chicago Ridge	Pace: 384
	Worth	Worth	Pace: 385, 386
	Palos Heights	Palos Heights	Pace: 769, 774
E	Palos Park	Palos Park
	Orland Park
		Southmore (flag stop)	Closed between 1976 and 1984
		Orland Park 143rd Street
		Orland Park 153rd Street
F		Orland Park 179th Street
G	New Lenox	Steele	Closed 1962
		Brisbane	Closed 1962
H		Laraway Road (rush hours only)
I	Manhattan	Manhattan (rush hours only)

References

1. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2010-01-02. Retrieved 2010-01-02.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
2. Metra Railfan Tips - Heritage Corridor
3. "Did you know?" (PDF). On the Bi-Level: 3. June 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-01-02.
4. Metra (2013). "SouthWest Service History". Archived from the original on 2014-07-14. Retrieved June 7, 2014.
5. Burgess, Paul (Spring 2013). "Follow the Flag: Chicago's Metra "Wabash Extension"". First & Fastest. Vol. 29 no. 1. Lake Forest, Illinois: Shore Line Interurban Historical Society. p. 12.
6. Burgess, Paul (Spring 2013). "Follow the Flag: Chicago's Metra "Wabash Extension"". First & Fastest. Vol. 29 no. 1. Lake Forest, Illinois: Shore Line Interurban Historical Society. p. 11.
7. Schafer, Mike (2000). More Classic American Railroads. Osceola, WI: MBI Publishing Co. ISBN 978-0-7603-0758-8. OCLC 44089438.
8. Norfolk and Western Railway (July 3, 1972). "Suburban Passenger Service".
9. Holland, Kevin J. (2001). Classic American Railroad Terminals. Osceola, WI: MBI. ISBN 9780760308325. OCLC 45908903.
10. Burgess, Paul (Spring 2013). "Follow the Flag: Chicago's Metra "Wabash Extension"". First & Fastest. Vol. 29 no. 1. Lake Forest, Illinois: Shore Line Interurban Historical Society. p. 14.
11. "RTA closing 13 rail stations". Chicago Tribune. March 9, 1984. p. 51. Retrieved January 20, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
12. Hood, Joel (March 2, 2009). "Metra adding Saturday service to SouthWest line in March". Chicago Metra. Archived from the original on 2009-03-25. Retrieved 2009-02-03.
13. "P2, P3, EW2, GS19 75th Street Corridor Improvement Project" (PDF). CREATE. November 2015. Retrieved January 10, 2018.
14. "Preckwinkle, Partners Mark 75th Street Rail Corridor Improvement Project". The Chicago Crusader. October 1, 2018. Retrieved December 12, 2018.
15. "Metra Moving". Railway Track & Structures. 12 September 2009. Retrieved 21 April 2012.
16. Metra (October 16, 2011). "Southwest Service". Archived from the original on 2014-07-14. Retrieved June 7, 2014.
17. "RIDERSHIP TRENDS ANNUAL REPORT 2018" (PDF). Metra. p. 4. Retrieved 12 May 2019.

External links

• Metra SouthWest Service Information
• Metra SouthWest Service Expansion Project