Union Pacific / Northwest Line

The Union Pacific / Northwest Line (UP-NW) is a commuter rail line provided by Metra and operated by the Union Pacific Railroad in Chicago, Illinois and its surrounding suburbs. While Metra does not refer to any of its lines by colors, the timetable accents for the Union Pacific/Northwest line are bright "Viking Yellow," honoring the Chicago & North Western Railway's Viking passenger train.[3]

Union Pacific / Northwest Line
A Union Pacific / Northwest Line train led by an EMD F40PH in Norwood Park, Illinois
Overview
Service typeCommuter Rail
LocaleCook, Lake and McHenry counties, Illinois
Current operator(s)
Ridership38,600 (Avg. Weekday 2014)[1]
18,800 (Avg. Weekend 2014)[2]
Route
StartOgilvie Transportation Center
Stops23
EndHarvard, McHenry
Line(s) used
Technical
Track owner(s)Union Pacific Railroad

The line runs from Ogilvie Transportation Center to Harvard, Illinois. However, most trains terminate in Crystal Lake, Illinois. A branch line to McHenry, Illinois operates during weekday rush hours in the peak direction. Overall, this is Metra's longest route and one of three routes with branches (the others being the Rock Island District and Metra Electric District). The line is Metra's second busiest with an average of 38,600 boardings on a weekday. It is second only to the BNSF Railway Line.

The line is triple-tracked from Clybourn to just southeast of Barrington, with a bidirectional express track, and double tracked from Barrington to Harvard. The McHenry branch is single-tracked. Historically, double track was maintained from Harvard to Baraboo, Wisconsin. A now-gone portion of the Union Pacific / Northwest Line diverged at Harvard and passed through Beloit, Wisconsin, and reconnected to the main line at Evansville junction to allow a separate passenger and freight line. Around the time the Beloit line was abandoned, the railroad single-tracked the line from Harvard to Janesville.

Ridership

Since 2014 annual ridership has declined from 11.6 million to 10.6 million, an overall decline of 8.7%.[4]

2,500,000
5,000,000
7,500,000
10,000,000
12,500,000
15,000,000
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018

Stations
State Zone Location Station Connections and notes
WI   Evansville Evansville Closed 1965
Janesville Janesville Closed
Clinton Clinton Closed 1966
Sharon Sharon Closed 1966
IL J Harvard Harvard Pace: 808
Hartland Hartland Closed 1984[5]
Woodstock Woodstock Pace: 807, 808
Ridgefield Ridgefield Closed, proposed new stop
I Crystal Lake Crystal Lake Pace: 550, 806, 808
Pingree Road
H Cary Cary
Fox River Grove Fox River Grove Formerly named Chicago Highlands
G Barrington Barrington
F Palatine Palatine
E Arlington Heights Arlington Park
Arlington Heights Pace: 696
D Mount Prospect Mount Prospect Pace: 234, 694
Des Plaines Cumberland Pace: 208, 221 Wolf Road, 234
Des Plaines Pace: 208, 209, 226, 230, 234, 250, 619
C Park Ridge Dee Road Pace: 209, 226, 240
Park Ridge Pace: 209, 241, 290
CTA Bus: 68
Skokie Skokie Skokie branch; Closed December 1, 1958
Lincolnwood Lincolnwood Skokie branch; Closed December 1, 1958
Chicago Sauganash Skokie branch; Closed December 1, 1958
Peterson Weber branch; Closed December 1, 1958
Edison Park CTA Bus: 68
Norwood Park CTA Bus: 68
B Gladstone Park CTA Bus: 68
Jefferson Park Transit Center Chicago "L": Blue Line
CTA Bus: 56, 68, 81, 81W, 85, 85A, 88, 91, 92, X98
Pace: 225, 226, 270, Pulse Milwaukee Line
Mayfair Closed December 1, 1958
Milwaukee Road trains
Kostner Closed December 1, 1958
Irving Park Chicago "L": Blue Line (at Irving Park)
CTA Bus: 53, N53, 54A, 80
  Parkview Closed December 1, 1958
Avondale Closed December 1, 1958
Maplewood Closed December 1, 1958
A Clybourn Metra Union Pacific / North Line
CTA Bus: 9, X9, 73
Ogilvie Transportation Center Metra: Union Pacific / North Line, Union Pacific / West Line
Chicago "L": Green Line, Pink Line (at Clinton)
CTA Bus: J14, 19, 56, 60, 120, 124, 125, 126, 128, 130, 157, 192

McHenry branch

The branch, which formerly had service north to Williams Bay, branches off from the main line north of Pingree Road.

State Zone Location Station Connections and notes
WI  
Williams Bay Williams Bay Closed 1966
Lake Geneva Lake Geneva Closed 1975
Pell Lake Pell Lake Closed 1975
Genoa City Genoa City Closed 1975
IL J
Richmond Richmond Closed 1980
Ringwood Ringwood Closed 1980
Johnsburg Johnsburg Proposed new stop
McHenry McHenry Pace: 806, 807
Prairie Grove Prairie Grove Proposed new stop

References
  1. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on May 21, 2015. Retrieved April 29, 2015.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on May 21, 2015. Retrieved April 29, 2015.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  3. "Did you know?" (PDF). On the Bi-Level: 3. June 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-01-02.
  4. "RIDERSHIP TRENDS ANNUAL REPORT 2018" (PDF). Metra. p. 4. Retrieved 12 May 2019.
  5. Ridership Trends - Annual Report 2017 (PDF) (Report). Metra Division of Strategic Capital Planning. February 2018. p. 32. Retrieved December 2, 2018.

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