Union Pacific / Northwest Line

Union Pacific / Northwest Line

A Union Pacific / Northwest Line train led by an EMD F40PH in Norwood Park, Illinois
Overview
Service type	Commuter Rail
Locale	Cook, Lake and McHenry counties, Illinois
Current operator(s)	Metra Union Pacific Railroad
Ridership	38,600 (Avg. Weekday 2014)[1] 18,800 (Avg. Weekend 2014)[2]
Route
Start	Ogilvie Transportation Center
Stops	23
End	Harvard, McHenry
Line used	Harvard Subdivision McHenry Subdivision
Technical
Track owner(s)	Union Pacific Railroad
Route map Legend 76.4 Williams Bay(discontinued) 70.4 Lake Geneva(discontinued) 64.9 Pell Lake(discontinued) 62.8 Harvard 61.6 Genoa City(discontinued) Wisconsin Illinois 59.9 Richmond(discontinued) 55.7 Hartland(discontinued) 53.8 Ringwood(discontinued) 52.8 Johnsburg(proposed) 51.3 Woodstock 50.1 McHenry 47.3 Prairie Grove(proposed) 45.7 Ridgefield(proposed) 42.9 Crystal Lake 41.7 Pingree Road(Crystal Lake) 38.3 Cary Fox River 37.0 Fox River Grove 31.5 Barrington 26.4 Palatine 24.2 Arlington Park(Arlington Heights) 22.4 Arlington Heights 19.6 Mount Prospect 18.2 Cumberland(Des Plaines) NCS to Antioch NCS to Union Station 16.7 Des Plaines Des Plaines River 14.6 Dee Road(Park Ridge) 13.1 Park Ridge 12.3 Edison Park 11.1 Norwood Park 9.7 Gladstone Park Blue Line to O'Hare 8.7 Jefferson Park MD-N to Fox Lake MD-N to Union Station 6.7 Irving Park Blue Line to Forest Park UP-N to Kenosha 2.8 Clybourn(Chicago) UP-W to Elburn MD-W NCS MD-N Green and Pink lines 0.0 Ogilvie Transportation Center(Chicago) MD-W NCS MD-N to Union Station

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]

The line runs from the Ogilvie Transportation Center in downtown Chicago to endpoints in McHenry, Illinois and Harvard, Illinois, with the McHenry branch served only during weekday rush periods. Overall, this is Metra's longest route and one of three lines with branches. The terminus of the McHenry branch progressively moved southwards, from Williams Bay, Wisconsin to Lake Geneva, Wisconsin in 1965, Lake Geneva to Richmond, Illinois in 1975, and Richmond to McHenry in 1980.^[4]

As of April 2013, the public timetable indicated 33 trains leaving Chicago each weekday, with three terminating at McHenry, 14 terminating at Crystal Lake, 4 terminating at Barrington, 11 at Harvard, and 1 at Des Plaines.

The line has many riders from southern Wisconsin due to its proximity to places like Madison and Janesville. The Wisconsin Department of Transportation has funded studies on extending the line from Harvard to into Janesville, with potential stops along the way.^[5] This line is also used by a handful of commuters from the Rockford area.^[6] There has been talk of rebuilding the KD Line from Rockford to Harvard.

The Union Pacific / Northwest Line is Metra's second busiest line, with an average of 38,600 boardings on a weekday. It is second only to the BNSF Railway.

Station stops

Union Pacific / Northwest Line trains make the following station stops:

• Chicago, Ogilvie Transportation Center
• Clybourn
• Irving Park
• Jefferson Park
• Gladstone Park
• Norwood Park
• Edison Park
• Park Ridge
• Dee Road (Park Ridge)
• Des Plaines
• Cumberland (Des Plaines)
• Mount Prospect
• Arlington Heights
• Arlington Park (Arlington Heights)
• Palatine
• Barrington
• Fox River Grove
• Cary
• Pingree Road (Crystal Lake)
• Crystal Lake
• Woodstock
• Harvard

McHenry Branch after Pingree Road

• Prairie Grove (proposed)
• McHenry
• Johnsburg (proposed)

References

1. http://metrarail.com/content/dam/metra/documents/ridership_reports/PassgrOps_20141021.pdf
2. http://metrarail.com/content/dam/metra/documents/ridership_reports/PassgrOps_20141021.pdf
3. "Did you know?" (PDF). On the Bi-Level: 3. June 2009.
4. Behrens, P. L. (2002). Steam Trains to Geneva Lake: C&NW's Elgin – Williams Bay Branch.
5. Judy Robson Announces Funding of Metra Feasibility Study
6. Northern Illinois Commuter Transportation Initiative Rockford Bus Service to Chicago Area

External links

Route map: Bing / Google

• Metra Union Pacific/Northwest service schedule

Media related to Metra Union Pacific/Northwest Line at Wikimedia Commons