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)
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
Technical
Track owner(s) Union Pacific Railroad

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:

McHenry Branch after Pingree Road

References

External links

Route map: Bing / Google

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

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Wednesday, April 27, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.