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Union Pacific Northwest Line

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Union Pacific Northwest Line Union Pacific Northwest Line
A Union Pacific Northwest Line train led by an EMD F40PH in the Norwood Park neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois
Overview
Service typeCommuter Rail
LocaleCook and McHenry counties, Illinois
Current operator(s)Metra
Former operator(s)Union Pacific Railroad
Ridership38,600 (Avg. Weekday 2014)[1]
18,800 (Avg. Weekend 2014)[2]
Annual ridership4,618,099 (2023)
Websitemetra.com/train-lines/up-nw Edit this at Wikidata
Route
TerminiOgilvie Transportation Center
Harvard, McHenry
Stops22 (to Harvard)
20 (to McHenry)
23 (total)
Line(s) used
Technical
Track owner(s)Union Pacific Railroad
Route map
Map Union Pacific Northwest Line highlighted in yellow
Legend
Former service
to Williams Bay
76.4 mi
123 km
Williams Bay
70.4 mi
113.3 km
Lake Geneva
White River
64.9 mi
104.4 km
Pell Lake
Nippersink Creek
(north branch)
61.6 mi
99.1 km
Genoa City
Wisconsin
Illinois
Nippersink Creek
(north branch)
59.9 mi
96.4 km
Richmond
Milwaukee Road North Line
to Walworth
Milwaukee Road North Line
to Fox Lake & Union Station
53.8 mi
86.6 km
Ringwood
52.8 mi
85 km
Johnsburg
proposed
Union Pacific Railroad
63.1 mi
101.5 km
 Harvard
Mokeler Creek
Kishwaukee River
(north branch)
55.7 mi
89.6 km
Hartland
Woodstock Yard
planned
51.6 mi
83 km
 Woodstock
50.6 mi
81.4 km
 McHenry
47.3 mi
76.1 km
Prairie Grove
proposed
45.7 mi
73.5 km
Ridgefield
Crystal Lake Yard
43.2 mi
69.5 km
 Crystal Lake
McHenry Branch UpperRight arrow
41.7 mi
67.1 km
 Pingree Road
38.6 mi
62.1 km
 Cary
Fox River
37.3 mi
60 km
 Fox River Grove
EJ&E Railway
31.9 mi
51.3 km
 Barrington
26.4 mi
42.5 km
 Palatine
24.4 mi
39.3 km
 Arlington Park
22.8 mi
36.7 km
 Arlington Heights
20.0 mi
32.2 km
 Mount Prospect
North Central Service to Antioch UpperRight arrow
18.6 mi
29.9 km
 Cumberland
Union Pacific Railroad
 LowerLeft arrow North Central Service to Union Station
17.1 mi
27.5 km
 Des Plaines Pace Pulse
Des Plaines River
I-294.svg I-294
15.0 mi
24.1 km
 Dee Road
13.5 mi
21.7 km
 Park Ridge
12.6 mi
20.3 km
 Edison Park
11.4 mi
18.3 km
 Norwood Park
10.1 mi
16.3 km
 Gladstone Park
Blue to O'Hare │ I-90.svg I-90
9.1 mi
14.6 km
 Jefferson Park Pace Pulse
Milwaukee District North to Fox Lake UpperRight arrow
12.3 mi
19.8 km
Skokie
10.8 mi
17.4 km
Lincolnwood
9.8 mi
15.8 km
Sauganash
 LowerLeft arrow Milwaukee District North to Union Station
Weber Subdivision to Union Pacific North Line
Peterson Avenue
Chicago River (north branch)
7.6 mi
12.2 km
Mayfair
Union Pacific Railroad
7.1 mi
11.4 km
Kostner Avenue
7.0 mi
11.3 km
 Irving Park │
Irving Park
Blue │ I-90.svgI-94.svg I-90 / I-94
5.9 mi
9.5 km
Parkview
5.1 mi
8.2 km
Avondale
4.1 mi
6.6 km
Maplewood
 enlarge… Union Pacific North Line to Kenosha
2.9 mi
4.7 km
 Clybourn
enlarge… Union Pacific West Line to Elburn
Blue
Chicago River (north branch)
Wells Street Station
 enlarge…Milwaukee District North enlarge…Milwaukee District West enlarge…North Central Service
Green Pink
0
Ogilvie
Blue to Forest Park
Milwaukee District North Milwaukee District West North Central Service to Union Station
Key
 Union Pacific Northwest Line
Former route alignment
 Other Metra lines
Metra Milwaukee District lines
Other freight lines
CTA lines
Mileage source[3]
Handicapped/disabled access All stations are accessible except
Clybourn and Gladstone Park.
This diagram:

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.[4]

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 Line.

As of February 16, 2024, Metra operates 78 trains (39 in each direction) on the line on weekdays. Of these, 14 inbound trains originate from Harvard, three from McHenry, 13 from Crystal Lake, four from Barrington, one from Palatine, and four from Des Plaines. Five outbound trains terminate at Des Plaines, three at Palatine, three at Barrington, 12 at Crystal Lake, three at McHenry, and 13 at Harvard.

Metra operates 34 trains (17 in each direction) on the line on Saturdays. Of these, 10 inbound trains originate from Harvard, five from Crystal Lake, one from Barrington, and one from Arlington Heights. Two outbound trains terminate at Barrington, five at Crystal Lake, and 10 at Harvard.

Metra operates 21 trains (10 inbound, 11 outbound) on the line on Sundays. Of these, seven inbound trains originate from Harvard, two from Crystal Lake, and one from Arlington Heights. Three outbound trains terminate at Crystal Lake and eight terminate at Harvard.

There is no service at Gladstone Park station or on the McHenry branch on weekends or holidays. All other stations are open daily.

The main 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.

Metra has included the possibility of extending the McHenry branch to Johnsburg in their Cost Benefit Analysis report. If this were to happen, the branch would open an infill station in Prairie Grove. Additionally, an infill station would open in Ridgefield between Crystal Lake and Woodstock along the line to Harvard.[5]

Beginning in 2023, the Union Pacific Railroad announced that commuter operations on all three of the Union Pacific lines would be transferred to Metra; the Union Pacific would continue to own and maintain the right-of-way.[6][7] The transfer was initially expected to occur by Q1 2024;[8] however, it was delayed by a year to May 16, 2025.[9][10][11]

Ridership

[edit]

Between 2014 and 2019, annual ridership declined from 11,609,358 to 10,384,356, an overall decline of 10.6%.[12][13] Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, ridership dropped to 2,602,403 passengers in 2020.[14][15]

1,000,000
2,000,000
3,000,000
4,000,000
5,000,000
6,000,000
7,000,000
8,000,000
9,000,000
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024

Stations

[edit]
State County Zone Location Station Connections and notes
WI Rock   Evansville Evansville Closed 1965[citation needed]
Janesville Janesville Closed
Clinton Clinton Closed 1966[citation needed]
Walworth Sharon Sharon Closed 1966[citation needed]
IL McHenry 4 Harvard Harvard Bus interchange Pace: 808
Hartland Hartland Closed 1984[16]
Woodstock Woodstock Bus interchange Pace: 807, 808
Ridgefield Ridgefield Closed, proposed new stop
4 Crystal Lake Crystal Lake Bus interchange Pace: 550, 806, 808
McHenry branch begins/ends
Pingree Road
Cary Cary
Fox River Grove Fox River Grove Formerly named Chicago Highlands
Cook Barrington Barrington
Palatine Palatine
3 Arlington Heights Arlington Park
Arlington Heights
Mount Prospect Mount Prospect Bus interchange Pace: 234
Des Plaines Cumberland Bus interchange Pace: 208, 221, 234
Des Plaines Bus interchange Pace: 208, 209, 226, 230, 234, 250
Bus rapid transit Pace Pulse: 101 Dempster Line
2 Park Ridge Dee Road Bus interchange Pace: 209, 226, 240
Park Ridge Bus interchange Pace: 209, 241, 290
Bus interchange 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 Bus interchange CTA Bus: 68
Norwood Park Bus interchange CTA Bus: 68
Gladstone Park Bus interchange CTA Bus: 68
Jefferson Park Chicago "L": Blue
Bus interchange CTA Bus: 56, 68, 81, 81W, 85, 85A, 88, 91, 92
Bus interchange Pace: 225, 226, 270
Bus rapid transit Pace Pulse: 100 Milwaukee Line
Mayfair Closed December 1, 1958
Kostner Closed December 1, 1958
Irving Park Chicago "L": Blue (at Irving Park)
Bus interchange CTA Bus: 53, N53, 54A, 80
  Parkview Closed December 1, 1958
Avondale Closed December 1, 1958
Maplewood Closed December 1, 1958
2 Clybourn Metra Metra: ■ Union Pacific North
Bus interchange CTA Bus: 9, X9, 73
1 Ogilvie
Transportation
Center 		Metra Metra: ■ Union Pacific North, ■ Union Pacific West
Chicago "L": Green Pink (at Clinton)
Bus interchange CTA Bus: J14, 19, 56, 60, 120, 124, 125, 126, 128, 130, 157, 192

McHenry branch

[edit]

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

State County Zone Location Station Connections and notes
WI Walworth  
Williams Bay Williams Bay Closed 1966[citation needed]
Lake Geneva Lake Geneva Closed 1975
Pell Lake Pell Lake Closed 1975
Genoa City Genoa City Closed 1975
IL McHenry 4
Richmond Richmond Closed 1980
Ringwood Ringwood Closed 1980[citation needed]
Johnsburg Johnsburg Proposed new stop
McHenry McHenry Bus interchange Pace: 806, 807
Prairie Grove Prairie Grove Proposed new stop

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on May 21, 2015. Retrieved April 29, 2015.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on May 21, 2015. Retrieved April 29, 2015.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  3. ^ 2020 State of the System Report (p. 52)
  4. ^ "Did you know?" (PDF). On the Bi-Level: 3. June 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-01-02.
  5. ^ "Systemwide Cost Benefit Analysis of Major Capital Improvements" (PDF). Retrieved May 7, 2022.
  6. ^ "Union Pacific announces start of transition of Chicago commuter rail operations to Metra". Trains. 3 April 2023. Retrieved 19 May 2025.
  7. ^ "Union Pacific Transferring Commuter Rail Services to Metra". Union Pacific Railroad. Retrieved April 1, 2023.
  8. ^ Studenkov, Igor (25 October 2024). "Metra and Union Pacific make progress on operations transfer; fate of stations to be decided". Evanston RoundTable. Retrieved 19 May 2025.
  9. ^ "Metra assumes operation of trains on UP commuter lines". Trains. 19 May 2025. Retrieved 19 May 2025.
  10. ^ Hirsh, Jeff (19 May 2025). "Metra completes takeover of UP commuter line operations". Evanston Now. Retrieved 19 May 2025.
  11. ^ "UP lines now being operated directly by Metra". Metra. Retrieved 19 May 2025.
  12. ^ "RIDERSHIP TRENDS ANNUAL REPORT 2018" (PDF). Metra. p. 4. Retrieved 12 May 2019.
  13. ^ "RIDERSHIP TRENDS ANNUAL REPORT 2019" (PDF). Metra. Retrieved 27 February 2021.
  14. ^ "RIDERSHIP TRENDS ANNUAL REPORT 2020" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2021-04-23. Retrieved 2021-04-04.
  15. ^ RTAMS. "Metra Ridership by Line".
  16. ^ Ridership Trends - Annual Report 2017 (PDF) (Report). Metra Division of Strategic Capital Planning. February 2018. p. 32. Retrieved December 2, 2018.
[edit]
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