The Union Pacific West Line (UP-W ) is a Metra commuter rail line operated by Union Pacific Railroad in Chicago, Illinois and its western suburbs. Metra does not refer to its lines by particular colors, but the timetable accents for the Union Pacific West line are "Kate Shelley Rose" pink, honoring an Iowa woman who saved a Chicago & North Western Railway train from disaster in 1881. Green and yellow were already selected for the Union Pacific North Line and Union Pacific Northwest Line , respectively, so pink was chosen for this line. Therefore, the UP-W is the only Metra line that uses a color to honor a person instead of a fallen flag railroad.[4] Until the late 1940s the line had a branch to Freeport, Illinois . It diverged from the main line at West Chicago and had stations at Elgin, Marengo, Belvidere, Rockford, Freeport, and other communities. The line was once known as the Chicago & Northwestern/West Line until UP took over the C&NW in 1995. All Metra trains on this line terminated at Geneva until 2006, when the line was extended to its present terminus in Elburn . The line runs as part of the Union Pacific Railroad's Geneva Subdivision (ex-C&NW line to Clinton, Iowa ).
Union Pacific West Line Owner Union Pacific Railroad (Leased to Metra)Termini Stations 19 Type Commuter rail System Metra Operator(s) Union Pacific Railroad Metra Daily ridership 27,196 (avg. weekday 2014)[1] Ridership 3,285,005 (2023) Line length 43.8 miles[2] Track gauge 4 ft 8+ 1 ⁄2 in (1,435 mm ) standard gauge
Route map
Union Pacific West Line highlighted in pink
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Legend
Show BSicon diagram map
The line runs from the Ogilvie Transportation Center in downtown Chicago through the western suburbs to Elburn . This is the oldest railway route built from Chicago, the route of the Galena and Chicago Union Railroad along Kinzie Street.
As of February 16, 2024, Metra operates 58 trains (29 in each direction) on the Union Pacific West Line on weekdays. Of these, 23 inbound trains originate from Elburn, two from La Fox , three from Geneva , and one from West Chicago . Two outbound trains terminate at Geneva, three at La Fox, and the remaining 24 terminate at Elburn.
On weekends, all trains run the full route to Elburn, with Metra operating 10 roundtrip trains on Saturday and nine on Sundays and holidays.
Union Pacific is building a third track from West Chicago through all of Geneva. The project started in September 2022 and is expected to be finished in July 2024. The improvements are designed to ensure smoother traffic flow and reduce conflicts between commuter and freight trains.[5]
By the first quarter of 2024, the Union Pacific Railroad is expected to transfer operations of the three Union Pacific lines to Metra. The Union Pacific will continue to own and maintain the right-of-way.[6]
Ridership
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Since 2014 annual ridership has declined from 8,423,188 to 7,883,185, an overall decline of 6.4%.[7] [8] Due to the COVID-19 pandemic , ridership dropped to 1,945,886 passengers in 2020 and to 1,486,536 passengers in 2021.[9] [10] [11]
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
Station stops
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County
Zone
Location
Station
Connections and notes
Kane
4
Elburn
Elburn
Huskie Line: 12
La Fox
La Fox
St. Charles
St. Charles
St. Charles branch
4
Geneva
Geneva
Pace : 801, 802
DuPage
West Chicago
West Chicago
Winfield
Winfield
Wheaton
Wheaton
Pace: 301, 711, 714
College Avenue
Pace: 714
Glen Ellyn
Glen Ellyn
Pace: 715
3
Lombard
Lombard
Villa Park
Villa Park
Elmhurst
Elmhurst
Pace: 309, 332
Cook
2
Berkeley
Berkeley
Formerly named Proviso
Bellwood
Bellwood
Pace: 313, 330
Melrose Park
Melrose Park
Pace: 303, 309, 313
Maywood
Maywood
Pace: 309, 313, 331
River Forest
River Forest
Pace: 309, 313
Lathrop
Closed December 1, 1958
Oak Park
Oak Park
Chicago "L" : Green (at Harlem/Lake ) CTA Bus : 90 Pace: 307, 309, 313, 318, 770
Avenue
Closed December 1, 1958
Ridgeland
Closed December 1, 1958
Austin Boulevard
Closed December 1, 1958
Chicago
Austin
Closed December 1, 1958
Keeler
Employee only stop, serves adjacent maintenance facility
2
Kedzie
Chicago "L": Green (at Kedzie ) CTA Bus: 52
1
Ogilvie Transportation Center
Metra : ■ Union Pacific Northwest , ■ Union Pacific North Chicago "L": Green Pink (at Clinton ) CTA Bus: J14, 19, 56, 60, 120, 124, 125, 126, 128, 130, 157, 192
Freeport Branch
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This branch line ran from West Chicago to Freeport, Illinois . Service was discontinued in the late 1940s. Metra is planning to revive service from Big Timber Road to Rockford on this line, stopping in Huntley and Belvidere , but there are no plans to restore passenger service south of Elgin.
References
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^ "Archived copy" (PDF) . Archived from the original (PDF) on March 26, 2016. Retrieved April 1, 2016 . {{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
^ Metra Railfan Tips - Union Pacific/West
^ State of the System - Union Pacific West
^ "Did you know?" (PDF) . On the Bi-Level : 3. June 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-01-02.
^ "Union Pacific Third Main Line Project | Geneva, IL - Official Website".
^ "Union Pacific Transferring Commuter Rail Services to Metra". Union Pacific Railroad. Retrieved April 1, 2023 .
^ "RIDERSHIP TRENDS ANNUAL REPORT 2018" (PDF) . Metra. p. 4. Retrieved 12 May 2019 .
^ "RIDERSHIP TRENDS ANNUAL REPORT 2019" (PDF) . Metra. Retrieved 27 February 2021 .
^ "RIDERSHIP TRENDS ANNUAL REPORT 2020" (PDF) . Retrieved 2021-04-04 .
^ "RIDERSHIP TRENDS ANNUAL REPORT 2021" (PDF) .
^ RTAMS. "Metra Ridership by Line".
External links
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Template:Attached KML/Union Pacific / West Line
KML is from Wikidata
Metra Union Pacific/West service schedule
Media related to Metra Union Pacific/West Line at Wikimedia Commons