Union Pacific / West Line

Union Pacific West Line

Overview
Type Commuter Rail
System Metra
Termini Ogilvie Transportation Center
Elburn
Stations 19
Daily ridership 27,196 (avg. weekday 2014)[1]
Operation
Owner Union Pacific Railroad (Leased to Metra)
Operator(s) Union Pacific Railroad
Technical
Line length 44 miles[2]
Track gauge 4 ft 8 12 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Route map
Legend
 West Line 
44.0 mi
70.8 km
Elburn
40.8 mi
65.7 km
La Fox
35.5 mi
57.1 km
Geneva
Fox River
Elgin, Joliet and Eastern Railway
29.7 mi
47.8 km
West Chicago

27.5 mi
44.3 km
Winfield

Illinois Prairie Path

25.0 mi
40.2 km
Wheaton
23.8 mi
38.3 km
College Avenue
22.4 mi
36 km
Glen Ellyn
DuPage River
19.9 mi
32 km
Lombard
17.8 mi
28.6 km
Villa Park

Illinois Central

Salt Creek

15.7 Elmhurst
14.3 mi
23 km
Berkeley
12.7 mi
20.4 km
Bellwood
Addison Creek
Indiana Harbor Belt
11.3 mi
18.2 km
Melrose Park
10.5 mi
16.9 km
Maywood
Des Plaines River
9.7 mi
15.6 km
River Forest
Canadian Pacific Railway

8.5 mi
13.7 km
Oak Park
CTA Green Line
to Ashland/63rd and Cottage Grove

Belt Railway of Chicago

M19A (employees only)
3.6 mi
5.8 km
Kedzie

MD-N MD-W NCS Amtrak
2.6 mi
4.2 km

UP-N UP-NW
MD-N MD-W NCS Amtrak to
Union
Station
CTA Green and Pink lines
0.0 Ogilvie Transportation Center

The Union Pacific West Line (UP-W) is a Metra commuter rail line operated by Union Pacific Railroad in Chicago, Illinois and its 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.[3] In April 2013 the public timetable shows 30 trains leaving Chicago each weekday, of which 22 run to Elburn. All weekend trains run to Elburn. Of the 8 trains on weekdays that do not run through to Elburn, 4 terminate at Elmhurst, 2 at Geneva, 1 at West Chicago, and 1 at La Fox. All weekend trains run through to Elburn. Until 2006, all trains that terminated at Elburn today terminated at Geneva.

The line runs from the Ogilvie Transportation Center in downtown Chicago through the western suburbs to Elburn. This is the oldest railway route in Chicago, the route of the Galena and Chicago Union Railroad along Kinzie street.

In late spring 2009 Union Pacific began an upgrade to the line. A third mainline track will be built between Elmhurst and River Forest, major signal system upgrades, the consolidation of the Bellwood and Melrose Park Stations (separate project), removal of all mid-platform pedestrian crossings at stations, warning systems for pedestrians, and new platforms. Work will be completed by late December 2010.

Speculation exists that the line could be extended from Elburn west through Maple Park and Cortland to DeKalb. This would provide greater access for North-Central Illinois Residents to the Chicago area, as well as for students at Northern Illinois University. Maple Park has indicated that adding a Metra stop in the town is in the County's 2040 transportation plan.[4] Further west remains uncertain.[5] Union Pacific has already said that these plans are unlikely to go through if Geneva does not allow a third track to go through their town. This is due to the high usage of the rail for both freight and passenger trains. Freight trains currently back up in rural Elburn for a half-hour or more waiting for a clear line to West Chicago.

Station stops

References

  1. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on March 26, 2016. Retrieved April 1, 2016.
  2. Metra Railfan Tips - Union Pacific/West
  3. "Did you know?" (PDF). On the Bi-Level: 3. June 2009.
  4. "Kane County Long Range Transit Plan" (PDF). Kane County, IL. Retrieved December 31, 2011.
  5. "DeKalb-to-Chicago passenger train not in immediate future". Northern Star. September 26, 2007. Retrieved December 31, 2011.

Route map: Bing / Google

KML is from Wikidata

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

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