Union Pacific Northwest Line

Commuter rail line in Chicago, Illinois, US

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 type| Commuter Rail
Locale| Cook and McHenry counties, Illinois
Current operator(s)| Metra
Former operator(s)| Union Pacific Railroad
Ridership| 38,600 (Avg. Weekday 2014)[1]
18,800 (Avg. Weekend 2014)[2]
Annual ridership| 4,618,099 (2023)
Website| metra.com/train-lines/up-nw
Route
Termini| Ogilvie Transportation Center
Harvard, McHenry
Stops| 23 total
(22 to Harvard,
20 to McHenry)
Line(s) used|

* Harvard Subdivision
* McHenry Subdivision

Technical
Track owner(s)| Union Pacific Railroad
| Route map

Union Pacific Northwest Line highlighted in yellow

* * *

Show interactive map

Legend

|  |  |  |  |

00.0 km

|  |  |

| 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
border

|  |

|  |

| 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
|  |

|  |

Track ends

|  |

| 52.8 mi

85 km

Johnsburg (proposed)
|  |

|  |

Union Pacific Railroad

|  |

|  |

| CH&GL Railway

to Fontana-on-Geneva Lake

|  |

| 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

|  |

|  |

Prairie Trail

|  |

| 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
|  |

|  |  to Antioch
|  |

| 18.6 mi

29.9 km

Cumberland
|  |

|  |

Union Pacific Railroad

|  |

|  |  to Union Station
|  |

| 17.1 mi

27.5 km

Des Plaines
|  |

|  |

Des Plaines River

|  |

|  |

Des Plaines River Trail

|  |

|  |

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

|  |

| 9.1 mi

14.6 km

Jefferson Park
|  |

|  |  to Fox Lake
|  |

|  |  | Amtrak to Milwaukee, St. Paul,

Seattle and Portland
|  |

| 12.3 mi

19.8 km

Skokie
|  |

| 10.8 mi

17.4 km

Lincolnwood
|  |

|  |  to Union Station
|  |

| 9.8 mi

15.8 km

Sauganash
|  |

|  |

Weber Subdivision to

|  |

|  | 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 / I-94

|  |

| 5.9 mi

9.5 km

Parkview
|  |

| 5.1 mi

8.2 km

Avondale
|  |

| 4.1 mi

6.6 km

Maplewood
|  |

|  |  to Kenosha
|  |

| 2.9 mi

4.7 km

Clybourn
|  |

|  |
|  |

|  |

Chicago Terminal Railroad

|  |

|  |  to Elburn
|  |

Blue

|  |

|  | Kinzie Street Depot
|  |

|  |

Chicago River (north branch)

|  |

|  | Wells Street Station
|  |

|  |
|  |

Green Pink

|  |

0 mi

| Ogilvie
|  |

Blue to Forest Park

|  |

|  |

to Union Station

|  |  |  |  |  |

Key

|  |  |

|  | Union Pacific Northwest Line

|
|
|
|

|  |

|  |

Former route alignment

|  |

|  | Other Metra lines
|  |

|  | Metra Milwaukee District lines
|  |

|  | Other freight lines
|  |

|  | CTA lines
|  |

|  | Former CTA lines/interurbans
|  |  |  |  |  |

Mileage source[3]

* * *

All stations are accessible except
Clybourn and Gladstone Park.

This diagram:

* view
* talk
* edit

Show route diagram map

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.

All stations along the triple-tracked portion of the line have a side platform serving the inbound track and an island platform serving the express and outbound tracks, the only exception being Irving Park, which only has two side platforms and does not serve trains running through the express track.

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]

2,500,000

5,000,000

7,500,000

10,000,000

12,500,000

15,000,000

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 |  Pace: 808
Hartland | Hartland | Closed 1984[16]
Woodstock | Woodstock |  Pace: 807, 808
| Ridgefield | Ridgefield  | Closed, proposed new stop
4  | Crystal Lake | Crystal Lake |  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 |  Pace: 234
Des Plaines | Cumberland |  Pace: 208, 221, 234
Des Plaines |  Pace: 208, 209, 226, 230, 234, 250
Pace Pulse: 101 Dempster Line
2  | Park Ridge | Dee Road |  Pace: 209, 226, 240
Park Ridge |  Pace: 209, 241, 290
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 |  CTA Bus: 68
Norwood Park |  CTA Bus: 68
Gladstone Park |  CTA Bus: 68
Jefferson Park |  Chicago "L": Blue
CTA Bus: 56, 68, 81, 81W, 85, 85A, 88, 91, 92
Pace: 225, 226, 270
Pace Pulse: 100 Milwaukee Line
Mayfair  | Closed December 1, 1958
Kostner  | Closed December 1, 1958
Irving Park |  Chicago "L": Blue (at Irving Park)
CTA Bus: 53, N53, 54A, 80
| Parkview  | Closed December 1, 1958
Avondale  | Closed December 1, 1958
Maplewood  | Closed December 1, 1958
2  | Clybourn |  Metra: ■ Union Pacific North
CTA Bus: 9, X9, 73
1  | Ogilvie
Transportation
Center |  Metra: ■ Union Pacific North, ■ Union Pacific West
Chicago "L": Green Pink (at Clinton)
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 |  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.

## External links

[edit]

KML file (edit • help)

Template:Attached KML/Union Pacific / Northwest Line

KML is from Wikidata

* Metra Union Pacific/Northwest Archived 2016-06-28 at the Wayback Machine service schedule

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

* v
* t
* e

Metra

Lines|

| Current|

* BNSF
* Heritage Corridor
* Metra Electric
* Milwaukee District North
* Milwaukee District West
* North Central Service
* Rock Island
* SouthWest Service
* Union Pacific North
* Union Pacific Northwest
* Union Pacific West

|

Proposed|

* Rockford Intercity Passenger Rail
* Suburban Transit Access Route
* SouthEast Service

Stations and terminals|

* Chicago Union Station
* LaSalle Street Station
* Millennium Station
* Ogilvie Transportation Center

Rolling stock|

* EMD F40C
* EMD F40PH
* EMD F59PH
* MPI MP36PH-3S
* Gallery Car
* Highliner
* Car 553

Incidents|

* 1972 Chicago train crash (Illinois Central Gulf Railroad)
* 1995 Fox River Grove train crash
* 2005 Elmwood Park train crash

See also|

* Regional Transportation Authority
* South Shore Line
* Calumet
* Illinois Central West Line
* Chicago Region Environmental and Transportation Efficiency Program

* v
* t
* e

Passenger trains of the Union Pacific Railroad

Metra (commuter rail)|

* West Line
* Northwest Line
* North Line
* Ogilvie Transportation Center

Early articulated streamliners|

* M-10000
* M-10001
* M-10002
* M-10003 to M-10006

City fleet|

* City of Denver
* City of Kansas City
* City of Las Vegas
* City of Los Angeles
* City of Portland
* City of Salina
* City of San Francisco
* City of St. Louis

Others|

* Butte Special
* Challenger
* Colorado Special
* Columbine
* Forty Niner
* Gold Coast
* Idahoan
* Los Angeles Limited
* Nightingale
* Overland
* Overland Flyer
* Overland Limited
* Pacific Limited
* Pony Express
* Portland Limited
* Portland Rose
* Saint Louis Express
* San Francisco Challenger
* San Francisco Overland
* San Francisco Overland Limited
* Spokane
* Treasure Island Special
* Utahn
* Yellowstone Special

Rolling stock|

* Astra Dome
* Pacific series
* Placid series

Amtrak|

* Amtrak Cascades
* California Zephyr
* Coast Starlight
* Southwest Chief
* Sunset Limited
* Texas Eagle
* Winter Park Express

| Midwest|

* Missouri River Runner
* Lincoln Service

|

California|

* Capitol Corridor
* Pacific Surfliner
* San Joaquins

|

See also|

* Milwaukee Road
* Southern Pacific Railroad
* Chicago and North Western Railway

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