Crystal Lake is one of two stations on

Metra Metra is the commuter rail system in the Chicago metropolitan area serving the city of Chicago and its surrounding suburbs via the Union Pacific Railroad, BNSF Railway, and other railroads. The system operates 242 stations on 11 rail lines. ...

Union Pacific Northwest Line 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 ...

located in

Crystal Lake, Illinois Crystal Lake is a city in McHenry County in the U.S. state of Illinois. Named after a lake southwest of the city's downtown, Crystal Lake is 45 miles northwest of Chicago. The population is 40,269 as of the 2020 Census, a 1.2% decrease from 201 ...

. The station is two stops away from the line's terminus at , and most of the trains on the Northwest Line only run as far as Crystal Lake. A large coach yard is adjacent to the station and has additional storage tracks to store Metra trains overnight, and on holidays and weekends. A Union Pacific maintenance facility and office, some storage tracks for local freight trains and

maintenance of way Maintenance of way (commonly abbreviated to MOW) refers to the maintenance, construction, and improvement of rail infrastructure, including tracks, ballast, grade, and lineside infrastructure such as signals and signs. Track The most fundamen ...

equipment as well as a junction are also located just southeast of here. The branch line to splits off at this junction. The station is away from

Ogilvie Transportation Center The Richard B. Ogilvie Transportation Center (; formerly Chicago and North Western Terminal) is a commuter rail terminal in downtown Chicago, Illinois. It is the terminus for the three commuter rail lines of Metra's Union Pacific District to Chica ...

. Parking is available at the station. , Crystal Lake is the 36th busiest of the 236 non-downtown stations in the Metra system, with an average of 1,138 weekday boardings. As of May 30, 2023, Crystal Lake is served by 52 trains (27 inbound, 25 outbound) on weekdays, by 30 trains (15 in each direction) on Saturdays, and by 20 trains (nine inbound, all 11 outbound) on Sundays. On weekdays, 13 inbound trains originate from Crystal Lake and 12 trains terminate here, with five inbound trains originating and five outbound trains terminating here on Saturdays, and two inbound trains originating and three outbound trains terminating here on Sundays.

Pace connections

* 550 Elgin Transportation Center/Crystal Lake * 806 Crystal Lake/Fox Lake * 808 Crystal Lake/Harvard

References

External links

Crystal Lake station
on Metra.com
Station from Main Street from Google Maps Street View
Metra stations in Illinois Former Chicago and North Western Railway stations Crystal Lake, Illinois Railway stations in the United States opened in 1915 Railway stations in McHenry County, Illinois {{Illinois-railstation-stub