The Jefferson Park Transit Center is an

intermodal passenger transport Intermodal passenger transport, also called mixed-mode commuting, involves using two or more modes of transportation in a journey. Mixed-mode commuting is often used to combine the strengths (and offset the weaknesses) of various transportati ...

hub in the Jefferson Park neighborhood of

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. It serves as a station for

rail Rail or rails may refer to: Rail transport *Rail transport and related matters *Rail (rail transport) or railway lines, the running surface of a railway Arts and media Film * ''Rails'' (film), a 1929 Italian film by Mario Camerini * ''Rail'' ( ...

and also as a bus terminal. Jefferson Park Transit Center's railroad station is 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. I ...

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 ...

, with the station located at 4963 North Milwaukee Avenue. Jefferson Park 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 ...

in downtown Chicago, the inbound terminus of the Union Pacific Northwest Line. Under Metra's zone-based fare system, Jefferson Park is in zone B. , Jefferson Park is the 97th busiest of Metra's 236 non-downtown stations, with an average of 510 weekday boardings. As of April 25, 2022, Metra's Jefferson Park station is served by 25 inbound and 27 outbound trains on weekdays, by 16 inbound and 15 outbound trains on Saturdays, and by nine inbound and 10 outbound trains on Sundays. It is also an 'L' station on the Blue Line, which stops at a single island platform in the median of the

Kennedy Expressway The John F. Kennedy Expressway is a nearly freeway in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Portions of the freeway carry I-190, I-90 and I-94. The freeway runs in a southeast–northwest direction between the central city neighborhood of the W ...

at 4917 North Milwaukee Avenue. Blue Line trains run 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, with intervals of as little as 2–7 minutes during rush hour, and take 25 minutes to travel to the Loop. From 1970 to 1983, this was the terminal for West-Northwest Line trains once the service was extended from Logan Square.

Station layout

History

The original Jefferson Park Station was built in the late 1850s, by the Chicago, St. Paul and Fond du Lac Railroad at ground level, and became part of the

Chicago and North Western Railway The Chicago and North Western was a Class I railroad in the Midwestern United States. It was also known as the "North Western". The railroad operated more than of track at the turn of the 20th century, and over of track in seven states befor ...

when the CStP&F went bankrupt in 1859. C&NW raised it above ground in 1958. On February 1, 1970, Jefferson Park's 'L' station opened as the northwestern terminus of the

extension of the CTA's Milwaukee Line (now the Blue Line), as an addition to the Jefferson Park Chicago & North Western depot. The station was designed by

Skidmore, Owings and Merrill Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) is an American architectural, urban planning and engineering firm. It was founded in 1936 by Louis Skidmore and Nathaniel A. Owings, Nathaniel Owings in Chicago, Illinois. In 1939, they were joined by engineer Jo ...

. In 1983, the branch was extended past Jefferson Park to , and then from Rosemont to

O'Hare Airport Chicago O'Hare International Airport , sometimes referred to as, Chicago O'Hare, or simply O'Hare, is the main international airport serving Chicago, Illinois, located on the city's Northwest Side, approximately northwest of the Loop busines ...

in 1984. The station was renovated in 2000–2001, and an elevator added to aid access. In 2005, a monument to

Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 18 ...

was placed along the station's entrance along Milwaukee Avenue.

Structure

The Metra station has three tracks, a side platform for the inbound local track, and an island platform for the center express track and outbound local track. The side platform serves inbound trains, and the southwest platform serves outbound trains as well as the center track which carries both express trains in the peak direction as well as trains that short-turn at . As of April 25, 2022, one train in each peak period stops at Jefferson Park on the center track. A station house open from 5:00 A.M. to 1:00 P.M. is located on the inbound platform. There is no ticket agent at Jefferson Park, so tickets must be purchased on board the train. Jefferson Park has a

park and ride A park and ride, also known as incentive parking or a commuter lot, is a parking lot with public transport connections that allows commuting, commuters and other people heading to city centres to leave their vehicles and transfer to a bus, Rail t ...

lot operated by Imperial Parking. The Blue Line station is located in the median of the Kennedy Expressway, and like all other stations on this segment, has two tracks and one island platform. A middle track exists in between the operating tracks from the station to Foster Avenue, and is used for short-turning trains during weekday rush hours. The middle track is a remnant of a small storage yard that existed from 1970 to 1983 when Jefferson Park was the line's northern terminus.

Jefferson Park Transit Center Modernization project

The $25 million project began at the Jefferson Park Transit Center on October 1, 2018, and was completed on July 23, 2019.

Bus connections

CTA *56 Milwaukee *68 Northwest Highway *81 Lawrence (Owl Service) *81W West Lawrence *85 Central *85A North Central (Monday-Saturday only) *88 Higgins *91 Austin *92 Foster *X98 Avon Express (Weekday Shift Changes only)

Pace Pace or paces may refer to: Business *Pace (transit), a bus operator in the suburbs of Chicago, US * Pace Airlines, an American charter airline *Pace Foods, a maker of a popular brand of salsa sold in North America, owned by Campbell Soup Compan ...

*225 Central/Howard (Weekday Rush Hours only) *226 Oakton Street (Weekdays only) *270 Milwaukee Avenue *Pulse Milwaukee Line

Image gallery

File:Jefferson Park Station.jpg, Blue Line platform File:Jefferson Park CTA.jpg, Blue Line platform sign File:Jefferson Park Metra Station.jpg, Metra platforms File:Jefferson Park Sign.JPG, Station sign

References

External links

Jefferson Park Transit Center (Chicago 'L'.org)Northwest Chicago Historical Society Newsletter devoted to Jefferson Park's role as a transit hub

Milwaukee Avenue entrance (North Bus Terminal) from Google Maps Street ViewMilwaukee Avenue entrance (South Bus Terminal and Thomas Jefferson Statue) from Google Maps Street ViewArgyle Street entrance to Metra from Google Maps Street View
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jefferson Park (Metra-Cta) Metra stations in Chicago CTA Blue Line stations Railway stations in the United States opened in 1970 Transit centers in the United States Former Chicago and North Western Railway stations CTA stations in highway medians Railway stations in highway medians