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
A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separate ...
. 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
A passenger train is a train used to transport people along a railroad line. These trains may consist of unpowered passenger railroad cars (also known as coaches or carriages) hauled by one or more locomotives, or may be self-propelled; self pr ...
.
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 Metra Electric District is an electrified commuter rail line owned and operated by Metra which connects Millennium Station (formerly Randolph Street Station), in downtown Chicago, with the city's southern suburbs. As of 2018, it is the fifth ...
). 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 May 31, 2022, Metra operates 66 trains (33 in each direction) on the line on weekdays. Of these, 12 inbound trains originate from , three from , 12 from , two from , two from , and two from . Two outbound trains terminate at Des Plaines, three at Palatine, two at Barrington, 11 at Crystal Lake, three at McHenry, and 12 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 . 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 station or on the McHenry branch on weekends or holidays. All other stations are open daily.
The main line is triple-tracked from 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.
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 between Crystal Lake and Woodstock along the line to Harvard.
Ridership
Between 2014 and 2019, annual ridership declined from 11,609,358 to 10,384,356, an overall decline of 10.6%.
Due to the
COVID-19 pandemic, ridership dropped to 2,602,403 passengers in 2020.
Stations
McHenry branch
The branch, which formerly had service north to Williams Bay, branches off from the main line north of .
References
External links
Metra Union Pacific/Northwestservice schedule
{{DEFAULTSORT:Union Pacific Northwest Line
Metra lines
Chicago and North Western Railway