BNSF Railway (Metra)

The BNSF Line (also known informally as the "Racetrack") is a Metra commuter rail line operated by the BNSF Railway in Chicago and its western suburbs. In 2010, the BNSF Line continued to have the highest weekday ridership (average 64,600) of the 11 Metra lines. While Metra does not refer to its lines by particular colors, the BNSF line's color on Metra timetables is "Cascade Green," in honor of the Burlington Northern Railroad.

The public timetable (published March 28, 2021) shows 91 trains (44 inbound, 47 outbound) on the BNSF Line on weekdays. Of these, 32 inbound trains originate from , one from , nine from , and two from . Five outbound trains terminate at Brookfield, five at Fairview Avenue, three at , and 34 at Aurora.

Bike cars are available on weekday trains #1212 (leaves 5:29 A.M.,) #1252 (leaves 9:04 A.M.,) and #1284 (leaves 5:04 P.M.) inbound from Aurora, and trains #1217 (leaves 7:33 A.M.,) #1239 (leaves 3:10 P.M.,) and #1283 (leaves 6:50 P.M.) outbound to Aurora.

Metra operates 30 trains (15 in each direction) on the BNSF Line on Saturdays, and 20 trains (10 in each direction) on Sundays. All weekend trains originate and terminate at Aurora.

Bike cars are available on weekend trains #2002 (leaves 6:20 A.M.) and #2012 (leaves 10:20 A.M.) inbound from Aurora, and trains #2003 (leaves 8:40 A.M.) and #2013 (leaves 2:40 P.M.) outbound to Aurora.

The east end is Chicago Union Station in downtown Chicago. The line traverses Chicago and its western and far western suburbs to Aurora, Illinois. BNSF Railway operates it under a "purchase of service agreement" with Metra, inherited from Burlington Northern. While Metra owns all rolling stock, the management and crews are BNSF employees. BNSF controls the right-of-way on the line and handles dispatching from corporate headquarters in Fort Worth, Texas. Metra imposes a 70 mph maximum allowed speed for passenger trains.

Metra has studied the feasibility of extending the line beyond Aurora. One proposal considered extending the line possibly as far as Sandwich, with additional stations (from east to west) in Montgomery, Oswego, Yorkville, and Plano. Another proposal considered extending the line to Big Rock, with additional stations at Orchard Road in Aurora, and in Sugar Grove.

Metra has also considered reopening an infill station between Aurora and stations at Eola Road.

History

The railroad between Chicago and Aurora was constructed in 1864 by the Chicago and Aurora Railroad, which evolved into the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad. The CB&Q operated the commuter service until the railroad merged into the Burlington Northern Railroad in 1970. Burlington Northern merged with the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway in 1995 to form the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad. It later changed its name to the abbreviation, BNSF.

When the Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) began subsidizing Chicago's commuter rail operations in 1974, Burlington Northern continued to operate its line under contract to the RTA. This arrangement continued when the RTA organized commuter rail under a service board that became Metra.

With fast and frequent Amtrak and Metra passenger trains, and BNSF freight trains, the three-track line is a favorite of rail fans, who sometimes call it the "BNSF Racetrack" informally. It is one of the busiest rail lines in the United States, with 91 passenger trains (not including Amtrak services) traveling along it per weekday as of March 28, 2022.

The station at South Austin Boulevard and West 29th Street in Cicero was closed on April 1, 2007 due to low ridership and its dilapidation. In the months before its closure, it was used by about 50 passengers a day.

Kendall County extension

There have been proposals to extend service west into Kendall County, which as of 2020 is outside the RTA's service area. Potential new stations would be in Montgomery, Oswego, Bristol, Yorkville, Plano, and Sandwich, Illinois. The Plano station would be located over 1 mile west of the Plano CB&Q Depot currently used by Amtrak's Illinois Zephyr and Carl Sandburg trains.

Ridership

Between 2014 and 2019, annual ridership declined 7% from 16.7 million to 15.5 million passengers. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, ridership dropped to 3,659,617 passengers in 2020.

Rolling stock

The BNSF Line's locomotive fleet consists mainly of the EMD F40PH-3/F40PHM-3. Until 2012, MPI MP36PH-3S locomotives also operated on the line; however, they were all reassigned to the Milwaukee lines, the North Central Service and the Rock Island District due to operating difficulties. Passenger cars include coaches from Pullman (Bike Car), Budd, Morrison-Knudsen/ Amerail, and Nippon Sharyo.

Stations

References

External links

Metra BNSF Railway
service schedule

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bnsf Railway Line
Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad
Chicago metropolitan area
Metra lines
BNSF Railway