63rd Street station is a

commuter rail Commuter rail or suburban rail is a Passenger train, passenger rail service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting Commuting, commuters to a Central business district, central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter town ...

station within the

city of Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

that serves the

Metra Electric Line 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 fif ...

north to

Millennium Station Millennium Station, (previously known as Randolph Street Terminal and occasionally referred to as Randolph Street station or Randolph/South Water Street station) is a commuter rail terminal located in the Chicago Loop, Loop area of Chicago, do ...

and south to University Park,

Blue Island Blue Island is a city in Cook County, Illinois, United States, south of Chicago's Loop. Blue Island is adjacent to the city of Chicago and shares its northern boundary with that city's Morgan Park neighborhood. The population was 22,558 at t ...

, and the Chicago neighborhood of

South Chicago South Chicago, formerly known as Ainsworth, is one of the 77 community areas of Chicago, Illinois. This chevron-shaped community is one of Chicago's 16 lakefront neighborhoods near the southern rim of Lake Michigan 10 miles south of downtow ...

and the

South Shore Line The South Shore Line is an electrically powered commuter rail line operated by the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District (NICTD) between Millennium Station in downtown Chicago, Illinois and the South Bend Airport station in Sout ...

to Gary and

South Bend, Indiana South Bend is a city in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. It lies along the St. Joseph River (Lake Michigan), St. Joseph River near its southernmost bend, from which it derives its name. It is the List of cities in ...

. Most South Shore Line trains do not stop at this station, except for one inbound train during the AM rush and two outbound trains during the PM rush on weekdays. As of 2018, the station is the 169th busiest of Metra's 236 non-downtown stations, with an average of 167 weekday boardings.

History

The station, originally named Woodlawn, was built by the

Illinois Central Railroad The Illinois Central Railroad , sometimes called the Main Line of Mid-America, is a railroad in the Central United States. Its primary routes connected Chicago, Illinois, with New Orleans, New Orleans, Louisiana, and Mobile, Alabama, and thus, ...

(ICRR) in 1903, and served both ICRR commuter trains and long-distance passenger trains until the railroad relinquished its passenger train service to

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

in 1971. A large combination station and office building for the Illinois Central was built in 1917, and demolished in the 1980s. The station had another island platform between the two non-electrified tracks on the eastern side to serve Illinois Central and some

New York Central The New York Central Railroad was a railroad primarily operating in the Great Lakes and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The railroad primarily connected greater New York and Boston in the east with Chicago and St. Louis in the Midw ...

long-distance trains. It is now removed, but evidence still remains. Named trains making stops at Woodlawn: *Illinois Central: **'' City of New Orleans'' (to New Orleans) **''

Green Diamond The ''Green Diamond'' was a streamlined passenger train operated by the Illinois Central Railroad between Chicago, Illinois and St. Louis, Missouri. It operated from 1936 until 1968. It was the Illinois Central's first streamliner. Initially it o ...

'' (to St. Louis) **''Louisiane'' (to New Orleans) **''

Panama Limited The ''Panama Limited'' was a passenger train operated from 1911 to 1971 between Chicago, Illinois, and New Orleans, Louisiana. The flagship train of the Illinois Central Railroad, it took its name from the Panama Canal, which in 1911 was three y ...

'' (to New Orleans) **''

Seminole The Seminole are a Native American people who developed in Florida in the 18th century. Today, they live in Oklahoma and Florida, and comprise three federally recognized tribes: the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma, the Seminole Tribe of Florida, ...

'' (to Jacksonville, Florida) *New York Central: **''Cincinnati Special'' (to Cincinnati) **''

James Whitcomb Riley James Whitcomb Riley (October 7, 1849 – July 22, 1916) was an American writer, poet, and best-selling author. During his lifetime he was known as the "Hoosier Poet" and "Children's Poet" for his dialect works and his children's poetry. His ...

'' (to Cincinnati)

Recent years

This also serves as a stop for Mount Carmel High School students, which is directly across from the station. The station was originally used as a local and express station until the schedules were shifted in 1975 to make 55th–56th–57th Street station the express station. This is the last stop on the main line for trains of the South Chicago branch, which splits off south of the station. Prior to 1982, the Jackson Park branch of the South Side 'L' crossed the Metra Electric tracks on a bridge just north of this station. Trains stopped at nearby Dorchester station.

Bus connections

CTA * 63 63rd (Owl Service)

References

External links

* *
South Shore Line - Stations
{{South Shore Line navbox Former Illinois Central Railroad stations Metra stations in Chicago South Shore Line stations in Illinois Railway stations in the United States opened in 1903 Former Michigan Central Railroad stations Former New York Central Railroad stations Former Chesapeake and Ohio Railway stations