Union Pacific North Line

The Union Pacific North Line (UP-N) is a Metra line in the Chicago metropolitan area. It runs between Ogilvie Transportation Center and Kenosha, Wisconsin; however, most trains terminate in Waukegan, Illinois. Although Metra owns the rolling stock, the trains are operated and dispatched by the Union Pacific Railroad. This line was previously operated by the Chicago & North Western Railway before its merger with the Union Pacific Railroad, and was called the Chicago and North Western Milwaukee Division and then the Chicago & North Western/North Line before the C&NW was absorbed by Union Pacific in April 1995. It is the only Metra line that travels outside Illinois.

Metra does not refer to its lines by particular colors, but the timetable accents for the Union Pacific North line are dark "Flambeau Green," a nod to the C&NW's '' Flambeau 400'' passenger train.

Until 2022, a private club car ran weekdays exclusively on the Union Pacific North Line. It was the last remaining private car in service on a commuter railroad in the United States.

The current timetable as of May 20, 2024 shows 71 trains (35 inbound and 36 outbound) on weekdays. Of these, ten inbound trains originate from , 16 from , seven from , and two from . Three outbound trains terminate at Winnetka, six at Highland Park, 17 at Waukegan, nine at Kenosha, and one at .

During the summer concert season, outbound train no. 393 terminates at on weekdays.
Otherwise train no. 393 terminates at .

13 trains operate in each direction on Saturdays. Of these, five inbound trains originate from Kenosha and eight from Waukegan. Six outbound trains terminate at Waukegan and seven at Kenosha.

Nine trains operate in each direction on Sundays. Of these, three inbound trains originate from Kenosha and six from Waukegan. Six outbound trains terminate at Waukegan and three at Kenosha.

During the summer concert season, on weekends, an extra outbound train, named RAV1, makes all stops to , then runs express to during events, with a train returning to Chicago after the concert.

History

The route followed by the UP North Line was constructed in 1854 by the Chicago & Milwaukee Railroad. Passenger service between Chicago and Waukegan began on January 4, 1855. Initially, a single train operated each day, departing from a terminal in Chicago at Water St. and Kinzie St. at 8:30 am and returning from Waukegan at 3:30 pm. The president of the railroad, former Chicago mayor Walter S. Gurnee, speculated on land in Lake County spurring the development of railway suburbs along the line. The railroad merged with the Green Bay, Milwaukee & Chicago Railroad in 1863, and was acquired by the Chicago and North Western Railway in 1866. Commuter rail services along the line started operating into the new Chicago and North Western Terminal (now Ogilvie Transportation Center) in 1911. In 1966, the Chicago and North Western closed the Lake Front Depot and began operating into the new Milwaukee Union Station. This service would ultimately prove to be relatively short lived as the Chicago and North Western ended operations between Chicago and Milwaukee in 1971 and the line was truncated to Kenosha.

The North line became part of Metra when the agency was formed in 1984. The trains continued to be operated by the Chicago and North Western Railway under contract until that railroad was bought by Union Pacific in 1995. UP now operates passenger services along the line for Metra. Under a longstanding agreement that UP inherited from the C&NW, Metra owns the vehicles and the stations along the line, but Union Pacific employs the crew who actually operate the trains, and they also control the right-of-way along the route.

Beginning in 2023, the Union Pacific Railroad announced that commuter operations on all three of the Union Pacific lines would be transferred to Metra; the Union Pacific would continue to own and maintain the right-of-way. The transfer was initially expected to occur by Q1 2024; however, it was delayed by a year to May 16, 2025.

All stations on the line except for Ravinia Park are open daily. Ravinia Park is only open during the Ravinia Festival in the summer months.

Ridership

Between 2014 and 2019, annual ridership declined by 8.3% from 9,328,441 passengers to 8,552,117 passengers. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, ridership dropped to 2,300,363 passengers in 2020. As of October 2024, the line has Metra's highest ridership recovery rate at 83% of pre-pandemic weekday ridership. Peak-direction ridership is at 70% of pre-pandemic numbers, while all other metrics ( reverse-peak, midday, evening, Saturday, and Sunday ridership) is at or above pre-pandemic ridership.

Route

The service shares the Union Pacific Railroad's Harvard Subdivision with the Union Pacific Northwest Line from Ogilvie Transportation Center in downtown Chicago to a junction just before station. From Clybourn, the North Line splits from the Northwest Line and traverses the Kenosha Subdivision north to Kenosha, Wisconsin. The Kenosha Subdivision continues to St. Francis, Wisconsin and a junction with the Union Pacific's Milwaukee Subdivision. No passenger trains operate north of Kenosha.

The Green Bay Trail parallels the Union Pacific North Line, using the former right of way of the North Shore Line for over from the Chicago Loop to Kenosha, Wisconsin.

Stations

See also

* Kenosha–Racine–Milwaukee rail service, a proposed restoration of passenger service between Kenosha and Milwaukee.

References

External links

Metra Union Pacific/North
service schedule

{{DEFAULTSORT:Union Pacific North Line
Metra lines
Chicago and North Western Railway