BNSF Line
An inbound Metra train arrives in Naperville, pushed by an MP36PH-3S.
Overview
Owner	BNSF Railway (Leased to Metra)
Termini	Union Station Aurora
Stations	26
Service
Type	Commuter rail
System	Metra
Operator(s)	BNSF Railway Metra
Rolling stock	EMD F40PH/F40PHM-3 locomotives Gallery Cars
Daily ridership	63,000 (average weekday 2018)[1]
Ridership	4,508,149 (2022)
Technical
Line length	37.5 miles (60.4 km)
Number of tracks	2 (at Aurora station) 3 (elsewhere)
Track gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Operating speed	Up to 70 miles per hour (110 km/h)
Route map BNSF Line highlighted in green Show interactive map Legend NCS to Antioch MD-W to Big Timber Road MD-N to Fox Lake 0.0 Union Station Blue 14th Street Yard HC to Joliet SWS to Manhattan I-90 / I-94 1.8 mi 2.9 km Halsted Street Pink to the Loop 3.8 mi 6.1 km Western Avenue Western Avenue Corridor Pink to 54th/Cermak Belt Railway of Chicago 7.0 mi 11.3 km Cicero Morton Park 8.5 mi 13.7 km Clyde IC West Line 9.1 mi 14.6 km La Vergne 9.6 mi 15.4 km Berwyn 10.1 mi 16.3 km Harlem Avenue 11.1 mi 17.9 km Riverside Des Plaines River 11.8 mi 19 km Hollywood Salt Creek 12.3 mi 19.8 km Brookfield 13.1 mi 21.1 km Congress Park Indiana Harbor Belt Railroad 13.8 mi 22.2 km La Grange Road 14.2 mi 22.9 km Stone Avenue 15.5 mi 24.9 km Western Springs I-294 16.4 mi 26.4 km Highlands 16.9 mi 27.2 km Hinsdale 17.8 mi 28.6 km West Hinsdale 18.3 mi 29.5 km Clarendon Hills 19.5 mi 31.4 km Westmont 20.4 mi 32.8 km Fairview Avenue 21.2 mi 34.1 km Downers Grove Main Street 22.6 mi 36.4 km Belmont I-355 Saint Joseph Creek 24.5 mi 39.4 km Lisle DuPage River (East Branch) 28.5 mi 45.9 km Naperville DuPage River (West Branch) 31.6 mi 50.9 km Route 59 EJ&E Railway 33.4 mi 53.8 km Eola Hill Yard 37.5 mi 60.4 km Aurora Aurora (CB&Q Depot) Amtrak to Emeryville, Quincy, and Los Angeles Mileage source[2] This diagram: view talk edit Show BSicon diagram map

The BNSF Line is a Metra commuter rail line operated by the BNSF Railway in Chicago and its western suburbs, running from Chicago Union Station to Aurora, Illinois. In 2010, the BNSF Line continued to have the highest weekday ridership (average 64,600) of the 11 Metra lines.^[3] 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.^[4]

As of February 16, 2024, the public timetable shows 91 trains (44 inbound, 47 outbound) on the BNSF Line on weekdays. Of these, 32 inbound trains originate from Aurora, one from Downers Grove Main Street, nine from Fairview Avenue, and two from Brookfield. Five outbound trains terminate at Brookfield, five at Fairview Avenue, three at Naperville, and the rest at Aurora. Weekend service consists of 30 trains (15 in each direction) on Saturdays, and 20 trains (10 in each direction) on Sundays, with all trains running the full route from Union Station to 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.

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 line is operated by BNSF 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 is the owner of the right-of-way, controls the line and handles dispatching from corporate headquarters in Fort Worth, Texas. Metra imposes a 70 mph maximum allowed speed for passenger trains. The BNSF Line may be the only Metra commuter line that operates via purchase-of-service agreements as of 2024 due to the Union Pacific Railroad announcing its intentions to transfer the operations and supplying of commuter trains to the Metra system itself for the routes originating from the Ogilvie Transportation Center.

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 Railway, which would later rename itself to BNSF Railway.

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 its commuter rail lines under the RTA Commuter Rail Division in 1983, later rebranded as Metra in 1985.

Today, the triple-track line is one of the busiest rail corridors in the United States. In addition to the 91 Metra trains that currently use the line, BNSF freight trains frequent the line at all hours. Amtrak's Southwest Chief, California Zephyr, and Illinois Zephyr and Carl Sandburg use the line as well, making an intermediate stop at Naperville. The Illinois Zephyr and Carl Sandburg services also stop at La Grange Road. Rail fans have coined the line as the "BNSF Racetrack".^[5]

The Clyde 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.^[6]

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 built in Montgomery, Oswego, Yorkville, Plano, and Sandwich, Illinois.^[7][8] The Plano station would be located over 1 mile west of the 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.^[9][10] Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, ridership dropped to 3,659,617 passengers in 2020.^[11][12]

Rolling stock

The BNSF Line's locomotive fleet consists of the EMD F40PH-3 and the EMD F40PHM-3. Until 2012, some MPI MP36PH-3S locomotives (401-405) also operated on the line; however, they were reassigned to the Milwaukee lines and the North Central Service due to operating difficulties. Passenger cars include coaches from Pullman (Bike Car), Budd, Morrison-Knudsen/Amerail, and Nippon Sharyo.

Stations

County	Zone	Location	Station	Connections and notes
Cook	1	Chicago	Union Station	Amtrak (long-distance): California Zephyr, Capitol Limited, Cardinal, City of New Orleans, Empire Builder, Lake Shore Limited, Southwest Chief, Texas Eagle Amtrak (intercity): Blue Water, Hiawatha, Illini and Saluki, Illinois Zephyr and Carl Sandburg, Lincoln Service, Pere Marquette, Wolverine Metra: ■ Milwaukee District North, ■ Milwaukee District West, ■ North Central Service, ■ Heritage Corridor, ■ SouthWest Service Chicago "L": Blue (at Clinton), Brown Orange Pink Purple (at Quincy) CTA Bus: 1, 7, J14, 19, 28, 56, 60, 120, 121, 124, 125, 126, 128, 130, 151, 156, 157, 192 Pace Bus: 755 Plainfield–IMD–West Loop Express Amtrak Thruway: Chicago-Madison and Chicago-Rockford (Van Galder), Chicago-Louisville (Greyhound)
	2		Halsted Street (rush hours only)	CTA Bus: 8 Halsted, 18 16th/18th, N62 Archer
			Western Avenue	Chicago "L": Pink (at Western) CTA Bus: 18 16th-18th, 49 Western, X49 Western Express
		Cicero	Cicero	CTA Bus: 35 31st/35th, 54 Cicero, 54B South Cicero, 60 Blue Island/26th
			Morton Park	Closed between 1938 and 1957
			Clyde	Closed April 1, 2007
		Berwyn	La Vergne (rush hours only)	Pace Bus: 302 Ogden/Stanley, 314 Ridgeland Avenue
			Berwyn	Pace Bus: 302 Ogden/Stanley, 311 Oak Park Avenue
			Harlem Avenue	Pace Bus: 302 Ogden/Stanley, 307 Harlem
		Riverside	Riverside
		Brookfield	Hollywood
			Brookfield	Pace Bus: 331 Cumberland–5th Avenue
	3		Congress Park (rush hours only)	Pace Bus: 302 Ogden/Stanley, 331 Cumberland–5th Avenue
		La Grange	La Grange Road	Amtrak: Illinois Zephyr and Carl Sandburg Pace Bus: 302 Ogden/Stanley, 330 Mannheim–LaGrange Roads, 331 Cumberland–5th Avenue
			Stone Avenue
		Western Springs	Western Springs
DuPage		Hinsdale	Highlands (rush hours only)
			Hinsdale
			West Hinsdale (rush hours only)
		Clarendon Hills	Clarendon Hills
		Westmont	Westmont	Pace Bus: 715 Central DuPage
		Downers Grove	Fairview Avenue
	4		Downers Grove Main Street	Pace Bus: 834 Joliet–Downers Grove
			Belmont	Grove Commuter Shuttle: West Route
		Lisle	Lisle
		Naperville	Naperville	Amtrak: California Zephyr, Illinois Zephyr and Carl Sandburg, Southwest Chief Pace Bus: 530 West Galena–Naperville, 714 COD–Naperville–Wheaton Connector, 722 Ogden Avenue Burlington Trailways: Chicago–Davenport
		Naperville / Aurora	Route 59	Pace Bus: 559 Illinois Route 59 Greyhound Lines: Chicago–Davenport
		Eola	Eola	Closed to passengers prior to 1971, closed entirely later
Kane	4	Aurora	Aurora	Pace Bus: 524 West Aurora, 530 West Galena–Naperville, 533 Northeast Aurora, 540 Farnsworth Avenue, 802 Aurora–Geneva via Lake
			Aurora (CB&Q Depot)	Closed 1986