Union Pacific Northwest Line
A Union Pacific Northwest Line train led by an EMD F40PH in the Norwood Park neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois
Overview
Service type	Commuter Rail
Locale	Cook and McHenry counties, Illinois
Current operator(s)	Metra Union Pacific Railroad
Ridership	38,600 (Avg. Weekday 2014)[1] 18,800 (Avg. Weekend 2014)[2]
Annual ridership	4,618,099 (2023)
Route
Termini	Ogilvie Transportation Center Harvard, McHenry
Stops	22 (to Harvard) 20 (to McHenry) 23 (total)
Line(s) used	Harvard Subdivision McHenry Subdivision
Technical
Track owner(s)	Union Pacific Railroad
Route map Union Pacific Northwest Line highlighted in yellow Show interactive map Legend 63.2 mi 101.7 km Former service to Williams Bay 1 76.4 mi 123 km Williams Bay text 70.4 mi 113.3 km Lake Geneva White River 64.9 mi 104.4 km Pell Lake Nippersink Creek (north branch) 61.6 mi 99.1 km Genoa City Wisconsin Illinois Nippersink Creek (north branch) 59.9 mi 96.4 km Richmond Milwaukee Road North Line to Walworth Milwaukee Road North Line to Fox Lake and Union Station 53.8 mi 86.6 km Ringwood 52.8 mi 85 km Johnsburg proposed Boone Creek 63.1 mi 101.5 km Harvard Mokeler Creek Kishwaukee River (north branch) 55.7 mi 89.6 km Hartland Woodstock Yard planned 51.6 mi 83 km Woodstock 50.6 mi 81.4 km McHenry 47.3 mi 76.1 km Prairie Grove proposed 45.7 mi 73.5 km Ridgefield Crystal Lake Yard 43.2 mi 69.5 km Crystal Lake 41.7 mi 67.1 km Pingree Road 38.6 mi 62.1 km Cary Fox River 37.3 mi 60 km Fox River Grove EJ&E Railway 31.9 mi 51.3 km Barrington 26.4 mi 42.5 km Palatine 24.4 mi 39.3 km Arlington Park 22.8 mi 36.7 km Arlington Heights 20.0 mi 32.2 km Mount Prospect 18.6 mi 29.9 km Cumberland NCS to Antioch Union Pacific Railroad NCS to Union Station 17.1 mi 27.5 km Des Plaines Des Plaines River I-294 15.0 mi 24.1 km Dee Road 13.5 mi 21.7 km Park Ridge 12.6 mi 20.3 km Edison Park 11.4 mi 18.3 km Norwood Park 10.1 mi 16.3 km Gladstone Park Blue to O'Hare | I-90 9.1 mi 14.6 km Jefferson Park MD-N to Fox Lake 12.3 mi 19.8 km Skokie 10.8 mi 17.4 km Lincolnwood MD-N to Union Station 9.8 mi 15.8 km Sauganash Weber Subdivision to UP-N Peterson Avenue River Jct. Chicago River (north branch) 7.6 mi 12.2 km Mayfair 7.1 mi 11.4 km Kostner Avenue 7.0 mi 11.3 km Irving Park | Irving Park Blue | I-90 / I-94 5.9 mi 9.5 km Parkview 5.1 mi 8.2 km Avondale 4.1 mi 6.6 km Maplewood UP-N to Kenosha 2.9 mi 4.7 km Clybourn UP-W to Elburn Blue 1.7 mi 2.7 km Kinzie Street Depot Chicago River (north branch) 0.0 Wells Street Station MD-W NCS MD-N Green Pink Blue to Forest Park 0.0 Ogilvie MD-W NCS MD-N/Amtrak to Union Station Mileage source[3] This diagram: view talk edit Show route diagram map

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. 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.^[4]

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 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 February 16, 2024, Metra operates 78 trains (39 in each direction) on the line on weekdays. Of these, 14 inbound trains originate from Harvard, three from McHenry, 13 from Crystal Lake, four from Barrington, one from Palatine, and four from Des Plaines. Five outbound trains terminate at Des Plaines, three at Palatine, three at Barrington, 12 at Crystal Lake, three at McHenry, and 13 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 Arlington Heights. 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 Gladstone Park station or on the McHenry branch on weekends or holidays. All other stations are open daily.

The main line is triple-tracked from Clybourn 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 in Ridgefield between Crystal Lake and Woodstock along the line to Harvard.^[5]

By the first quarter of 2024, the Union Pacific Railroad is expected to transfer operations of the three Union Pacific lines to Metra. The Union Pacific will continue to own and maintain the right-of-way.^[6]

Ridership

Between 2014 and 2019, annual ridership declined from 11,609,358 to 10,384,356, an overall decline of 10.6%.^[7][8] Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, ridership dropped to 2,602,403 passengers in 2020.^[9][10]

Stations

State	County	Zone	Location	Station	Connections and notes
WI	Rock		Evansville	Evansville	Closed 1965[citation needed]
			Janesville	Janesville	Closed
			Clinton	Clinton	Closed 1966[citation needed]
	Walworth		Sharon	Sharon	Closed 1966[citation needed]
IL	McHenry	4	Harvard	Harvard	Pace: 808 Crystal Lake–Harvard
			Hartland	Hartland	Closed 1984[11]
			Woodstock	Woodstock	Pace: 807 Woodstock–McHenry, 808 Crystal Lake–Harvard
			Ridgefield	Ridgefield	Closed, proposed new stop
		4	Crystal Lake	Crystal Lake	Pace: 550 Elgin Transp. Ctr.–Crystal Lake, 806 Crystal Lake–Fox Lake, 808 Crystal Lake–Harvard
				McHenry branch begins/ends
				Pingree Road
			Cary	Cary
			Fox River Grove	Fox River Grove	Formerly named Chicago Highlands
	Cook		Barrington	Barrington
			Palatine	Palatine
		3	Arlington Heights	Arlington Park
				Arlington Heights
			Mount Prospect	Mount Prospect	Pace: 234 Wheeling–Des Plaines
			Des Plaines	Cumberland	Pace: 208 Golf, 221 Wolf, 234 Wheeling–Des Plaines
				Des Plaines	Pace: 208 Golf, 209 Busse Hwy, 226 Oakton, 230 South Des Plaines, 234 Wheeling–Des Plaines, 250 Dempster Pace Pulse: 101 Dempster Line
		2	Park Ridge	Dee Road	Pace: 209 Busse Hwy, 226 Oakton, 240 Dee
				Park Ridge	Pace: 209 Busse Hwy, 241 Greenwood–Talcott, 290 Touhy CTA Bus: 68 Northwest Highway
			Skokie	Skokie	Skokie branch; Closed December 1, 1958
			Lincolnwood	Lincolnwood	Skokie branch; Closed December 1, 1958
			Chicago	Sauganash	Skokie branch; Closed December 1, 1958
				Peterson	Weber branch; Closed December 1, 1958
				Edison Park	CTA Bus: 68 Northwest Highway
				Norwood Park	CTA Bus: 68 Northwest Highway
				Gladstone Park	CTA Bus: 68 Northwest Highway
				Jefferson Park	Chicago "L": Blue CTA Bus: 56, 68, 81, 81W, 85, 85A, 88, 91, 92 Pace: 225 Central–Howard, 226 Oakton, 270 Milwaukee Pace Pulse: 100 Milwaukee Line
				Mayfair	Closed December 1, 1958
				Kostner	Closed December 1, 1958
				Irving Park	Chicago "L": Blue (at Irving Park) CTA Bus: 53 Pulaski, N53 Pulaski Owl, 54A North Cicero/Skokie Blvd, 80 Irving Park
				Parkview	Closed December 1, 1958
				Avondale	Closed December 1, 1958
				Maplewood	Closed December 1, 1958
		2		Clybourn	Metra: ■ Union Pacific North CTA Bus: 9 Ashland, X9 Ashland Express, 73 Armitage
		1		Ogilvie Transportation Center	Metra: ■ Union Pacific North, ■ Union Pacific West Chicago "L": Green Pink (at Clinton) CTA Bus: J14, 19, 56, 60, 120, 124, 125, 126, 128, 130, 157, 192

McHenry branch

The branch, which formerly had service north to Williams Bay, branches off from the main line north of Pingree Road.

State	County	Zone	Location	Station	Connections and notes
WI	Walworth
			Williams Bay	Williams Bay	Closed 1966[citation needed]
			Lake Geneva	Lake Geneva	Closed 1975
			Pell Lake	Pell Lake	Closed 1975
			Genoa City	Genoa City	Closed 1975
IL	McHenry	4
			Richmond	Richmond	Closed 1980
			Ringwood	Ringwood	Closed 1980[citation needed]
			Johnsburg	Johnsburg	Proposed new stop
			McHenry	McHenry	Pace: 806 Crystal Lake–Fox Lake, 807 Woodstock–McHenry
			Prairie Grove	Prairie Grove	Proposed new stop