Union Pacific Northwest Line

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.^[5]

Service typeCommuter rail

LocaleCook and McHenry counties, Illinois

Current operatorMetra

Former operatorUnion Pacific Railroad

Quick facts Overview, Service type ...

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	Metra
Former operator	Union Pacific Railroad
Ridership	38,600 (Avg. Weekday 2014)[1] 18,800 (Avg. Weekend 2014)[2]
Annual ridership	5,721,102 (2025)[3]
Website	metra.com/train-lines/up-nw
Route
Termini	Ogilvie Transportation Center Harvard, McHenry
Stops	23 total (22 to Harvard, 20 to McHenry)
Distance travelled	50.6 miles (81.4 km) (to McHenry) 63.1 miles (101.5 km) (to Harvard)
Lines used	Harvard Subdivision McHenry Subdivision
Technical
Track gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Track owner	Union Pacific Railroad
Route map Union Pacific Northwest Line highlighted in yellow Show interactive map Legend 104.4 km Former service to Williams Bay   76.4 mi 123 km Williams Bay 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 border Nippersink Creek (north branch) 59.9 mi 96.4 km Richmond Milwaukee Road North Line to Walworth Milwaukee Road North Line to Fox Lake & Union Station 53.8 mi 86.6 km Ringwood Track ends 52.8 mi 85 km Johnsburg (proposed) 104.4 km Union Pacific Railroad CH&GL Railway to Fontana-on-Geneva Lake 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 McHenry Branch Prairie Trail 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   McHenry County Lake County border Elgin, Joliet and Eastern Railway   Lake County Cook County border 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 North Central Service to Antioch 18.6 mi 29.9 km Cumberland Union Pacific Railroad North Central Service to Union Station Pulse Dempster Line to O'Hare MMF 17.1 mi 27.5 km Des Plaines Pulse Dempster Line to Davis Street Des Plaines River Des Plaines River Trail 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 Pulse Milwaukee Line to Golf Mill Blue to O'Hare  │ I-90 9.1 mi 14.6 km Jefferson Park Milwaukee District North Line to Fox Lake Amtrak to Milwaukee, St. Paul, Seattle and Portland 12.3 mi 19.8 km Skokie 10.8 mi 17.4 km Lincolnwood Milwaukee District North Line and Amtrak to Union Station 9.8 mi 15.8 km Sauganash Weber Subdivision to Union Pacific North Line Peterson Avenue Chicago River (north branch) 7.6 mi 12.2 km Mayfair Union Pacific Railroad 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 Union Pacific North Line to Kenosha 2.9 mi 4.7 km Clybourn Chicago Terminal Railroad Union Pacific West Line to Elburn Blue Kinzie Street Depot Chicago River (north branch) Wells Street Station Metra & Amtrak Green Pink 0 mi Ogilvie Transportation Center Blue to Forest Park Metra and Amtrak to Union Station Key Union Pacific Northwest Line Former route alignment Other Metra lines Metra Milwaukee District lines Other freight lines CTA lines Former CTA lines/interurbans Pace Pulse routes Mileage source[4] All stations are accessible except Clybourn and Gladstone Park. This diagram: view talk edit Show route diagram map

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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.

All stations along the triple-tracked portion of the line have a side platform serving the inbound track and an island platform serving the express and outbound tracks, the only exception being Irving Park, which only has two side platforms and does not serve trains running through the express track.

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.^[6]

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.^[7][8] The transfer was initially expected to occur by Q1 2024;^[9] however, it was delayed by a year to May 16, 2025.^[10][11][12]