BNSF Railway Line

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This article is about a commuter rail line. For the freight railroad company, see BNSF Railway.

The BNSF Railway Line is a commuter rail line in the United States, provided by Metra and operated by the BNSF Railway in Chicago and its surrounding suburbs. While Metra does not specifically refer to any of its lines by a particular color, the timetable accents for the BNSF line are printed in bright "Cascade Green".

Its eastern terminus is the Union Station in downtown Chicago. The line traverses Chicago's western neighborhoods and its western and far western suburbs to Aurora.

[edit] Station stops

BNSF Railway Line trains make the following station stops:

• Union Station
• Halsted Street (16th & Halsted)(Rush Hour Service Only)
• Western Avenue (18th & Western)
• Cicero (26th & Cicero)
• Clyde (open until April 1, 2007)
• LaVergne (Rush Hour Service Only)
• Berwyn
• Harlem Avenue
• Riverside
• Hollywood (Zoo Stop)
• Brookfield
• Congress Park (Rush Hour Service Only)
• LaGrange Road
• LaGrange, Stone Avenue
• Western Springs
• Highlands (Rush Hour Service Only)
• Hinsdale
• West Hinsdale (Rush Hour Service Only)
• Clarendon Hills
• Westmont
• Fairview Avenue
• Downers Grove, Main Street
• Belmont
• Lisle
• Naperville
• Route 59
• Aurora Transportation Center

[edit] History

A westbound Metra commuter train led by a BN E9 passes Eola Yard, just east of Aurora, in 1992.

The railroad between Chicago and Aurora was originally constructed by the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad (CB&Q) in 1864. The CB&Q operated the commuter service until the railroad became part of the Burlington Northern in 1970. Burlington Northern merged with Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway in 1995, and the name of the new railroad became Burlington Northern Santa Fe. The railroad has now been renamed to simply BNSF.

With its three tracks and fast and frequent trains of both Metra and freight service, this line earned the nickname "The Racetrack".

On August 26, 1991, around 6 in the evening, a woman named Mary. T. Wojtyla was hit and killed by an express train in Downers Grove. Her death was captured on film by a railfan.

The Clyde station, at South Austin Boulevard and West 29th Street in Cicero, is scheduled to close on April 1, 2007, due to low ridership and its dilapidated condition. At time of closing, it was only used by about 50 passengers a day (Ruzich 2007).

[edit] External links

• Metra BNSF Railway service schedule

[edit] Primary source

Ruzich, Joseph. "Cicero's Metra stop to receive makeover." Chicago Tribune 21 Feb. 2007.