| Metra SouthWest Service | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Overview | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Type | Commuter Rail | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| System | Metra | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Termini | Union Station Manhattan |
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| Stations | 13 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Daily ridership | 9,500 (Avg. Weekday 2009)[1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Operation | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Owner | Norfolk Southern Railway (Leased to Metra) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Operator(s) | Metra | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Technical | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Track length | 40.6 miles | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The SouthWest Service (SWS) is an American commuter rail line owned and operated by Metra, running southwest from Union Station in downtown Chicago, Illinois, to Manhattan, Illinois. While Metra does not specifically refer to any of its lines by a particular color, the timetable accents for the SouthWest Service line are printed in "Banner Blue," for the Wabash Railroad's Banner Blue passenger train.[2] The trackage is owned by Metra north of a junction with the Belt Railway of Chicago at Loomis Boulevard, and is leased from Norfolk Southern Railway south of the junction (NS has trackage rights over Metra's portion).[3]
On weekdays, Metra operates thirty SouthWest Service trains to and from Orland Park 179th Street. At present, six trains (three roundtrips) run as far south as Manhattan.
Metra initiated Saturday service on March 21, 2009, with six trains running between Union Station and Manhattan.[4]
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The line south of the curve at the east end of the section aligned with 75th Street was originally built by the Wabash, St. Louis and Pacific Railway, which opened in 1880 to Chicago. At that curve was a junction with the Chicago and Western Indiana Railroad, which the Wabash owned one-fifth of, and used to reach Dearborn Station in downtown Chicago.
After several reorganizations, the Wabash Railroad was leased by the Norfolk and Western Railway in 1964; by then all that was left in the way of passenger trains was the Chicago-Orland Park commuter service. On May 2, 1971, after only one day of operations, Amtrak pulled out of Dearborn Station, and for several years the N&W operated trains to a track west of the station. In 1976, the terminal was moved to Union Station, via a new connection at Alton Junction, and the Regional Transportation Authority began to subsidize the service in 1978. The N&W merged into the Norfolk Southern Railway in 1982, and for a while the line was known as the Norfolk Southern Line (NS). On June 1, 1993, Metra took over operations and renamed it the SouthWest Service.
The rail line expansion project, which includes 11 miles (18 km) of new track and at least two additional train stations, was completed (except for the Laraway Road station) in January 2006. The number of trains per day increased from 16 to 30, 15 in each direction. For years, Pace operated Route 835, whose bus service enhanced the limited train service in the SouthWest Service corridor. With the rail service expansion, ridership on route 835 became so poor that Pace eliminated it on August 17, 2007.
SouthWest Service trains make the following station stops:
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