BNSF Railway (Metra)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article is about a commuter rail line. For the freight railroad company, see BNSF Railway.
BNSF Railway Line

An inbound Metra train arrives in Naperville.
Overview
Type Commuter Rail
System Metra
Termini Union Station
Aurora
Stations 26
Daily ridership 64,600 (Avg. Weekday 2010)[1]
Operation
Operator(s) BNSF Railway
Technical
Line length 37.5 miles (60.4 km)
Track gauge 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Route map
Legend
 0.0 Chicago Union Station
 1.8 Halsted Street
 3.7 Western Avenue
 7.0 Cicero
 8.5 Clyde
 9.0 La Vergne
 9.6 Berwyn
 10.0 Harlem Avenue
 11.0 Riverside
 11.7 Hollywood
 12.3 Brookfield
 13.0 Congress Park
 13.7 La Grange
 14.1 Stone Avenue
 15.4 Western Springs
 16.3 Highlands
 16.8 Hinsdale
 17.8 West Hinsdale
 18.2 Clarendon Hills
 19.4 Westmont
 20.3 Fairview Avenue
 21.1 Downers Grove
 22.9 Belmont
 24.4 Lisle
 28.4 Naperville
 31.6 Route 59
 38.4 Aurora
 40.2 Montgomery (proposed)
 45.5 Bristol (proposed)
 51.5 Plano (proposed)

The BNSF Railway Line is a Metra commuter rail line operated by the BNSF Railway in Chicago and its surrounding suburbs. In 2010, the BNSF Railway Line continued to have the highest weekday ridership (average 64,600) of the 11 Metra lines.[1] (Metra does not refer to its lines by particular colors, but the timetable accents for the BNSF line are "Cascade Green," like the paint of the Burlington Northern Railroad.[2]) In April 2013, the public timetable showed 47 trains leaving Chicago each weekday, of which 31 run to Aurora.

The east end is Union Station in downtown Chicago. The line traverses Chicago and its western and far western suburbs to Aurora. BNSF Railway operates it under a "purchase of service agreement" with Metra; management and crews are BNSF employees and Metra owns the equipment. The June 2007 timetable shows 70 mph maximum allowed speed for passenger trains.

Metra has studied the feasibility of extending the line beyond Aurora, possibly as far as Plano, Illinois.[3]

History

BNSF Railway Line is in Light Green

The railroad between Chicago and Aurora was constructed in 1864 by the Chicago and Aurora Railroad, which later merged into the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad. The CB&Q operated the commuter service until the railroad became part of the Burlington Northern in 1970. Burlington Northern merged with the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway in 1995 and the name of the railroad became Burlington Northern Santa Fe. It later changed its name to the abbreviation, BNSF.

With three tracks, fast and frequent Amtrak and Metra passenger trains, and BNSF freight trains, the line, nicknamed the "race track" is a favorite of rail fans.[4] It is one of the two Metra lines operated by the BNSF Railway. The other being Metra's Heritage Corridor.

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. It was then used by about 50 passengers a day.[5]

Station stops

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Ridership Reports -System Facts". Metra. Retrieved July 17, 2012. 
  2. ↑ "Did you know?". On the Bi-Level: 3. June 2009. 
  3. ↑ "A step closer on local Metra station". Oswego Ledger-Sentinel. March 12, 2009. Archived from the original on December 28, 2010. Retrieved November 14, 2010. 
  4. ↑ Mann, Leslie (23 March 2011). "When that lonesome whistle blows, rail fans know where to line up". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 3 May 2013. 
  5. ↑ Ruzich, Joseph (21 February 2007). "Cicero's Metra stop to receive makeover". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 3 May 2013. 

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Metra BNSF Railway Line.
Lines
Current
Proposed
NICTD Service
Stations and terminals
Rolling stock
Accidents and incidents
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike; additional terms may apply for the media files.