SouthWest Service

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SouthWest Service
Union Station
  • Manhattan
    • Stations13
    Service
    TypeCommuter rail
    SystemMetra
    Operator(s)Metra, Norfolk Southern Railway
    Daily ridership9,600 (Avg. Weekday 2014)[1]
    Ridership844,567 (2023)
    Technical
    Track length40.6 miles
    Track gauge4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
    Route map
    Map SouthWest Service highlighted in blue
    Legend
    		 NCS to Antioch
    		MD-W to Big Timber Road
    		MD-N to Fox Lake
    0.0
    		 Union Station Amtrak
    Blue to O'Hare
    Blue LaSalle
    Metra
    LaSalle Street
    planned relocation
    Dearborn Station
    		 BNSF to Aurora
    Chicago River (south branch)
    Randolph Street
    Green to Harlem/Lake
    Orange to the Loop
    Red to Howard
    IC West to Addison
    HC to Joliet
    Orange to Midway
    I-55.svg I-55
    I-90.svgI-94.svg I-90 / I-94
    3.2 mi
    5.1 km
    Red Sox–35th │ Metra 35th Street
    Green to Cottage Grove
    47th Street
    Amtrak
    to Michigan, New York,
    Washington, D.C. & Boston
    Red to 95th/Dan Ryan
    Green to Ashland/63rd
    Englewood
    planned
    Rock Island Connection
    Amtrak to D.C. and New York
    		 RI to Joliet
    Halsted
    Racine
    Ashland
    CSX Transportation
    Western Avenue
    11.5 mi
    18.5 km
    		 Wrightwood
    BNSF Railway
    12.2 mi
    19.6 km
    		 Ashburn
    14.7 mi
    23.7 km
    		 Oak Lawn
    Stony Creek
    Indiana Harbor Belt Railroad
    16.6 mi
    26.7 km
    		 Chicago Ridge
    I-294.svg I-294
    17.8 mi
    28.6 km
    		 Worth
    18.6 mi
    29.9 km
    		 Palos Heights
    Cal-Sag Channel
    19.8 mi
    31.9 km
    		 Palos Park
    Southmore
    23.0 mi
    37 km
    		 Orland Park 143rd Street
    25.2 mi
    40.6 km
    		 Orland Park 153rd Street
    28.7 mi
    46.2 km
    		 Orland Park 179th Street
    Orland Park Coach Yard
    I-80.svg I-80
    Hickory Creek
    		 RI Left arrow to Joliet│to LaSalle Street Up arrow
    Steele
    Old Plank Road Trail
    Jackson Creek (Jackson Branch)
    Brisbane
    EJ&E Railway
    35.4 mi
    57 km
    		 Laraway Road
    Jackson Creek
    40.3 mi
    64.9 km
    		 Manhattan
    Manhattan Coach Yard
    Mileage[2]
    source
    		 Handicapped/disabled access All stations are accessible
    This diagram:

    The SouthWest Service (SWS) is a

    trackage rights over Metra's portion).[4]

    History

    The line south of the curve at the east end of the section aligned with 75th Street was built by the

    Dearborn Station in downtown Chicago.[citation needed] Commuter service from Chicago began as early as 1893, with trains running as far south as Orland Park,[5] and by 1909, the service had been extended with several trains operating as far south as Manhattan.[6] The level of service deteriorated in the 1930s, with commuter operations effectively reduced to one train in each direction making local stops from Chicago to Decatur. By 1964, the once daily Chicago–Decatur trains were cut back to Orland Park.[5]

    After several reorganizations the

    Union Station or discontinued, leaving the single Orland Park Cannonball as the only train to still use Dearborn Station. Dearborn Station closed, but the commuter train continued to use a small platform and track on the property until 1976 when it relocated to Union Station via a new connection at Alton Junction.[9]
    : 71 

    The Regional Transportation Authority began to subsidize the service in 1978.[10] N&W merged with Southern Railway to form the Norfolk Southern Railway in 1982, and for the next decade the line was known as the Norfolk Southern Line (NS). The RTA closed the Western Avenue station on May 15, 1984, as part of a cost reduction plan which saw the closure of twelve other lightly used stations and the removal of ticket agents from an additional seventeen stations across the system.[11] On June 1, 1993 Metra took over operations and renamed it the SouthWest Service.[4]

    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 was doubled 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.[12]

    Metra started Saturday service on March 21, 2009, with six trains between Union Station and Manhattan.[13]

    SouthWest Service trains will shift from Union Station to LaSalle Street Station with the reconfiguration of the 75th Street Corridor under the auspices of the Chicago Region Environmental and Transportation Efficiency Program (CREATE).[14] This will happen no earlier than 2025 when construction is scheduled for completion.[15] Additional mainline trackage will also be built between LaSalle St Station and 74th to handle the increase in traffic. LaSalle Street station will also be expanded.[16] This would relieve congestion at Union Station and improve reliability for the SouthWest Service, as well as allowing more trains to run in each direction.[14]

    Service frequency

    As of February 15, 2024, Metra operates 30 trains (15 in each direction) on the SouthWest Service Line on weekdays. Of these, five trains operate to and from Manhattan and 10 operate to and from Orland Park 179th Street. Three of the trains that travel beyond 179th Street serve Laraway Road and Manhattan as "flag to discharge" stops.

    Since March 2020 and as of January 2023, Saturday service on the SouthWest Service is currently suspended. There is also no service on Sundays or holidays.

    The Laraway Road and Manhattan stations see a combined ridership of under 60 people daily, making them two of the least-used stations on Metra's system.

    Ridership

    Since 2014 annual ridership has declined from 2,659,040 to 2,356,767, an overall decline of 11.4%.[17][18] Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, ridership dropped to 574,815 passengers in 2020.[19][20]

    500,000
    1,000,000
    1,500,000
    2,000,000
    2,500,000
    3,000,000
    2014
    2015
    2016
    2017
    2018
    2019
    2020
    2021
    2022
    2023


    Stations

    County Zone Location Station Connections and notes
    Cook 1 Chicago Union Station Amtrak Amtrak (long-distance): California Zephyr, Capitol Limited, Cardinal, City of New Orleans, Empire Builder, Lake Shore Limited, Southwest Chief, Texas Eagle
    Amtrak Amtrak (intercity): Blue Water, Hiawatha, Illini and Saluki, Illinois Zephyr and Carl Sandburg, Lincoln Service, Pere Marquette, Wolverine
    Metra Metra: ■ BNSF, ■ Milwaukee District North, ■ Milwaukee District West, ■ North Central Service, ■ Heritage Corridor
    Chicago "L": Blue (at Clinton), Brown Orange Pink Purple (at Quincy)
    Bus interchange CTA Bus: 1, 7, J14, 19, 28, 56, 60, 120, 121, 124, 125, 126, 128, 130, 151, 156, 157, 192
    Bus interchange Pace: 755 Plainfield–IMD–West Loop Express
    Bus interchange Amtrak Thruway: Chicago-Madison and Chicago-Rockford (Van Galder), Chicago-Louisville (Greyhound)
      Dearborn Station Closed 1976, service switched to Union Station
    47th Street Closed between 1976 and 1984
    Englewood Closed between 1976 and 1984
    Halsted Closed between 1976 and 1984
    Racine Closed between 1976 and 1984
    Ashland Closed between 1976 and 1984
    Western Avenue Closed May 1984
    2 Wrightwood Bus interchange CTA Bus: 52A South Kedzie, 79 79th
    Ashburn
    3 Oak Lawn Oak Lawn Bus interchange Pace: 381 95th Street, 395 95th/Dan Ryan–UPS Hodgkins Limited, 769 Palos Heights/Oak Lawn–Soldier Field Express
    Chicago Ridge Chicago Ridge Bus interchange Pace: 384 Narragansett/Ridgeland
    Worth Worth Bus interchange Pace: 385 87th/111th/127th, 386 South Harlem
    Palos Heights Palos Heights Bus interchange Pace: 769 Palos Heights/Oak Lawn–Soldier Field Express
    4 Palos Park Palos Park
    Orland Park
    Southmore Closed between 1976 and 1984
    Orland Park 143rd Street Bus interchange Pace: 379 Midway–Orland Park
    Orland Park 153rd Street
    Orland Park 179th Street
    Will   New Lenox Steele Closed 1962
    Brisbane Closed 1962
    4 Laraway Road
    Manhattan Manhattan

    References

    1. ^ "Ridership Reports - System Facts". Archived from the original on January 2, 2010. Retrieved January 2, 2010.
    2. ^ State of the System - SouthWest Service
    3. ^ "Did you know?" (PDF). On the Bi-Level: 3. June 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 2, 2010.
    4. ^ a b Metra (2013). "SouthWest Service History". Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved June 7, 2014.
    5. ^ a b Burgess, Paul (Spring 2013). "Follow the Flag: Chicago's Metra "Wabash Extension"". First & Fastest. Vol. 29, no. 1. Lake Forest, Illinois: Shore Line Interurban Historical Society. p. 12.
    6. ^ Burgess, Paul (Spring 2013). "Follow the Flag: Chicago's Metra "Wabash Extension"". First & Fastest. Vol. 29, no. 1. Lake Forest, Illinois: Shore Line Interurban Historical Society. p. 11.
    7. OCLC 44089438
      .
    8. ^ Norfolk and Western Railway (July 3, 1972). "Suburban Passenger Service".
    9. OCLC 45908903
      .
    10. ^ Burgess, Paul (Spring 2013). "Follow the Flag: Chicago's Metra "Wabash Extension"". First & Fastest. Vol. 29, no. 1. Lake Forest, Illinois: Shore Line Interurban Historical Society. p. 14.
    11. Newspapers.com. Open access icon
    12. ^ Wronski, Richard (August 17, 2007). "Pace bus route, Bears shuttle cut". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved February 17, 2023.
    13. Chicago Metra. Archived from the original
      on March 25, 2009. Retrieved February 3, 2009.
    14. ^ a b "P2, P3, EW2, GS19 75th Street Corridor Improvement Project" (PDF). CREATE. November 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 13, 2020. Retrieved January 10, 2018.
    15. ^ "Preckwinkle, Partners Mark 75th Street Rail Corridor Improvement Project". The Chicago Crusader. October 1, 2018. Retrieved December 12, 2018.
    16. ^ "Metra Moving". Railway Track & Structures. September 12, 2009. Retrieved April 21, 2012.[permanent dead link]
    17. ^ "RIDERSHIP TRENDS ANNUAL REPORT 2018" (PDF). Metra. p. 4. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 12, 2019. Retrieved May 12, 2019.
    18. ^ "RIDERSHIP TRENDS ANNUAL REPORT 2019" (PDF). Metra. Retrieved February 27, 2021.
    19. ^ "RIDERSHIP TRENDS ANNUAL REPORT 2020" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on April 23, 2021. Retrieved April 4, 2021.
    20. ^ RTAMS. "Metra Ridership By Line".

    External links

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