Union Pacific North Line

Union Pacific North Line

Company type	Commuter rail service
Industry	Public transportation
Predecessor	Chicago & North Western Railway (Chicago and North Western Milwaukee Division)
Founded	1854
Founder	Chicago & Milwaukee Railroad
Headquarters	Chicago , United States
Area served	Chicago metropolitan area, including Kenosha, Wisconsin
Owner	Metra (rolling stock and stations)
Parent	Union Pacific Railroad (operations and dispatching)

The Union Pacific North Line (UP-N) is a Metra commuter rail service operating within the Chicago metropolitan area. It runs between the Ogilvie Transportation Center in Chicago and Kenosha, Wisconsin, with the majority of trains concluding their routes at Waukegan, Illinois. Although Metra retains ownership of the train cars, the day-to-day operations and dispatching responsibilities fall under the Union Pacific Railroad. This line was originally managed by the Chicago & North Western Railway as the Chicago and North Western Milwaukee Division and later known as the Chicago & North Western/North Line. Following the 1995 merger, it became part of Union Pacific. Notably, it is Metra's sole line extending beyond Illinois state boundaries.

While Metra does not officially designate colors for its lines, the Union Pacific North Line’s schedules utilize a dark "Flambeau Green," a nod to the historic Flambeau 400 passenger train operated by the C&NW.

Up until 2022, this line featured Car 553, a private club car that was unique as the last private railcar active on any U.S. commuter railroad.

As of May 20, 2024, weekday operations consist of 71 trains—35 inbound and 36 outbound. Inbound services originate from Kenosha (10 trains), Waukegan (16), Highland Park (7), and Winnetka (2). Outbound trains conclude their journeys at Winnetka (3), Highland Park (6), Waukegan (17), Kenosha (9), and Ravinia Park (1). On summer concert days, train no. 393 terminates at Ravinia Park on weekdays; otherwise, its final stop is Winnetka.

Weekend schedules include 13 trains in each direction on Saturdays: five inbound from Kenosha and eight from Waukegan; outbound trains end at Waukegan (6) and Kenosha (7). Sundays feature nine trains each way, with three inbound from Kenosha and six from Waukegan; outbound services terminate at Waukegan (6) and Kenosha (3).

During weekends with summer concerts, an extra outbound service (RAV1) stops at all stations up to Evanston Central Street before running express to Ravinia Park for events, returning to Chicago after concerts conclude.

History

The route now known as the UP North Line was originally built in 1854 by the Chicago & Milwaukee Railroad. Passenger operations between Chicago and Waukegan commenced on January 4, 1855. Initially, service consisted of a single daily round trip departing Chicago at 8:30 am and returning from Waukegan at 3:30 pm. The railroad’s president, former Chicago mayor Walter S. Gurnee, invested in land throughout Lake County, encouraging suburban development along the railway corridor. In 1863, this railroad merged with the Green Bay, Milwaukee & Chicago Railroad before being acquired by the Chicago and North Western Railway in 1866.

Commuter rail service began utilizing the Chicago and North Western Terminal (present-day Ogilvie Transportation Center) in 1911. Operations shifted to Milwaukee Union Station in 1966; however, in 1971, Chicago and North Western discontinued passenger service between Chicago and Milwaukee, shortening the line’s northern reach to Kenosha.

When Metra was established in 1984, this line became part of its network. The Chicago and North Western continued to operate trains under contract until Union Pacific’s acquisition of the railroad in 1995. Currently, Union Pacific runs passenger services for Metra under an agreement whereby Metra owns the rolling stock and stations while Union Pacific provides crews and manages track rights.

In 2023, Union Pacific declared plans to transfer commuter operations on its three lines to Metra while maintaining ownership and upkeep of the track infrastructure. Although initially scheduled for early 2024, this transition has been postponed to May 16, 2025.

All stations along this route are open daily except for Ravinia Park station, which operates exclusively during the summer Ravinia Festival.

Ridership

From 2014 through 2019, annual passenger numbers decreased by 8.3%, falling from 9.3 million to 8.55 million. The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a significant plunge to 2.3 million riders in 2020. By October 2024, this line had achieved the highest recovery rate among Metra routes, reaching 83% of its weekday ridership prior to the pandemic. Commuter traffic during peak directions has rebounded to 70%, while ridership during reverse-peak times, midday, evenings, and weekends has returned to or surpassed levels seen before the pandemic.

Route

The North Line operates on Union Pacific Railroad's Harvard Subdivision alongside the Union Pacific Northwest Line from Ogilvie Transportation Center up to a junction near Clybourn station. At Clybourn, it branches off onto the Kenosha Subdivision, continuing northward to Kenosha, Wisconsin, and further extending to St. Francis where it connects with Union Pacific's Milwaukee Subdivision. Passenger service terminates at Kenosha.

Running parallel to the Union Pacific North Line for more than 51.9 miles from downtown Chicago to Kenosha is the Green Bay Trail, which follows the former right of way of the Chicago North Shore and Milwaukee Railroad.

Stations

-| -|Template:Rint Pace: Routes 561, 562, 563, 564, 565, 568, 571, 572 -|Abbott's Platform -|Closed in 1986 -| -|Template:Rint Pace: Routes 563, 564 -| -|Template:Rint Pace: Route 563 -|Lake Bluff -| -| -|Lake Forest -| -| -| -|Template:Rint Pace: Route 472 -| -|Template:Rint Pace: Route 472 -| -|Template:Rint Pace: Routes 213, 471, 472 -| - -| -| -| - -Seasonal -| -| - -| -| - row-span=25 Cook County, Illinois -| - Glencoe, Illinois - Template:Stl Metra Glencoe - Template:Rint bus 1 Pace: Route 213 -| - rowspan=3 Winnetka, Illinois - Template:Stl Metra Hubbard Woods - Template:Rint bus 1 Pace: Route 213 -| - Template:Stl Metra Winnetka - Template:Rint bus 1 Pace: Routes 213,423 -| - Template:Stl Metra Indian Hill - Template:Rint bus 1 Pace: Route 213 -| - Kenilworth, Illinois - Template:Stl Metra Kenilworth - Template:Rint bus 1 Pace: Route 213 -| -rowspan=12 | 2 | Wilmette, Illinois | Template:Stl Metra Wilmette | Template:Rint bus 1 Pace: Routes 213,421,422 | - rowspan=5 | Evanston, Illinois | Template:Stl Metra Evanston Central Street | Template:Rint bus 1List of Chicago Transit Authority bus routes CTA Bus:201,206
Template:Rint bus 1 Pace: Route 213 | - Template:Stl Metra Evanston Davis Street | Template:Rint chicago l Chicago "L": Template:Rcb CTA Purple inline=route(at Template:Cta Davis)
Template:Rint bus 1 CTA Bus:93,201,206
Template:Rint bus 1 Pace: Routes208 ,213 ,250
Template:Rint bus brt Pace Pulse:101 Dempster Line | -bgcolor=dfdfdf | Template:Stn Dempster Street C&NW | Closed December1 ,1958 | - Template:Stl Metra Evanston Main Street | Template:Rint chicago l Chicago "L": Template:Rcb CTA Purple inline=route(at Template:Cta Main)
Template:Rint bus 1 CTA Bus:206
Template:Rint bus 1 Pace: Route213 | -bgcolor=dfdfdf | Template:Stn Calvary C&NW | Closed December1 ,1958 | - rowspan=14 | Chicago | Template:Stl Metra Rogers Park | Template:Rint bus 1 CTA Bus:22 ,96 | -bgcolor=dfdfdf | Template:Stl Chicago and North Western Railway Kenmore | Closed December1 ,1958; replaced by Peterson/Ridge station | - Template:Stl Metra Peterson/Ridge | Template:Rint Bus 1 CTA Bus:84 | -bgcolor=dfdfdf | Template:Stl Chicago and North Western Railway Rose Hill | Closed December1 ,1958 | -bgcolor=dfdfdf | Template:Stl Chicago and North Western Railway Summerdale | Closed December1 ,1958 | - Template:Stl Metra Ravenswood | Template:Rint chicago l Chicago "L": Template:Rcb CTA Brown inline=route(at Template:Cta Damen Brown)
Template:Rint bus 1 CTA Bus:9 ,81 | -bgcolor=dfdfdf | rowspan=4 | Template:Stn Ravenswood–Wilson | Closed after July3 ,1963; replaced with Ravenswood station | -bgcolor=dfdfdf | Template:Stn Northcenter | Closed December1 ,1958 | -bgcolor=dfdfdf | Template:Stn Belmont Avenue Chicago and North Western Railway | Closed December1 ,1958 | -bgcolor=dfdfdf | Template:Stn Deering | Closed after June13 ,1943 | - 2| Template:Stl Metra ClybournTemplate:Rint chicago metraMetra: Template:Rcb Metra upnw inline=squareTemplate:Rint bus 1 CTA Bus:9,X9 ,73 - -bgcolor=dfdfdf| rowspan=2 | Template:Stl Chicago and North Western Railway Kinzie Closed circa1879 - -bgcolor=dfdfdf| Wells Street Station Closed1911; replaced by Chicago and Northwestern Terminal (now Ogilvie Transportation Center) - 1| Ogilvie Transportation CenterTemplate:Rint chicago metra Metra: Template:Rcb Metra upnw inline=square, Template:Rcb Metra upw inline=squareTemplate:Rint chicago l Chicago "L": Template:Rcb CTA Green inline=route, Template:Rcb CTA Pink inline=route (at Template:Cta Clinton Green and Pink) Template:Rint bus 1 CTA Bus:J14 ,19 ,56 ,60 ,120 ,124 ,125 ,126 ,128 ,130 ,157 ,192

State	County	Zone	Location	Station	Connections and notes
WI	Milwaukee
			Milwaukee	Lake Front Depot	Service ended in 1966
				Union Station	Closed April 30, 1971
				National Avenue	Discontinued between 1943 and 1956
			Cudahy	Cudahy	Closed in 1957
			South Milwaukee	South Milwaukee	Service ceased between 1956 and 1961
	Racine
			Racine	Racine	Closed April 30, 1971
	Kenosha	4	Kenosha		Template:Rint Kenosha Area Transit: Routes 1, 4 Template:Rint Kenosha Streetcar
IL	Lake		Winthrop Harbor
			Zion	Camp Logan	Closed after October 28, 1956; served Camp Logan, Illinois area
					Template:Rint Pace: Route 571
			Beach Park	Dunes Park	Closed after October 28, 1956
			Waukegan	Asbestos	Discontinued after October 28, 1956

See also

• Kenosha–Racine–Milwaukee rail service, a planned initiative to reinstate passenger rail connection between Milwaukee and Kenosha.

External links

• Metra Union Pacific/North timetable and route information