Union Pacific Northwest Line

Union Pacific Northwest Line

Company type	Commuter rail service
Industry	Public transportation
Founder	Union Pacific Railroad
Headquarters	Chicago , United States
Area served	Chicago metropolitan area
Owner	Union Pacific Railroad
Parent	Metra

The Union Pacific Northwest Line (UP-NW) is a commuter rail service managed by Metra and owned by the Union Pacific Railroad, providing transit between Chicago and its surrounding suburbs. The line’s schedule features a striking "Viking Yellow" color scheme, paying tribute to the historic Chicago & North Western Railway’s Viking passenger service.

This rail corridor extends from the Ogilvie Transportation Center to Harvard, Illinois, with the majority of trains concluding their routes at Crystal Lake, Illinois. During weekday peak periods, a branch line operates to serve McHenry, Illinois. It stands as Metra’s lengthiest route and ranks second in ridership, with an average of 38,600 boardings on weekdays, surpassed only by the BNSF Line.

As of February 16, 2024, Metra runs 78 trains on weekdays—39 in each direction—originating from stations including Harvard, McHenry, Crystal Lake, Barrington, Palatine, and Des Plaines. Outbound services terminate at these respective locations. On weekends, service is reduced to 34 trains on Saturdays and 21 on Sundays with limited stops; notably, the McHenry branch does not operate on weekends or holidays.

The main corridor is triple-tracked from to just southeast of Barrington, incorporating a bidirectional express track; beyond that point to Harvard, it transitions to double track. The McHenry branch consists of a single track. Stations along the triple-track section typically feature a side platform for inbound trains plus an island platform serving both express and outbound tracks; however, is unique in having two side platforms exclusively.

Future development plans include extending the McHenry branch to Johnsburg, Illinois, establishing an infill station at Prairie Grove, Illinois, and adding another stop at Ridgefield, Illinois situated between Crystal Lake and Woodstock.

Commencing in 2023, commuter train operations on Union Pacific’s Chicago-area lines have been progressively shifting under full Metra control while Union Pacific continues to own the rail infrastructure. Although initially scheduled for early 2024, this operational handover has been postponed until May 16, 2025.

Ridership

From 2014 through 2019, annual passenger numbers decreased from 11,609,358 to 10,384,356—a decline of approximately 10.6%. The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic led to a significant drop in ridership, falling sharply to 2,602,403 riders in 2020.

Stations

Lincolnwood, Illinois Skokie branch; Closed December 1, 1958 rowspan="14" Chicago bgcolor=dfdfdf Sauganash Skokie branch; Closed December 1, 1958

State	County	Zone	Location	Station	Connections and notes
WI	Rock		Evansville	Evansville	Closed 1965
			Janesville	Janesville	Closed
			Clinton	Clinton	Closed 1966
	Walworth		Sharon	Sharon	Closed 1966
IL	McHenry	4	Harvard		Template:Rint Pace: 808
			Hartland		Closed 1984
			Woodstock		Template:Rint Pace: 807, 808
			Ridgefield	Ridgefield	Closed; proposed new stop
		4	Crystal Lake		Template:Rint Pace: 550, 806, 808
				McHenry branch begins/ends
			Cary
			Fox River Grove
	Cook		Barrington
			Palatine
		3	Arlington Heights
			Mount Prospect		Template:Rint Pace: 234
			Des Plaines		Template:Rint Pace: 208, 221, 234
					Template:Rint Pace: 208, 209, 226, 230, 234, 250 Template:Rint Pace Pulse: 101 Dempster Line
		2	Park Ridge		Template:Rint Pace: 209, 226, 240
					Template:Rint Pace: 209, 241, 290 Template:Rint List of Chicago Transit Authority bus routes CTA Bus: 68
			Skokie, Illinois Skokie branch; Closed December 1, 1958

McHenry branch

Branching off to the north of , the McHenry line once provided service extending to Williams Bay. It covers regions within both Wisconsin and Illinois, though numerous stations along this route have been discontinued over time.

State	County	Zone	Location	Station	Connections and notes
WI	Walworth
			Williams Bay	Williams Bay	Service ended 1966
			Lake Geneva	Lake Geneva	Service ended 1975
			Pell Lake	Pell Lake	Service ended 1975
			Genoa City	Genoa City	Service ended 1975
IL	McHenry	4
			Richmond	Richmond	Service ended 1980
			Ringwood	Ringwood	Service ended 1980
			Johnsburg	Johnsburg	Potential future station
			McHenry		Template:Rint Pace: 806, 807
			Prairie Grove	Prairie Grove	Potential future station