Jefferson Park Transit Center

The Jefferson Park Transit Center is an intermodal passenger transport hub in the Jefferson Park neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois. It serves as a station for rail and also as a bus terminal. Jefferson Park Transit Center's railroad station is on Metra's Union Pacific Northwest Line, with the station located at 4963 North Milwaukee Avenue. Jefferson Park is 9.1 miles (14.6 km) away from Ogilvie Transportation Center in downtown Chicago, the inbound terminus of the Union Pacific Northwest Line.[3] Under Metra's zone-based fare system, Jefferson Park is in zone B. As of 2018, Jefferson Park is the 97th busiest of Metra's 236 non-downtown stations, with an average of 510 weekday boardings.[2]

Jefferson Park
Jefferson Park
 
4900N
5400W
Bus terminal at the Jefferson Park Transit Center
General information
Location4963 North Milwaukee Avenue (Metra)
4917 North Milwaukee Avenue (CTA)
Jefferson Park, Chicago, Illinois 60630
Coordinates41°58′15″N 87°45′40″W
Owned byChicago Transit Authority & Metra
Line(s)Metra Union Pacific Northwest
CTA O'Hare Branch
Platforms1 side platform, 1 island platform (Metra)
1 island platform (CTA)
Tracks5 (3 Metra, 2 CTA)
ConnectionsLocal Transit CTA Buses
Local Transit Pace Buses
Construction
Structure typeElevated (Metra)
Expressway median (CTA)
Platform levels3
ParkingYes, $1.50 (Independent)
Bicycle facilitiesYes
AccessibleYes
Other information
Fare zoneB (Metra)
History
Openedcirca 1858 (1858) (CStP&FDL)
February 1, 1970 (1970-02-01) (CTA)
Rebuilt1958 (1958)
(C&NW)
2000–2001 (2001)
(elevator added, minor renovations)
2018–2019 (2019)
(bus terminal and station renovation)
ElectrifiedYes; Third rail (CTA)
No (Metra)
Passengers
20221,042,823[1] Increase 25% (CTA)
2018510 (average weekday)[2] Decrease 22.3% (Metra)
Rank97 out of 236 (Metra)[2]
Services
Preceding station Metra Following station
Gladstone Park
Weekday limited
toward Harvard or McHenry
 Union Pacific Northwest Irving Park
toward Ogilvie
Preceding station Chicago "L" Following station
Harlem
toward O'Hare
Blue Line Montrose
toward Forest Park
Former services
Preceding station Chicago and North Western Railway Following station
Park Ridge
toward Minneapolis
 Chicago – Minneapolis via Madison Clybourn
toward Chicago
Gladstone Park
toward Crystal Lake
 Wisconsin Division Mayfair
toward Chicago
Location

As of May 30, 2023, Metra's Jefferson Park station is served by 60 trains (29 inbound, 31 outbound) on weekdays, by 31 trains (16 inbound, 15 outbound) on Saturdays, and by 19 trains (nine inbound, 10 outbound) on Sundays.

It is also an 'L' station on the Blue Line, which stops at a single island platform in the median of the Kennedy Expressway at 4917 North Milwaukee Avenue. Blue Line trains run 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, with intervals of as little as 2–7 minutes during rush hour, and take 25 minutes to travel to the Loop. From 1970 to 1983, this was the terminal for West-Northwest Line trains once the service was extended from Logan Square.

History

The original Jefferson Park Station was built in the late 1850s, by the Chicago, St. Paul and Fond du Lac Railroad[4] at ground level,[5] and became part of the Chicago and North Western Railway when the CStP&F went bankrupt in 1859. C&NW raised it above ground in 1958. On February 1, 1970, Jefferson Park's 'L' station opened as the northwestern terminus of the Kennedy Expressway extension of the CTA's Milwaukee Line (now the Blue Line),[6] as an addition to the Jefferson Park Chicago & North Western depot. The station was designed by Skidmore, Owings and Merrill. In 1983, the branch was extended past Jefferson Park to Rosemont, and then from Rosemont to O'Hare International Airport in 1984. The station was renovated in 2000–2001, and an elevator added to aid access. In 2005, a monument to Thomas Jefferson was placed along the station's entrance along Milwaukee Avenue.

Structure

The Metra station has three tracks, a side platform for the inbound local track, and an island platform for the center express track and outbound local track. The side platform serves inbound trains, and the southwest platform serves outbound trains as well as the center track which carries both express trains in the peak direction as well as trains that short-turn at Des Plaines. As of April 25, 2022, one train in each peak period stops at Jefferson Park on the center track. A station house open from 5:00 A.M. to 1:00 P.M. is located on the inbound platform. There is no ticket agent at Jefferson Park, so tickets must be purchased on board the train. Jefferson Park has a park and ride lot operated by Imperial Parking.

The Blue Line station is located in the median of the Kennedy Expressway, and like all other stations on this segment, has two tracks and one island platform. A middle track exists in between the operating tracks from the station to Foster Avenue, and is used for short-turning trains during weekday rush hours. The middle track is a remnant of a small storage yard that existed from 1970 to 1983 when Jefferson Park was the line's northern terminus.

Jefferson Park Transit Center Modernization project

The $25 million project began at the Jefferson Park Transit Center on October 1, 2018, and was completed on July 23, 2019.[7][8]

Bus connections

CTA

  • 56 Milwaukee
  • 68 Northwest Highway
  • 81 Lawrence (Owl Service)
  • 81W West Lawrence
  • 85 Central
  • 85A North Central (Monday-Saturday only)
  • 88 Higgins
  • 91 Austin
  • 92 Foster

Pace

  • 225 Central/Howard (Weekday Rush Hours only)
  • 226 Oakton Street (Weekdays only)
  • 270 Milwaukee Avenue
  • Pulse Milwaukee Line
  • Blue Line platform
    Blue Line platform
  • Blue Line platform sign
    Blue Line platform sign
  • Metra platforms
    Metra platforms
  • Station sign
    Station sign

References
  1. "Annual Ridership Report – Calendar Year 2022" (PDF). Chicago Transit Authority, Ridership Analysis and Reporting. February 2, 2023. Retrieved June 10, 2023.
  2. "Commuter Rail System Station Boarding/Alighting Count: Summary Results Fall 2018" (PDF). Metra. April 2019. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 May 2019.
  3. Metra Railfan Tips - Union Pacific/Northwest Line
  4. "Jefferson Park". Encyclopedia of Chicago. Retrieved February 4, 2012.
  5. Jefferson Park Historical Society(with colorized 1924 image of original station)
  6. Jefferson Park. Chicago-"L".org (URL accessed October 8, 2006).
  7. "Mayor Emanuel and CTA Announce Modernization Work to Begin at Jefferson Park Transit Center as Part of Your New Blue O'Hare Branch Modernization Program".
  8. "Mayor Lightfoot and CTA Mark Completion of Modernization Work to Jefferson Park Blue Line Transit Center".
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