Union Pacific West Line

The Union Pacific West Line (UP-W) is a Metra commuter rail line operated by Union Pacific Railroad in Chicago, Illinois and its western suburbs. Metra does not refer to its lines by particular colors, but the timetable accents for the Union Pacific West line are "Kate Shelley Rose" pink, honoring an Iowa woman who saved a Chicago & North Western Railway train from disaster in 1881. Green and yellow were already selected for the Union Pacific North Line and Union Pacific Northwest Line, respectively, so pink was chosen for this line. Therefore, the UP-W is the only Metra line that uses a color to honor a person instead of a fallen flag railroad.[4] Until the late 1940s the line had a branch to Freeport, Illinois. It diverged from the main line at West Chicago and had stations at Elgin, Marengo, Belvidere, Rockford, Freeport, and other communities. The line was once known as the Chicago & Northwestern/West Line until UP took over the C&NW in 1995. All Metra trains on this line terminated at Geneva until 2006, when the line was extended to its present terminus in Elburn. The line runs as part of the Union Pacific Railroad's Geneva Subdivision (ex-C&NW line to Clinton, Iowa.)

Union Pacific West Line
A Metra train at Geneva
Overview
Owner	Union Pacific Railroad (Leased to Metra)
Termini	Ogilvie Transportation Center Elburn
Stations	19
Service
Type	Commuter rail
System	Metra
Operator(s)	Union Pacific Railroad Metra
Daily ridership	27,196 (avg. weekday 2014)[1]
Ridership	2,408,426 (2022)
Technical
Line length	43.8 miles[2]
Track gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Route map Union Pacific West Line highlighted in pink Show interactive map 43.6 mi 70.2 km Elburn Elburn yard 40.9 mi 65.8 km La Fox 38.1 mi 61.3 km St. Charles 35.3 mi 56.8 km Geneva Fox River Line Fox River Freeport branch Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Rwy 29.8 mi 48 km West Chicago DuPage River (West Branch) 27.5 mi 44.3 km Winfield Illinois Prairie Path/ Chicago Aurora and Elgin 25.0 mi 40.2 km Wheaton 23.8 mi 38.3 km College Avenue 22.4 mi 36 km Glen Ellyn DuPage River (East Branch) I-355 19.9 mi 32 km Lombard Great Western Trail 17.8 mi 28.6 km Villa Park IC West Line Salt Creek 15.7 mi 25.3 km Elmhurst Union Pacific Railroad I-290 I-294 14.3 mi 23 km Berkeley 12.6 mi 20.3 km Bellwood Addison Creek Indiana Harbor Belt Railroad 11.3 mi 18.2 km Melrose Park 10.5 mi 16.9 km Maywood Des Plaines River 9.7 mi 15.6 km River Forest Canadian National Railway 9.1 mi 14.6 km Lathrop Avenue Harlem/Lake 8.5 mi 13.7 km Oak Park 8.2 mi 13.2 km Avenue 7.7 mi 12.4 km Ridgeland 7.2 mi 11.6 km Austin Boulevard 6.7 mi 10.8 km Austin Green to Ashland/63rd and Cottage Grove Belt Railway of Chicago 4.8 mi 7.7 km Keeler (employees only) M-19-A Diesel Shop 3.6 mi 5.8 km Kedzie 3.0 mi 4.8 km California Ave. coach yard Western Ave. Corridor MD-N MD-W NCS 2.6 mi 4.2 km Chicago 'L' Logan Square branch I-90 / I-94 Blue to O'Hare UP-N UP-NW Kinzie Street Depot Chicago River (north branch) Wells Street Station MD-N MD-W NCS to Union Station Green Pink Blue 0.0 Ogilvie Mileage source[3] Show BSicon diagram map

The line runs from the Ogilvie Transportation Center in downtown Chicago through the western suburbs to Elburn. This is the oldest railway route built from Chicago, the route of the Galena and Chicago Union Railroad along Kinzie Street.

As of May 30, 2023, Metra operates 58 trains (29 in each direction) on the Union Pacific West Line on weekdays. Of these, 23 inbound trains originate from Elburn, two from La Fox, three from Geneva, and one from West Chicago. Two outbound trains terminate at Geneva, three at La Fox, and the remaining 24 terminate at Elburn.

On weekends, all trains run the full route to Elburn, with Metra operating 10 roundtrip trains on Saturday and nine on Sundays and holidays.

Union Pacific is building a third track from West Chicago through all of Geneva. The project started in September 2022 and is expected to be finished in July 2024. The improvements are designed to ensure smoother traffic flow and reduce conflicts between commuter and freight trains.[5]

By the first quarter of 2024, the Union Pacific Railroad is expected to transfer operations of the three Union Pacific lines to Metra. The Union Pacific will continue to own and maintain the right-of-way.[6]