BNSF Railway (Metra)

The BNSF Railway Line is a Metra commuter rail line operated by the eponymous freight railroad in Chicago and its western suburbs. In 2010, the BNSF Railway Line continued to have the highest weekday ridership (average 64,600) of the 11 Metra lines.[2] While Metra does not refer to its lines by particular colors, the BNSF line's color on Metra timetables is in Burlington Northern Cascade Green.[3] In December 2021, the public timetable (published November 15, 2021) shows 41 inbound trains and 45 outbound trains on the BNSF Railway Line on weekdays. Of these, 29 inbound trains originate from Aurora, one from Naperville, eight from Fairview Ave., and three from Brookfield. Seven outbound trains terminate at Brookfield, five at Fairview Ave., four at Naperville, and 29 at Aurora.

This article is about a commuter rail line. For the freight railroad company that owns and operates the line, see BNSF Railway.

BNSF Railway Line
An inbound Metra train arrives in Naperville.
Overview
OwnerBNSF Railway (Leased to Metra)
TerminiUnion Station
Aurora
Stations26
Service
TypeCommuter rail
SystemMetra
Operator(s)BNSF Railway
Metra
Daily ridership63,000 (average weekday 2018)[1]
Ridership3,659,617 (2020)
Technical
Line length37.5 miles (60.4 km)
Track gauge4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Route map
NCS to Antioch
MD-W to Big Timber Road
MD-N to Fox Lake
0.0
 Union Station
Blue
HC to Joliet
SWS to Manhattan
1.8
 Halsted Street
Pink to Loop
3.7
 Western Avenue
Pink to 54th/Cermak
7.0
 Cicero
Morton Park
closed
8.5
Clyde
closed
IC West Line
9.0
 La Vergne
9.6
 Berwyn
10.0
 Harlem Avenue
11.0
 Riverside
Des Plaines River
11.7
 Hollywood
Salt Creek
12.3
 Brookfield
13.0
 Congress Park
13.7
 La Grange
14.1
 Stone Avenue
15.4
 Western Springs
16.3
 Highlands
16.8
 Hinsdale
17.8
 West Hinsdale
18.2
 Clarendon Hills
19.4
 Westmont
20.3
 Fairview Avenue
21.1
 Downers Grove Main Street
22.9
 Belmont
Saint Joseph Creek
24.4
 Lisle
DuPage River (East Branch)
28.4
 Naperville
DuPage River (West Branch)
31.6
 Route 59
33.4
Eola
closed
38.4
 Aurora
Aurora (CB&Q Depot)
closed
Amtrak to
Emeryville, Quincy,
& Los Angeles

Metra operates 15 inbound trains and 15 outbound trains on the BNSF Railway Line on Saturdays. All inbound trains originate from Aurora and all outbound trains terminate at Aurora.

Metra operates 10 inbound trains and 10 outbound trains on the BNSF Railway Line on Sundays. All inbound trains originate from Aurora and all outbound trains terminate at Aurora.

The east end is Union Station in downtown Chicago. The line traverses Chicago and its western and far western suburbs to Aurora. BNSF Railway operates it under a "purchase of service agreement" with Metra, inherited from Burlington Northern. While Metra owns all rolling stock, the management and crews are BNSF employees. BNSF controls the right-of-way on the line and handles dispatching from corporate headquarters in Fort Worth, Texas. The June 2007 timetable shows a 70 mph maximum allowed speed for passenger trains.

Metra has studied the feasibility of extending the line beyond Aurora, possibly as far as Sandwich, Illinois.

History
BNSF Railway Line is in Cascade Green

The railroad between Chicago and Aurora was constructed in 1864 by the Chicago and Aurora Railroad, which evolved into the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad. The CB&Q operated the commuter service until the railroad merged into the Burlington Northern in 1970. Burlington Northern merged with the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway in 1995 to form the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad. It later changed its name to the abbreviation, BNSF.

When the Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) began subsidizing Chicago's commuter rail operations in 1974, Burlington Northern continued to operate its line under contract to the RTA. This arrangement continued when the RTA organized commuter rail under a service board that became Metra.

With fast and frequent Amtrak and Metra passenger trains, and BNSF freight trains, the three-track line is a favorite of rail fans, who sometimes call it the "BNSF Racetrack"[4] informally.

The Clyde station at South Austin Boulevard and West 29th Street in Cicero was closed on April 1, 2007 due to low ridership and its dilapidation. In the months before its closure, it was used by about 50 passengers a day.[5]

Kendall County extension

There have been proposals to extend service west into Kendall County, which as of 2020 is outside the RTA's service area. Potential new stations would be in Montgomery, Oswego, Bristol, Yorkville, Plano and Sandwich.[6][7] The Plano station would be located over 1 mile west of the Plano CB&Q Depot currently used by Amtrak's Illinois Zephyr and Carl Sandburg trains.

Ridership

Between 2014 and 2019, annual ridership declined 7% from 16.7 million to 15.5 million passengers.[8][9] Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, ridership dropped to 3,659,617 passengers in 2020.[10]

5,000,000
10,000,000
15,000,000
20,000,000
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020

Rolling stock

The BNSF Railway's locomotive fleet consists mainly of the EMD F40PHM-2, with some EMD F40PH locomotives. Until 2012, MPI MP36PH-3S locomotives also operated on the line, however, they were all reassigned to the Milwaukee lines, the North Central Service and the Rock Island District due to operating difficulties. Rail cars include coaches from Budd, Morrison-Knudsen/Amerail, and Nippon Sharyo.

Stations
Zone Location Station Connections and notes
A Chicago Union Station Amtrak (long-distance): California Zephyr, Capitol Limited, Cardinal, City of New Orleans, Empire Builder, Lake Shore Limited, Southwest Chief, Texas Eagle
Amtrak (intercity): Blue Water, Hiawatha Service, Illini and Saluki, Illinois Zephyr and Carl Sandburg, Lincoln Service, Pere Marquette, Wolverine
Metra: Milwaukee District / North Line, Milwaukee District / West Line, North Central Service, Heritage Corridor, SouthWest Service
Chicago "L": Blue Line (at Clinton), Brown, Orange, Pink, Purple lines (at Quincy)
CTA Bus: 1, 7, J14, 19, 28, 56, 60, 120, 121, 124, 125, 126, 128, 130, 151, 156, 157, 192
Pace: 755
Amtrak Thruway Motorcoach: Chicago-Madison and Chicago-Rockford (Van Galder), Chicago-Louisville (Greyhound)
Halsted Street
(rush hours only)		 CTA Bus: 8, 18, N62
Western Avenue Chicago "L": Pink Line (at Western)
CTA Bus: 18, 49, X49
B Cicero Cicero CTA Bus: 35, 54, 54B, 60
Morton Park Closed between 1938 and 1957
Clyde Closed April 1, 2007
Berwyn La Vergne
(rush hours only)		 Pace: 302, 314
Berwyn Pace: 302, 311
Harlem Avenue Pace: 302, 307
C Riverside Riverside
Brookfield Hollywood Pace: 304, 331
Brookfield Pace: 331
Congress Park
(rush hours only)		 Pace: 302, 331
La Grange La Grange Road Amtrak: Illinois Zephyr and Carl Sandburg
Pace: 302, 330, 331
Stone Avenue
D Western Springs Western Springs Pace: 669
Hinsdale Highlands
(rush hours only)
Hinsdale Pace: 668 Burr Ridge-Hinsdale
West Hinsdale
(rush hours only)
Clarendon Hills Clarendon Hills Pace: 663, 664
Westmont Westmont Pace: 662, 665, 715
E Downers Grove Fairview Avenue
Downers Grove Main Street Pace: 461, 462, 463, 834
Belmont Pace: 821
Grove Commuter Shuttle: West Route
Lisle Lisle Pace: 820, 825, 826, 827, 828, 829
F Naperville Naperville Amtrak: California Zephyr, Illinois Zephyr and Carl Sandburg, Southwest Chief
Pace: 530, 676, 677, 678, 680, 681, 682, 683, 684, 685, 686, 687, 688, 689, 714, and 722
Burlington Trailways: Chicago–Davenport
G Aurora Route 59 Pace: 534, 559, 672, 673, 675
Greyhound Lines: Chicago–Davenport
  Eola Eola Closed to passengers prior to 1971, closed entirely later
H Aurora Aurora Transportation Center Pace: 524, 530, 533, 540, and 802
  Aurora Aurora (CB&Q Depot) Closed 1986

References
  1. "Operations and Ridership Data". Retrieved December 14, 2019.
  2. "Ridership Reports -System Facts". Metra. Archived from the original on January 2, 2010. Retrieved July 17, 2012.
  3. "Did you know?" (PDF). On the Bi-Level: 3. June 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 2, 2010.
  4. Mann, Leslie (March 23, 2011). "When that lonesome whistle blows, rail fans know where to line up". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved May 3, 2013.
  5. Ruzich, Joseph (February 21, 2007). "Cicero's Metra stop to receive makeover". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved May 3, 2013.
  6. "A step closer on local Metra station". Oswego Ledger-Sentinel. March 12, 2009. Archived from the original on December 28, 2010. Retrieved November 14, 2010.
  7. Girardi, Linda (November 26, 2019). "Possible Metra extension into Kendall County focus of upcoming meetings". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved December 14, 2019.
  8. "RIDERSHIP TRENDS ANNUAL REPORT 2018" (PDF). Metra. p. 4. Retrieved May 12, 2019.
  9. "RIDERSHIP TRENDS ANNUAL REPORT 2019" (PDF). Metra. Retrieved February 27, 2021.
  10. "RIDERSHIP TRENDS ANNUAL REPORT 2020" (PDF). Retrieved April 4, 2021.

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