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SouthWest Service

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SouthWest Service
SouthWest Service train approaching Chicago Union Station at 35th Street near Guaranteed Rate Field (June 2024).
Overview
OwnerNorfolk Southern Railway (Leased to Metra)
Termini
Stations13
Service
TypeCommuter rail
SystemMetra
Operator(s)Metra, Norfolk Southern Railway
Daily ridership9,600 (Avg. Weekday 2014)[1]
Ridership844,567 (2023)
Technical
Track length40.6 miles
Track gauge4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Route map
Map SouthWest Service highlighted in blue
Legend
 enlarge… NCS to Antioch
enlarge… MD-W to Big Timber Road
enlarge… MD-N to Fox Lake
0 mi
 Union Station Amtrak
Blue to O'Hare
Blue LaSalle
Metra
LaSalle Street
planned relocation
Dearborn Station
 enlarge… BNSF to Aurora
Chicago River (south branch)
Red to Howard
Amtrak
to Carbondale, New Orleans Right arrow
LowerLeft arrow to Union Station via switchback
Green to Harlem/Lake
Orange to the Loop
 enlarge… HC to Joliet
Orange to Midway
I-55.svg I-55
I-90.svgI-94.svg I-90 / I-94
3.2 mi
5.1 km
Red Sox–35th │ Metra 35th Street
Green to Cottage Grove
47th Street
Amtrak
to Michigan, New York,
Washington, D.C. & Boston
Red to 95th/Dan Ryan
Green to Ashland/63rd
Englewood
planned Rock Island Connection
Amtrak
to New York
 enlarge… RI to Joliet
Halsted
Racine
Ashland
CSX Transportation
Western Avenue
11.5 mi
18.5 km
 Wrightwood
BNSF Railway
12.2 mi
19.6 km
 Ashburn
14.7 mi
23.7 km
 Oak Lawn
Stony Creek
Indiana Harbor Belt Railroad
16.6 mi
26.7 km
 Chicago Ridge
I-294.svg I-294
17.8 mi
28.6 km
 Worth
18.6 mi
29.9 km
 Palos Heights
Cal-Sag Channel
19.8 mi
31.9 km
 Palos Park
Southmore
23.0 mi
37 km
 Orland Park 143rd Street
25.2 mi
40.6 km
 Orland Park 153rd Street
28.7 mi
46.2 km
 Orland Park 179th Street
Orland Park Coach Yard
I-80.svg I-80
Hickory Creek
 RI Left arrow to Joliet│to LaSalle Street Up arrow
Steele
Old Plank Road Trail
Jackson Creek (Jackson Branch)
Brisbane
EJ&E Railway
35.4 mi
57 km
 Laraway Road
Jackson Creek
40.3 mi
64.9 km
 Manhattan
Manhattan Coach Yard
Wauponsee Glacial Trail
Mileage[2]
source
Handicapped/disabled accessAll stations are accessible
 
Key
 SouthWest Service
Former route alignment
Planned service realignment
 Other Metra lines
Other freight lines
CTA lines
This diagram:

The SouthWest Service (SWS) is a Metra commuter rail line, running southwest from Union Station in downtown Chicago, Illinois, to Manhattan, Illinois. Metra does not refer to its lines by color, but the timetable accents for the SouthWest Service line are "Banner Blue," for the Wabash Railroad's Banner Blue passenger train.[3] The trackage is owned by Metra north of a junction with the Belt Railway of Chicago at Loomis Boulevard, and is leased from Norfolk Southern Railway south of the junction (NS has trackage rights over Metra's portion).[4]

History

[edit]

The line south of the curve at the east end of the section aligned with 75th Street was built by the Wabash, St. Louis and Pacific Railway, which opened in 1880 to Chicago. That curve was a junction with the Chicago and Western Indiana Railroad, of which the Wabash owned one-fifth, and used to reach Dearborn Station in downtown Chicago.[citation needed] Commuter service from Chicago began as early as 1893, with trains running as far south as Orland Park,[5] and by 1909, the service had been extended with several trains operating as far south as Manhattan.[6] The level of service deteriorated in the 1930s, with commuter operations effectively reduced to one train in each direction making local stops from Chicago to Decatur. By 1964, the once daily Chicago–Decatur trains were cut back to Orland Park.[5]

After several reorganizations the Wabash Railroad was leased by the Norfolk and Western Railway on October 16, 1964.[7]: 145  The single round trip continued under the new ownership, who named the train the Orland Park Cannonball.[8] On May 1, 1971, Amtrak assumed control of most intercity passenger trains in the United States. On this date all intercity services operating into and out of Chicago were either routed into Union Station or discontinued, leaving the single Orland Park Cannonball as the only train to still use Dearborn Station. Dearborn Station closed, but the commuter train continued to use a small platform and track on the property until 1976 when it relocated to Union Station via a new connection at Alton Junction.[9]: 71 

The Regional Transportation Authority began to subsidize the service in 1978.[10] N&W merged with Southern Railway to form the Norfolk Southern Railway in 1982, and for the next decade the line was known as the Norfolk Southern Line (NS). The RTA closed the Western Avenue station on May 15, 1984, as part of a cost reduction plan which saw the closure of twelve other lightly used stations and the removal of ticket agents from an additional seventeen stations across the system.[11] On June 1, 1993 Metra took over operations and renamed it the SouthWest Service.[4]

The rail line expansion project, which includes 11 miles (18 km) of new track and at least two additional train stations, was completed (except for the Laraway Road station) in January 2006. The number of trains per day was doubled from 16 to 30, 15 in each direction. For years, Pace operated Route 835, whose bus service enhanced the limited train service in the SouthWest Service corridor. With the rail service expansion, ridership on route 835 became so poor that Pace eliminated it on August 17, 2007.[12]

Metra started Saturday service on March 21, 2009, with six trains between Union Station and Manhattan.[13]

SouthWest Service trains will shift from Union Station to LaSalle Street Station with the reconfiguration of the 75th Street Corridor under the auspices of the Chicago Region Environmental and Transportation Efficiency Program (CREATE).[14] This will happen no earlier than 2025 when construction is scheduled for completion.[15] Additional mainline trackage will also be built between LaSalle St Station and 74th to handle the increase in traffic. LaSalle Street station will also be expanded.[16] This would relieve congestion at Union Station and improve reliability for the SouthWest Service, as well as allowing more trains to run in each direction.[14]

Service frequency

[edit]

As of February 15, 2024, Metra operates 30 trains (15 in each direction) on the SouthWest Service Line on weekdays. Of these, five trains operate to and from Manhattan and 10 operate to and from Orland Park 179th Street. Three of the trains that travel beyond 179th Street serve Laraway Road and Manhattan as "flag to discharge" stops.

Since March 2020 and as of January 2023, Saturday service on the SouthWest Service is currently suspended. There is also no service on Sundays or holidays.

The Laraway Road and Manhattan stations see a combined ridership of under 60 people daily, making them two of the least-used stations on Metra's system.

Ridership

[edit]

Since 2014 annual ridership has declined from 2,659,040 to 2,356,767, an overall decline of 11.4%.[17][18] Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, ridership dropped to 574,815 passengers in 2020.[19][20]

500,000
1,000,000
1,500,000
2,000,000
2,500,000
3,000,000
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023


Stations

[edit]
County Zone Location Station Connections and notes
Cook 1 Chicago Union Station Amtrak Amtrak (long-distance): California Zephyr, Capitol Limited, Cardinal, City of New Orleans, Empire Builder, Lake Shore Limited, Southwest Chief, Texas Eagle
Amtrak Amtrak (intercity): Blue Water, Borealis, Hiawatha, Illini and Saluki, Illinois Zephyr and Carl Sandburg, Lincoln Service, Pere Marquette, Wolverine
Metra Metra: ■ BNSF, ■ Milwaukee District North, ■ Milwaukee District West, ■ North Central Service, ■ Heritage Corridor
Chicago "L": Blue (at Clinton), Brown Orange Pink Purple (at Quincy)
Bus interchange CTA Bus: 1, 7, J14, 19, 28, 56, 60, 120, 121, 124, 125, 126, 128, 130, 151, 156, 157, 192
Bus interchange Pace: 755
Bus interchange Amtrak Thruway: Chicago–Madison and Chicago–Rockford (Van Galder), Chicago–Louisville (Greyhound)
  Dearborn Station Closed 1976, service switched to Union Station
47th Street Closed between 1976 and 1984
Englewood Closed between 1976 and 1984
Halsted Closed between 1976 and 1984
Racine Closed between 1976 and 1984
Ashland Closed between 1976 and 1984
Western Avenue Closed May 1984
2 Wrightwood Bus interchange CTA Bus: 52A, 79
Ashburn
3 Oak Lawn Oak Lawn Bus interchange Pace: 381, 395, 769
Chicago Ridge Chicago Ridge Bus interchange Pace: 384
Worth Worth Bus interchange Pace: 385, 386
Palos Heights Palos Heights Bus interchange Pace: 769
4 Palos Park Palos Park
Orland Park
Southmore Closed between 1976 and 1984
Orland Park 143rd Street Bus interchange Pace: 379
Orland Park 153rd Street
Orland Park 179th Street
Will   New Lenox Steele Closed 1962
Brisbane Closed 1962
4 Laraway Road
Manhattan Manhattan

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Ridership Reports - System Facts". Archived from the original on January 2, 2010. Retrieved January 2, 2010.
  2. ^ State of the System - SouthWest Service
  3. ^ "Did you know?" (PDF). On the Bi-Level: 3. June 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 2, 2010.
  4. ^ a b Metra (2013). "SouthWest Service History". Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved June 7, 2014.
  5. ^ a b Burgess, Paul (Spring 2013). "Follow the Flag: Chicago's Metra "Wabash Extension"". First & Fastest. Vol. 29, no. 1. Lake Forest, Illinois: Shore Line Interurban Historical Society. p. 12.
  6. ^ Burgess, Paul (Spring 2013). "Follow the Flag: Chicago's Metra "Wabash Extension"". First & Fastest. Vol. 29, no. 1. Lake Forest, Illinois: Shore Line Interurban Historical Society. p. 11.
  7. ^ Schafer, Mike (2000). More Classic American Railroads. Osceola, Wisconsin: MBI Publishing Co. ISBN 978-0-7603-0758-8.
  8. ^ Norfolk and Western Railway (July 3, 1972). "Suburban Passenger Service".
  9. ^ Holland, Kevin J. (2001). Classic American Railroad Terminals. Osceola, WI: MBI. ISBN 9780760308325. OCLC 45908903.
  10. ^ Burgess, Paul (Spring 2013). "Follow the Flag: Chicago's Metra "Wabash Extension"". First & Fastest. Vol. 29, no. 1. Lake Forest, Illinois: Shore Line Interurban Historical Society. p. 14.
  11. ^ "RTA closing 13 rail stations". Chicago Tribune. March 9, 1984. p. 51. Retrieved January 20, 2019 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  12. ^ Wronski, Richard (August 17, 2007). "Pace bus route, Bears shuttle cut". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved February 17, 2023.
  13. ^ Hood, Joel (March 2, 2009). "Metra adding Saturday service to SouthWest line in March". Chicago Metra. Archived from the original on March 25, 2009. Retrieved February 3, 2009.
  14. ^ a b "P2, P3, EW2, GS19 75th Street Corridor Improvement Project" (PDF). CREATE. November 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 13, 2020. Retrieved January 10, 2018.
  15. ^ "Preckwinkle, Partners Mark 75th Street Rail Corridor Improvement Project". The Chicago Crusader. October 1, 2018. Retrieved December 12, 2018.
  16. ^ "Metra Moving". Railway Track & Structures. September 12, 2009. Retrieved April 21, 2012.[permanent dead link]
  17. ^ "RIDERSHIP TRENDS ANNUAL REPORT 2018" (PDF). Metra. p. 4. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 12, 2019. Retrieved May 12, 2019.
  18. ^ "RIDERSHIP TRENDS ANNUAL REPORT 2019" (PDF). Metra. Retrieved February 27, 2021.
  19. ^ "RIDERSHIP TRENDS ANNUAL REPORT 2020" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on April 23, 2021. Retrieved April 4, 2021.
  20. ^ RTAMS. "Metra Ridership By Line".
[edit]
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