Milwaukee District West Line

Milwaukee District West Line
Milwaukee District West Line
	A Milwaukee District West train at Roselle in 2009.
Overview
Owner	Metra (Dispatched by CP Rail)
Termini	Union Station; Elgin/Big Timber Road
Stations	22
Service
Type	Commuter rail
System	Metra
Operator(s)	Metra, Canadian Pacific Railway
Daily ridership	22,100 (Avg. Weekday 2009)
Ridership	1,480,973 (2020)
Technical
Line length	40 mi (64 km)
Track gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Route map
	Legend
	39.8 mi
	64.1 km
	36.6 mi
	58.9 km
	36.0 mi
	57.9 km
	closed
	30.1 mi
	48.4 km
	28.4 mi
	45.7 km
	26.5 mi
	42.6 km
	23.9 mi
	38.5 km
	23.0 mi
	37 km
	21.0 mi
	33.8 km
	19.1 mi
	30.7 km
	17.2 mi
	27.7 km
	14.0 mi
	22.5 km
	13.2 mi
	21.2 km
	11.4 mi
	18.3 km
	10.2 mi
	16.4 km
	9.5 mi
	15.3 km
	9.1 mi
	14.6 km
	8.6 mi
	13.8 km
	7.7 mi
	12.4 km
	7.0 mi
	11.3 km
	Cragin
	closed
	6.5 mi
	10.5 km
	5.9 mi
	9.5 km
	Hermosa
	closed
	MD-N to Fox Lake
	Amtrak to Milwaukee
	2.9 mi
	4.7 km
	2.9 mi
	4.7 km
	Chicago "L"
	Logan Square branch
	UP-N to Kenosha
	UP-NW to Harvard
	This diagram: view; talk; ;

The Milwaukee District West Line (MD-W) is a Metra commuter rail line in Chicago, Illinois, and the western suburbs. Metra does not refer to any of its lines by a particular color, but the timetable accents for the Milwaukee District West line are dark "Arrow Yellow," honoring the Milwaukee Road's Arrow passenger train.^[2] Trains are dispatched from Canadian Pacific's American headquarters in Minneapolis.

It runs from Union Station in downtown Chicago through the western suburbs to Elgin, Illinois. As of July 12, 2021, the public timetable shows 20 inbound trains and 20 outbound trains operating on weekdays. Of these, 15 inbound trains originate from Big Timber Road, two from Elgin, two from National Street, and one from Franklin Park. One outbound train terminates at Franklin Park, one at National Street, and the remainder terminate at Big Timber.

Metra operates 12 inbound trains and 12 outbound trains on the Milwaukee District West Line on Saturdays. All inbound trains originate from Elgin and all outbound trains terminate at Elgin.

Metra operates nine inbound trains and nine outbound trains on the Milwaukee District West Line on Sundays. All inbound trains originate from Elgin and all outbound trains terminate at Elgin.

Big Timber Road does not have weekend service.

The line runs on the Canadian Pacific Railway Elgin Subdivision (Ex-Milwaukee Road line to Omaha). In 1982, this line was sold to the newly created Northeast Illinois Regional Commuter Rail Corporation which ran commuter trains for the Milwaukee Road while the latter underwent reorganization. The Milwaukee Road retained ownership of the line until 1986. That same year, Soo Line Railroad acquired the Milwaukee Road and assumed shared ownership of the line before being absorbed into the CP in 1990.

Ridership[]

Between 2014 and 2019, annual ridership declined 15% from 6,946,268 to 5,904,808.^[3]^[4] Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, ridership dropped to 1,480,973 passengers in 2020.^[5]

1,000,000

2,000,000

3,000,000

4,000,000

5,000,000

6,000,000

7,000,000

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

Rolling stock[]

The MD-W line's locomotive fleet consists of mainly MPI MP36PH-3C diesel-electric locomotives, with some EMD F40PH locomotives. The line also operates ex-GO Transit EMD F59PH locomotives. The fleet is pooled with the fleets for the North Central Service and the Milwaukee District North Line. As of 2016, three of these locomotives are in operation.

Coaches, or passenger railcars, consist mostly of Nippon Sharyo railcars built in the early 2000s. Cab cars are Nippon Sharyo built. Budd-built railcars also operate on the line, but the cab cars built by Budd have not been in use since the delivery of the newer railcars.

Stations[]

Zone	Location	Station	Connections and notes
H	Elgin	Big Timber Road
		Elgin	Pace: 541, 542, 543, 546, 547, 548, 549, 550, 552, 554, 603, 801
		National Street	Pace: 546 Orange–Walnut, 801 Elgin–Geneva
G	Elgin/Bartlett		Closed 1971
F	Bartlett	Bartlett
	Hanover Park	Hanover Park	Pace: 554 Elgin–Woodfield Formerly named Ontarioville
	Schaumburg	Schaumburg
E	Roselle	Roselle
	Medinah	Medinah
	Itasca	Itasca
D	Wood Dale	Wood Dale
D	Bensenville	Bensenville	Pace: 319 Grand Avenue, 332 River Road–York Road
C	Franklin Park	Mannheim	Pace: 319 Grand Avenue, 330 Mannheim–LaGrange Roads
	Franklin Park	Franklin Park	Pace: 303 Forest Park–Rosemont, 319 Grand Avenue
	River Grove	River Grove	Metra: ■ North Central Service Pace: 319 Grand Avenue, 331 Cumberland–5th Avenue
	Elmwood Park	Elmwood Park	Pace: 307 Harlem, 319 Grand Avenue
B	Chicago	Mont Clare	CTA Bus: 65 Grand, 74 Fullerton
		Mars
		Galewood	CTA Bus: 86 Narragansett/Ridgeland
		Hanson Park	CTA Bus: 65 Grand, 85 Central
		Cragin	Closed in 2006, replaced by Grand/Cicero
		Grand/Cicero	CTA Bus: 54 Cicero, 65 Grand, 73 Armitage
		Hermosa	Closed in 2006, replaced by Grand/Cicero
A		Western Avenue	Metra: ■ Milwaukee District North, ■ North Central Service CTA Bus: 49 Western, X49 Western Express, 65 Grand
A		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, Illini and Saluki, Illinois Zephyr and Carl Sandburg, Lincoln Service, Pere Marquette, Wolverine Metra: ■ BNSF, ■ Milwaukee District North, ■ North Central Service, ■ Heritage Corridor, ■ SouthWest Service Chicago "L": Blue (at Clinton), Brown Orange Pink Purple (at Quincy) CTA Bus: 1, 7, J14, 19, 28, 56, 60, 120, 121, 124, 125, 126, 128, 130, 151, 156, 157, 192 Pace Bus: 755 Plainfield–IMD–West Loop Express Amtrak Thruway Motorcoach: Chicago-Madison and Chicago-Rockford (Van Galder), Chicago-Louisville (Greyhound)

References[]

^ "Ridership Reports - System Facts". Metra. Archived from the original on January 2, 2010. Retrieved April 6, 2010.
^ "Did you know?" (PDF). On the Bi-Level: 3. June 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-01-02.
^ "RIDERSHIP TRENDS ANNUAL REPORT 2018" (PDF). Metra. p. 4. Retrieved 12 May 2019.
^ "RIDERSHIP TRENDS ANNUAL REPORT 2019" (PDF). Metra. Retrieved 27 February 2021.
^ "RIDERSHIP TRENDS ANNUAL REPORT 2020" (PDF). Retrieved 2021-04-04.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)

External links[]

Route map:

( • help)

Metra Milwaukee District/West service schedule

Media related to Metra Milwaukee District/West Line at Wikimedia Commons

[1] "Ridership Reports - System Facts". Metra. Archived from the original on January 2, 2010. Retrieved April 6, 2010.

[2] "Did you know?" (PDF). On the Bi-Level: 3. June 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-01-02.

[2018report-3] "RIDERSHIP TRENDS ANNUAL REPORT 2018" (PDF). Metra. p. 4. Retrieved 12 May 2019.

[2019report-4] "RIDERSHIP TRENDS ANNUAL REPORT 2019" (PDF). Metra. Retrieved 27 February 2021.

[5] "RIDERSHIP TRENDS ANNUAL REPORT 2020" (PDF). Retrieved 2021-04-04.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)

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