On Monday, the Union Pacific North Metra Line will officially get a new station – and the commuter rail agency is using this as an opportunity to make some changes to the schedule beyond shifting arrival times to account for an extra stop.
The Peterson/Ridge station in Chicago’s Edgewater community broke ground in November 2021. The service is scheduled to begin on the morning of May 20, which is when a new weekday schedule will take effect. Weekend schedules will remain the same.
Among notable changes, Metra is adding two rush hour trains in each direction, increasing the number of Chicago-Kenosha trains and having more trains travel as far as Waukegan. For the trips that were kept, the times were adjusted. For the rush hour, the change is usually a few minutes, but for the off-peak trains, the shift can be anywhere between 22-25 minutes, depending on the station.
New rush hour trains
According to the Metra press release, the line will get three new morning rush hour trains and one afternoon rush hour train. Since the pandemic, Metra has been shifting away from a downtown-centric view of what a commuter looks like and increasing rush hour service from the Loop to the suburbs. The latest change follows that pattern – while two new morning rush hour trains are Chicago-bound, one is Highland Park bound.
The new inbound rush hour train #390 will stop at Central Street station at 6:22 a.m., Davis Street station at 6:25 a.m. and Main Street station at 6:27 a.m., arriving downtown at 6:55 a.m. Train #392 will arrive at Central Street station at 8:02 a.m., Davis Street at 8:05 a.m. and Main Street at 8:07 a.m., arriving downtown at 8:35 a.m. The new outbound train will go as far as Highland Park, leaving Chicago at 6:40 a.m., and stopping at Main Street at 7:03 a.m., Davis Street at 7:06 a.m. and Central Street at 7:09 a.m. It will reach Highland Park at 7:34 a.m.
The new outbound afternoon rush hour train will travel between Chicago and Winnetka, leaving downtown at 4:50 p.m. and arriving at Main Street at 5:13 p.m., Davis Street at 5:16 p.m. and Central Street at 5:19 p.m. During the Ravinia concert season, it will continue to Ravinia Park, arriving right in front of the venue at 5:38 p.m.
The last major Union Pacific North schedule revision back in 2021 reduced the number of trains between Chicago and the other end of the line in Kenosha, Wis., and shifted to more of a classic rush hour pattern. The new schedule added two midday outbound options, one midday inbound option, an afternoon reverse-commuting option and an extra evening train.
Kenosha Metra station. Credit: Igor Studenkov/Contributing Reporter
Evanston resident Michael Kroll, a member of the Evanston Transit Alliance advocacy group, told the RoundTable that he found the new schedule to be a mixed bag.
“While it is good to see Kenosha receive all-day weekday service and more reverse-peak trains extended out to Waukegan, it is sad to see the additional peak service trains come at the cost of the one midday train,” he said.
To see the complete new schedule, click here.
New Union Pacific North Metra Line schedule coming May 20 is from Evanston RoundTable, Evanston's most trusted source for unbiased, in-depth journalism.