North Central Service

Route map:
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North Central Service
A North Central Service train at O'Hare Transfer in 2010.
Overview
OwnerMetra (Union Station to River Grove)
CN (River Grove to Antioch)
Termini
Stations18
Service
TypeCommuter rail
SystemMetra
Operator(s)Metra
Daily ridership5,800 (Avg. Weekday 2016)[1]
Ridership524,945 (2023)
History
OpenedAugust 19, 1996
Technical
Line length52.9 mi (85.1 km)
Track gauge4 ft 8+12 in (1,435 mm)
Route map
Map North Central Service highlighted in purple
Antioch Coach Yard
52.8 mi
85 km
Antioch
48.2 mi
77.6 km
Lake Villa
45.9 mi
73.9 km
Round Lake Beach
43.9 mi
70.7 km
Washington Street
MD-N
40.7 mi
65.5 km
Prairie Crossing
36.9 mi
59.4 km
Mundelein
33.0 mi
53.1 km
Vernon Hills
31.6 mi
50.9 km
Prairie View
29.5 mi
47.5 km
Buffalo Grove
27.2 mi
43.8 km
Wheeling
24.0 mi
38.6 km
Prospect Heights
UP-NW
17.1 mi
27.5 km
O'Hare Transfer
15.6 mi
25.1 km
Rosemont
14.8 mi
23.8 km
Schiller Park
13.0 mi
20.9 km
Belmont Avenue
MD-W to Big Timber Road
11.4 mi
18.3 km
River Grove
10.2 mi
16.4 km
Nonstop placeholder
10.2 mi
16.4 km
Elmwood Park
9.5 mi
15.3 km
Mont Clare
9.1 mi
14.6 km
Mars
8.6 mi
13.8 km
Galewood
7.7 mi
12.4 km
Hanson Park
7.0 mi
11.3 km
6.5 mi
10.5 km
Grand/Cicero
5.9 mi
9.5 km
Coach Yard
2.9 mi
4.7 km
Western Avenue
UP-W to Elburn
0 mi
Union Station Amtrak
BNSF to Aurora
HC to Joliet
SWS to Manhattan

Mileage[2]
source
Handicapped/disabled access All stations are accessible

The North Central Service (NCS) is a Metra commuter rail line running from Union Station in downtown Chicago through northwestern and far northern suburbs to Antioch, Illinois. In December 2022, the public timetable shows seven weekday departures from Chicago. This line does not run at all on weekends or holidays.[3] While Metra does not explicitly refer to any of its eleven routes by colors, the NCS' timetable accents are lavender, a shade of purple. It is one of two Metra lines (the other being the Union Pacific West Line) that do not have a specific color for a fallen flag railroad that used to operate on the route.

Between Union Station and River Grove, the North Central Service shares tracks with the Milwaukee District West Line, but does not stop at any of the intermediate stations used by the MD-W between Western Avenue and River Grove. About a mile west of River Grove, this route turns north at a junction known as tower B-12. The rest of the route operates on the Canadian National Railway's Waukesha Subdivision. Until 2020, a single daily inbound train, no. 120, made all stops along the North Central Service from Antioch to Washington Street, then switched to the Milwaukee District North Line's tracks at a diamond near Prairie Crossing station, made stops at Libertyville and Lake Forest, and then ran express to Union Station.

The CN assumed ownership of this route on September 7, 2001, when it absorbed the Wisconsin Central Railroad ("WC"). The WC operated on this route after it was purchased from the Soo Line Railroad in April 1987. Metra provides its own crews for this service (like with most routes) and operates under a trackage rights agreement with the CN.

Service began August 19, 1996.[4] As of 2023, this is the only new commuter line in the Metra system since its formation. Prior to the start of NCS, the last passenger service on this route ended in January 1965, when the Soo Line discontinued the overnight Chicago-Duluth Laker.

The North Central Service serves O'Hare International Airport, but with a limited number of trains. O'Hare has much more frequent service from the CTA Blue Line.

As of February 15, 2024, Metra operates 14 trains (seven in each direction) on the line on weekdays, with all trains running the full length of the route from Antioch to Union Station. One inbound train and one outbound train run express between Western Avenue and Wheeling.

Like the Heritage Corridor and SouthWest Service, the North Central Service is fully ADA-accessible.

No tickets are sold at any North Central Service stations outside Chicago. Passengers must purchase tickets either on the train or with Ventra.

Recent history[edit]

On January 30, 2006 four new stations on the North Central Service opened: Belmont Avenue in Franklin Park, Schiller Park, Rosemont, and Washington Street in Grayslake.[5] Service doubled from 10 to 20 trains per day with this change in the timetable, combined with double tracking of large portions of the line and the CN rerouting freight traffic south of Mundelein.[6]

On September 11, 2006 service expanded from 20 to 22 trains when Metra split one rush-hour local train in each direction into two express trains.

Notably, the line goes through Des Plaines but does not have a station there. The station in Des Plaines was on Thacker Street and closed in 1965. However, Des Plaines is currently serviced by the Union Pacific Northwest Line.

Metra has considered adding weekend service to the North Central Service ever since Saturday service was added to the SouthWest Service, and has also considered operating six trains between Chicago and Antioch, like the SouthWest Service.

On February 5, 2018 service was reduced from 22 to 20 trains when Metra combined two rush-hour express trains into one rush hour semi-express.

As of April 2021, NCS service is limited to rush hours in the peak direction only–towards Chicago in the morning and towards Antioch in the afternoon. This makes the NCS one of 3 Metra lines (along with the Heritage Corridor and the SouthWest Service) to only offer peak service.

Ridership[edit]

Between 2014 and 2019, annual ridership declined 12.5% from 1,817,335 to 1,589,905.[7][8] Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, ridership dropped to 340,682 passengers in 2020 and to 146,668 passengers in 2021.[9][10][11]

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

Stations[edit]

County Zone Location Station Connections and notes
Lake 4 Antioch Antioch Bus interchange Western Transit: Antioch Service
Lake Villa Lake Villa
Round Lake Beach Round Lake Beach
Grayslake Washington Street
Libertyville Prairie Crossing Metra Metra:  Milwaukee District North
Mundelein Mundelein Bus interchange Pace: 572 Washington, 574 CLC–Hawthorn Mall
Vernon Hills Vernon Hills
Prairie View Prairie View
Buffalo Grove Buffalo Grove Bus interchange Pace: 234 Wheeling–Des Plaines, 272 Milwaukee Avenue North, 626 Skokie–Buffalo Grove Limited
Cook 3 Wheeling Wheeling Bus interchange Pace: 234 Wheeling–Des Plaines
Prospect Heights Prospect Heights Bus interchange Pace: 221 Wolf Road
2 Chicago O'Hare Transfer Airport Transit System ATS to O'Hare International Airport O'Hare International Airport
Bus interchange Pace: 250 Dempster Street, 330 Mannheim–LaGrange Roads
Bus rapid transit Pace Pulse: 101 Dempster Line
Rosemont Rosemont Bus interchange Pace: 330 Mannheim–LaGrange Roads
Schiller Park Schiller Park
Franklin Park Belmont Avenue Bus interchange Pace: 319 Grand Avenue
River Grove River Grove Metra Metra:  Milwaukee District West
Bus interchange Pace: 307 Harlem, 319 Grand Avenue, 331 Cumberland–5th Avenue
Chicago Western Avenue Metra Metra:  Milwaukee District North,  Milwaukee District West
Bus interchange CTA Bus: 49 Western, X49 Western Express, 65 Grand
1 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, Hiawatha, Illini and Saluki, Illinois Zephyr and Carl Sandburg, Lincoln Service, Pere Marquette, Wolverine
Metra Metra:  BNSF,  Milwaukee District North,  Milwaukee District West,  Heritage Corridor,  SouthWest Service
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 Bus: 755 Plainfield–IMD–West Loop Express
Bus interchange Amtrak Thruway: Chicago-Madison and Chicago-Rockford (Van Galder), Chicago-Louisville (Greyhound)

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Operations and Ridership Data". Metra. Retrieved October 7, 2017.
  2. ^ State of the System - North Central Service
  3. ^ https://metrarail.com/sites/default/files/metra_79900_fm00_antioch_tt_proof_north_central.pdf[bare URL PDF]
  4. ^ http://web.me.com/willvdv/chirailfan/mmnc.html Metra Railfan Tips - North Central Service
  5. ^ metrarail.com
  6. ^ newstart.metrarail.com
  7. ^ "RIDERSHIP TRENDS ANNUAL REPORT 2018" (PDF). Metra. p. 4. Retrieved 12 May 2019.
  8. ^ "RIDERSHIP TRENDS ANNUAL REPORT 2019" (PDF). Metra. Retrieved 27 February 2021.
  9. ^ "RIDERSHIP TRENDS ANNUAL REPORT 2020" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on Apr 23, 2021. Retrieved 2021-04-04.
  10. ^ "RIDERSHIP TRENDS ANNUAL REPORT 2021" (PDF).
  11. ^ "RTAMS | Regional Transportation Authority Mapping and Statistics". rtams.org. Retrieved 2023-06-22.
  • J. David Ingles, Ready or not, here we come, Trains November 1996

External links[edit]

KML is from Wikidata

Media related to Metra North Central Service at Wikimedia Commons