Union Pacific West Line

The Union Pacific West Line (UP-W) is a Metra commuter rail line operated by Union Pacific Railroad in Chicago, Illinois and its western suburbs. Metra does not refer to its lines by particular colors, but the timetable accents for the Union Pacific West line are "Kate Shelley Rose" pink, honoring an Iowa woman who saved a Chicago & North Western Railway train from disaster in 1881. Green and yellow were already selected for the Union Pacific North Line and Union Pacific Northwest Line, respectively, so pink was chosen for this line. Therefore, the UP-W is the only Metra line that uses a color to honor a person instead of a fallen flag railroad.[3] Until 2006, all Metra trains on this line terminated at Geneva. The line runs as part of the Union Pacific Railroad's Geneva Subdivision (ex-C&NW line to Clinton, Iowa.) The line was once known as the Chicago & Northwestern/West Line until UP took over the C&NW in 1995.

Union Pacific West Line
The River Forest station in River Forest, Illinois
Overview
Owner	Union Pacific Railroad (Leased to Metra)
Termini	Ogilvie Transportation Center Elburn
Stations	19
Service
Type	Commuter rail
System	Metra
Operator(s)	Union Pacific Railroad Metra
Daily ridership	27,196 (avg. weekday 2014)[1]
Ridership	1,945,886 (2020)
Technical
Line length	43.8 miles[2]
Track gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Route map 44.0 mi 70.8 km Elburn Elburn yard 40.8 mi 65.7 km La Fox 38.1 mi 61.3 km St. Charles (closed 1951) 35.5 mi 57.1 km Geneva Fox River Freeport branch Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Rwy 29.7 mi 47.8 km West Chicago 27.5 mi 44.3 km Winfield Illinois Prairie Path 25.0 mi 40.2 km Wheaton 23.8 mi 38.3 km College Avenue 22.4 mi 36 km Glen Ellyn DuPage River 19.9 mi 32 km Lombard 17.8 mi 28.6 km Villa Park IC West Line Salt Creek 15.7 mi 25.3 km Elmhurst 14.3 mi 23 km Berkeley 12.7 mi 20.4 km Bellwood Addison Creek Indiana Harbor Belt 11.3 mi 18.2 km Melrose Park 10.5 mi 16.9 km Maywood Des Plaines River 9.7 mi 15.6 km River Forest Canadian National Railway 9.1 mi 14.6 km Lathrop (closed 1958) 8.5 mi 13.7 km Oak Park Harlem/Lake 8.2 mi 13.2 km Avenue (closed 1958) 7.7 mi 12.4 km Ridgeland (closed 1958) 7.2 mi 11.6 km Austin Blvd. (closed 1958) 6.7 mi 10.8 km Austin (closed 1958) Green to Ashland/63rd and Cottage Grove Belt Railway of Chicago 4.8 mi 7.7 km Keeler (employees only) 3.6 mi 5.8 km Kedzie 3.0 mi 4.8 km California Ave. coach yard Western Ave. Corridor MD-N MD-W NCS 2.6 mi 4.2 km UP-N UP-NW Chicago River ( north branch ) Wells Street Station (1853–1911) MD-N MD-W NCS to Union Station Green Pink 0.0 Ogilvie

The line runs from the Ogilvie Transportation Center in downtown Chicago through the western suburbs to Elburn. This is the oldest railway route built from Chicago, the route of the Galena and Chicago Union Railroad along Kinzie street.

As of September 13, 2021, Metra operates 20 inbound trains and 20 outbound trains on the Union Pacific West Line on weekdays. All inbound trains originate from Elburn and all outbound trains terminate at Elburn.

Metra operates 10 inbound trains and 10 outbound trains on the Union Pacific West Line on Saturdays. All inbound trains originate from Elburn and all outbound trains terminate at Elburn.

Metra operates nine inbound trains and nine outbound trains on the Union Pacific West Line on Sundays. All inbound trains originate from Elburn and all outbound trains terminate at Elburn.

Until the late 1940s the line had a branch to Freeport, Illinois. It diverged from the main line at West Chicago and had stations at Elgin, Marengo, Belvidere, Rockford, Freeport, and other communities.