News & Reviews News Wire Metra to launch expanded service on UP Northwest Line

Metra to launch expanded service on UP Northwest Line

By Trains Staff | March 17, 2023

| Last updated on February 5, 2024

Schedule, effective April 3, will see 78 weekday trains daily, up from 66

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Amtrak pulling into a station
An inbound Metra UP Northwest train departs Palatine, Ill., in April 2019. Metra will launch expanded service on the line as of April 3. David Lassen

CHICAGO — Metra will expand service on its UP Northwest Line as of Monday, April 3, increasing operations beyond pre-pandemic levels by adding 12 weekday trains.

The new schedule will provide service at least every 30 minutes during morning and evening rush hours, and hourly service during off-peak periods. It will increase service to 78 trains daily, compared to the current total of 66 and 65 before the pandemic.

“Metra has been monitoring ridership as well as customer feedback, and these schedule changes respond to ridership trends and increase capacity and convenience by expanding peak period as well as off-peak service,” Metra CEO/Executive Director Jim Derwinski said in a press release. “And with a major multiyear rehab project scheduled to start on the Kennedy Expressway, this new schedule allows Metra to provide more commuters with a viable and much less stressful alternative to driving.”

The new schedules are available here.

One thought on “Metra to launch expanded service on UP Northwest Line

  1. If the Chicago Bears are successful in building their new sports and residential complex in nearby Arlington Heights, this is going to be a busy line in the future.

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