McCormick Place station

Not to be confused with Cermak–McCormick Place station.

McCormick Place station is a commuter rail station in Chicago underneath McCormick Place, Chicago's main convention center, that serves the Metra Electric Line north to the Millennium Station and south to University Park, Blue Island, and South Chicago. Since August 2024, South Shore Line trains, which travel to Gary and South Bend, Indiana, only stop there in exceptional cases like special events.^[2][3][4]

McCormick Place
General information
Location	23rd Street, between King Drive & Lake Shore Drive Near South Side, Chicago, Illinois
Coordinates	41°51′06″N 87°36′58″W
Owned by	Metra
Line(s)	University Park Sub District
Platforms	1 island platform
Tracks	4
Construction
Structure type	Underground
Accessible	Yes
Other information
Fare zone	2
History
Electrified	Overhead line, 1,500 V DC
Previous names	23rd Street
Passengers
2018	124 (average weekday)[1]  14.8% (Metra)
Rank	179 out of 236[1]
Services
Preceding station Metra Following station 27th Street toward University Park, South Chicago or Blue Island Metra Electric 18th Street toward Millennium Station
Former services Preceding station Illinois Central Railroad Following station 27th Street toward Richton, 91st Street or Blue Island Electric Suburban 18th Street toward Randolph Street Preceding station NICTD Following station 55th–56th–57th Street toward South Bend Airport South Shore Line Museum Campus/11th Street toward Millennium Station Preceding station Chicago South Shore and South Bend Railroad Following station Roosevelt Road toward Randolph Street South Shore Line 53rd Street toward South Bend
Track layout Legend Amtrak west to Union Station Metra Electric District north to Millennium Station McCormick Place Metra Electric District south to University Park, Amtrak south to Carbondale Blue Island, or South Chicago or New Orleans This diagram: view talk edit
Location

Structure

The main entrance to the station is from the Grand Concourse in the South Building of McCormick Place.^[5] A passageway from the concourse leads to a waiting room,^[6] which contains seats and displays showing upcoming arrivals.^[7] The platform is accessed from the waiting room via a single staircase and elevator at the north end.^[8]

Immediately north of the station, still underneath McCormick Place, the adjacent freight tracks cross over the Metra mainline, switching from running west of the Metra tracks and diverging towards Downtown Chicago to the north of the station to east of and directly adjacent to the Metra tracks for the remainder of the line to University Park.^[9]

History

The original station in this vicinity opened in 1868 at 22nd Street, originally consisting of a wooden station building and serving both suburban trains as well as long distance passenger trains. This station served as a temporary terminal for the Illinois Central and Michigan Central railroads after the Great Chicago Fire inflicted significant damage on Great Central Station, rendering it unsuitable as the line's primary terminal. In 1880, the wooden station building was replaced with a brick building. In 1907, long-distance trains ceased stopping there, leaving only suburban trains.^[10]

In 1926, the original station at 22nd Street was closed and a new station was opened as its replacement at 23rd Street in conjunction with the Illinois Central Railroad's electrification program.^[10]

When McCormick Place was expanded in 1996, the South Building was built over the existing 23rd Street station, which was then reconfigured to serve the expanded convention center. This reconfiguration was accompanied by replacing an outdated wooden platform with a newer concrete platform.^[11]

In 2017, a series of upgrades were performed on the station. These upgrades included mural paintings, digital signage and audio announcements, better lighting, and better signage. Additionally, Metra is investigating the possibility of adding a crossover track to the south of the station to allow more trains to access the platform from the outer tracks.^[12]

Beginning on August 20, 2024, South Shore Line trains no longer stop at McCormick Place station on weekends, ending regular service at the station. However, certain trains occasionally stop at this station to serve special events in the convention center.^[13][14][2]

Service

Select Metra Electric District trains stop at McCormick Place on weekdays, while most trains stop on weekends. All three branches have trains stopping at McCormick Place.^[15] As of 2018, McCormick Place is the 179th busiest of Metra's 236 non-downtown stations, with an average of 124 weekday boardings.^[1]

The South Shore Line stops at McCormick Place for special events only and will not board passengers northbound or discharge passengers southbound.^[2][16]

Bus connections

CTA bus routes

• 3 King Drive
• 21 Cermak^[17]

References

1. "Commuter Rail System Station Boarding/Alighting Count: Summary Results Fall 2018" (PDF). Metra. April 2019. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 26, 2019.
2. "South Shore Line Schedule Revision - Aug. 20, 2024". South Shore Line. August 15, 2024. Retrieved August 20, 2024.
3. "South Shore Line providing extra trains for Chicago Marathon". WNDU. October 4, 2024. Retrieved October 19, 2024.
4. "Chicago Marathon McCormick Place Service: October 11-12, 2024". South Shore Line. October 4, 2024. Retrieved October 19, 2024.
5. "Public Transportation". McCormick Place. May 31, 2018. Retrieved December 26, 2019.
6. G., Jacob (March 9, 2019). "Entrance to Metra waiting room at McCormick Place". Flickr.
7. G., Jacob (March 9, 2019). "Metra waiting room at McCormick Place". Flickr.
8. G., Jacob (March 9, 2019). "Entrance to platform at McCormick Place". Flickr.
9. Metra Ride Along - Metra Electric District: Outbound. Metra. November 17, 2018. Event occurs at 7:55. Retrieved February 21, 2020.
10. Mottier, Charles H. (April 1937). "History of Illinois Central Passenger Stations on the Chicago Lake Front". The Railway and Locomotive Historical Society Bulletin (43): 69–76. JSTOR 1.
11. "ALL ABOARD! MCCORMICK PLACE GETS RAIL SERVICE". Plastics News. March 18, 1996. Retrieved February 8, 2020.
12. "McCormick Place Station Upgrades Complete". Metra. November 8, 2017. Retrieved December 26, 2019.
13. "South Shore Line makes some schedule changes". WNDU. August 15, 2024. Retrieved August 20, 2024.
14. Lurea, Anne (July 30, 2024). "Major schedule changes coming to South Shore Line". WSBT. Retrieved August 20, 2024.
15. "Metra Electric: Chicago to University Park" (PDF). Metra. April 23, 2018. Retrieved December 26, 2019.
16. "ADA Accessibility" (PDF). Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District. Retrieved December 26, 2019.
17. "Stations/Parking". Metra. Retrieved December 26, 2019.

External links

• Media related to McCormick Place train station at Wikimedia Commons
• Metra – Stations – McCormick Place
• South Shore Line - Stations Archived 2017-08-21 at the Wayback Machine