O'Hare Transfer station

This article is about the Metra station. For the CTA station, see O'Hare station.

O'Hare Transfer is a commuter railroad station along Metra's North Central Service that serves Chicago's O'Hare International Airport. The station is 18.6 miles (29.9 km) away from Chicago Union Station, the southern terminus of the line.^[3] As of 2018, O'Hare Transfer is the 183rd busiest of Metra's 236 non-downtown stations, with an average of 113 weekday boardings.^[2] The station is located at the dead end of Zemke Boulevard east of Mannheim Road (US 12/US 45) outside the northeast corner of the airport's Multi-Modal Facility (rental car/parking lot).

O'Hare Transfer
General information
Location	10300 W. Zemke Boulevard Chicago, Illinois 60666
Coordinates	41.9950°N 87.8806°W / 41.9950; -87.8806
Owned by	City of Chicago
Platforms	2 side platforms
Tracks	2
Connections	ATS to O'Hare Airport Pace buses
Construction
Platform levels	1
Parking	No
Accessible	Yes
Other information
Fare zone	2
History
Opened	August 19, 1996[1]
Passengers
2018	113 (average weekday)[2]  8.1%
Rank	183 out of 236[2]
Services
Preceding station Metra Following station Prospect Heights toward Antioch North Central Service Rosemont toward Union Station Preceding station Airport Transit System Following station Terminal 5 toward Terminal 1 Airport Transit System Terminus
Track layout Legend NCS north to Antioch IL 72 (Higgins Rd.) O'Hare Transfer Multi Modal Facility (ATS ends) ATS south to Terminal 1 NCS south to Union Station
Location

The railroad station is connected to the Airport Transit System people mover at the O'Hare Multimodal Facility. Two Pace bus routes also stop curbside at the lower level of the ATS station. The free ride on the people mover provides a connection to all four of the airline terminals.

As of February 15, 2024, O'Hare Transfer is served by 12 trains (six in each direction) on weekdays.

Owing to the weekday only operation and limited frequency typically offered by the North Central Service, the station is not usually a significant means of access for travelers to O'Hare. All trains are scheduled to stop at the inside (westernmost) platform, but occasionally an announcement will be made over the public address system that a train will be stopping on the outside (easternmost) platform.

Metra offered an expanded schedule for the 2024 Democratic National Convention from August 12–30, 2024. On weekdays, in addition to regularly scheduled service, there were 15 hourly round trips between O'Hare Transfer and Union Station, with stops at River Grove and Western Avenue. On weekends, there were 16 hourly round trips serving the same stations, with no service north of O'Hare Transfer.^[4]

Multi Modal Facility

The Multi Modal Facility (MMF) is an intermodal station serving the Airport Transit System, a people mover serving O'Hare Airport, and three Pace buses (including the Pulse Dempster Line^[5][6]); the station serves as the terminus of the ATS and the three Pace buses. It is located west of the O'Hare Transfer station at the other side of the parking garage and east of US 12/US 45 (Mannheim Road).^[7] The station opened on November 7, 2018;^{[8][9][10][11]} however, the ATS did not connect to the newly-opened station. The ATS was closed on January 8, 2019, to reconstruct the entire system as well as to extend the line to the facility. It was originally scheduled to reopen in fall 2019;^[12] however, the reopening date was delayed to November 3, 2021, due to contract disputes and pandemic-related supply issues. The ATS reopened with a limited schedule until April 18, 2022, when the people mover returned to its full schedule. Since the reopening, the ATS connects to the MMF.^[13][14]

Bus Connections

Airport Transit System

• To Terminals 1, 2, 3, and 5

CTA

• Blue Line at O'Hare (via Airport Transit System)

Pace

• 250 Dempster Street
• 330 Mannheim – LaGrange Roads
• Pulse Dempster Line

References

1. Granger, Bill (August 19, 1996). "Commuter Trains Inch Back to Popularity". The Daily Herald. Chicago, Illinois. p. 1-7. Retrieved November 11, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
2. "Commuter Rail System Station Boarding/Alighting Count: Summary Results Fall 2018" (PDF). Metra. April 2019. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 26, 2019.
3. Metra Railfan Tips - North Central Service
4. https://metra.com/newsroom/metra-offer-ohare-shuttle-trains-during-dnc ^{[bare URL]}
5. Studenkov, Igor (August 14, 2023). "Taking the Pulse of Pace's new Evanston-to-O'Hare Dempster "Arterial Rapid Transit" bus - Streetsblog Chicago". Streetsblog Chicago. Retrieved October 26, 2023.
6. "Pulse Dempster Corridor Map" (PDF). Pace. Retrieved October 26, 2023.
7. "RTA System Map" (PDF). Regional Transportation Authority. Retrieved October 26, 2023.
8. "$841M Parking, Rental-Car Center Opens at O'Hare Airport". WTTW News. Retrieved October 26, 2023.
9. Wisniewski, Mary (November 7, 2018). "City opens $841 million parking and rental car facility at O'Hare International Airport". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved October 26, 2023.
10. "Mayor Emanuel Opens New Multi Modal Facility at O'Hare International Airport". www.chicago.gov. Retrieved October 26, 2023.
11. Greenfield, John (November 7, 2018). "O'Hare Multi Modal Facility Will Make Taking Metra to the Airport More Convenient - Streetsblog Chicago". Streetsblog Chicago. Retrieved October 26, 2023.
12. "O'Hare airport's 'people mover' to temporarily shut down on Jan. 8". ABC7 Chicago. December 31, 2018. Retrieved October 26, 2023.
13. Freishtat, Sarah (November 2, 2021). "O'Hare's 'people mover' to reopen Wednesday on a limited schedule". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved October 26, 2023.
14. Freishtat, Sarah (April 18, 2022). "'People mover' at O'Hare returns to 24-hour service". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved October 26, 2023.

External links

Media related to O'Hare Transfer station at Wikimedia Commons

• Metra – Stations – O'Hare Transfer station
• Station House from Google Maps Street View