SouthWest Service

The SouthWest Service (SWS) is a Metra commuter rail line, running southwest from Union Station in downtown Chicago, Illinois, to Manhattan, Illinois. Metra does not refer to its lines by color, but the timetable accents for the SouthWest Service line are "Banner Blue," for the Wabash Railroad's Banner Blue passenger train.^[3] The trackage is owned by Metra north of a junction with the Belt Railway of Chicago at Loomis Boulevard, and is leased from Norfolk Southern Railway south of the junction (NS has trackage rights over Metra's portion).^[4]

SouthWest Service
SouthWest Service train approaching Chicago Union Station at 35th Street near Guaranteed Rate Field (June 2024).
Overview
Owner	Norfolk Southern Railway (Leased to Metra)
Termini	Union Station Manhattan
Stations	13
Service
Type	Commuter rail
System	Metra
Operator(s)	Metra, Norfolk Southern Railway
Daily ridership	9,600 (Avg. Weekday 2014)[1]
Ridership	844,567 (2023)
Technical
Track length	40.6 miles
Track gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Route map SouthWest Service highlighted in blue Show interactive map Legend NCS to Antioch MD-W to Big Timber Road MD-N to Fox Lake 0 mi Union Station Blue to O'Hare Blue LaSalle LaSalle Street planned relocation Dearborn Station BNSF to Aurora Chicago River (south branch) Red to Howard to Carbondale, New Orleans to Union Station via switchback Green to Harlem/Lake Orange to the Loop HC to Joliet Orange to Midway I-55 I-90 / I-94 3.2 mi 5.1 km Red Sox–35th │ 35th Street Green to Cottage Grove 47th Street to Michigan, New York, Miami & Boston Red to 95th/Dan Ryan Green to Ashland/63rd Englewood planned Rock Island Connection to New York RI to Joliet Halsted Racine Ashland CSX Transportation Western Avenue 11.5 mi 18.5 km Wrightwood BNSF Railway 12.2 mi 19.6 km Ashburn 14.7 mi 23.7 km Oak Lawn Stony Creek Indiana Harbor Belt Railroad 16.6 mi 26.7 km Chicago Ridge I-294 17.8 mi 28.6 km Worth 18.6 mi 29.9 km Palos Heights Cal-Sag Channel 19.8 mi 31.9 km Palos Park Southmore 23.0 mi 37 km Orland Park 143rd Street 25.2 mi 40.6 km Orland Park 153rd Street 28.7 mi 46.2 km Orland Park 179th Street Orland Park Coach Yard I-80 Hickory Creek RI to Joliet│to LaSalle Street Steele Old Plank Road Trail Jackson Creek (Jackson Branch) Brisbane EJ&E Railway 35.4 mi 57 km Laraway Road Jackson Creek 40.3 mi 64.9 km Manhattan Manhattan Coach Yard Wauponsee Glacial Trail Mileage[2] source All stations are accessible   Key SouthWest Service Former route alignment Planned service realignment Other Metra lines Other freight lines CTA lines This diagram: view talk edit Show BSicon diagram map

History

v t e Chicago–Decatur local
Legend
Dearborn Station 47th Street Englewood Halsted Racine Ashland Western Avenue 11 Landers 12 Ashburn 14 Oak Lawn 16 Chicago Ridge 18 Worth 19 Palos Park 21 Southmoor 23 Orland Park 30 Marley 33 Steele 34 Brisbane 40 Manhattan Symerton Ritchie Custer Park Essex 66 Reddick 72 Campus 76 Emington 82 Saunemin 87 Wing 92 Forrest 99 Strawn 104 Sibley 112 Gibson City 120 Foosland 123 Lotus 125 Osman 127 Blue Ridge 131 Mansfield 136 Galesville 140 Lodge 145 Monticello 153 Bement 161 Cerro Gordo 165 Oakley 172 East Decatur 173 Decatur

The line south of the curve at the east end of the section aligned with 75th Street was built by the Wabash, St. Louis and Pacific Railway, which opened in 1880 to Chicago. That curve was a junction with the Chicago and Western Indiana Railroad, of which the Wabash owned one-fifth, and used to reach Dearborn Station in downtown Chicago.^{[citation needed]} Commuter service from Chicago began as early as 1893, with trains running as far south as Orland Park,^[5] and by 1909, the service had been extended with several trains operating as far south as Manhattan.^[6] The level of service deteriorated in the 1930s, with commuter operations effectively reduced to one train in each direction making local stops from Chicago to Decatur. By 1964, the once daily Chicago–Decatur trains were cut back to Orland Park.^[5]

After several reorganizations the Wabash Railroad was leased by the Norfolk and Western Railway on October 16, 1964.^[7]: 145 The single round trip continued under the new ownership, who named the train the Orland Park Cannonball.^[8] On May 1, 1971, Amtrak assumed control of most intercity passenger trains in the United States. On this date all intercity services operating into and out of Chicago were either routed into Union Station or discontinued, leaving the single Orland Park Cannonball as the only train to still use Dearborn Station. Dearborn Station closed, but the commuter train continued to use a small platform and track on the property until 1976 when it relocated to Union Station via a new connection at Alton Junction.^[9]: 71

The Regional Transportation Authority began to subsidize the service in 1978.^[10] N&W merged with Southern Railway to form the Norfolk Southern Railway in 1982, and for the next decade the line was known as the Norfolk Southern Line (NS). The RTA closed the Western Avenue station on May 15, 1984, as part of a cost reduction plan which saw the closure of twelve other lightly used stations and the removal of ticket agents from an additional seventeen stations across the system.^[11] On June 1, 1993 Metra took over operations and renamed it the SouthWest Service.^[4]

The rail line expansion project, which includes 11 miles (18 km) of new track and at least two additional train stations, was completed (except for the Laraway Road station) in January 2006. The number of trains per day was doubled from 16 to 30, 15 in each direction. For years, Pace operated Route 835, whose bus service enhanced the limited train service in the SouthWest Service corridor. With the rail service expansion, ridership on route 835 became so poor that Pace eliminated it on August 17, 2007.^[12]

Metra started Saturday service on March 21, 2009, with six trains between Union Station and Manhattan.^[13]

SouthWest Service trains will shift from Union Station to LaSalle Street Station with the reconfiguration of the 75th Street Corridor under the auspices of the Chicago Region Environmental and Transportation Efficiency Program (CREATE).^[14] This will happen no earlier than 2025 when construction is scheduled for completion.^[15] Additional mainline trackage will also be built between LaSalle St Station and 74th to handle the increase in traffic. LaSalle Street station will also be expanded.^[16] This would relieve congestion at Union Station and improve reliability for the SouthWest Service, as well as allowing more trains to run in each direction.^[14]

Service frequency

As of February 15, 2024, Metra operates 30 trains (15 in each direction) on the SouthWest Service Line on weekdays. Of these, five trains operate to and from Manhattan and 10 operate to and from Orland Park 179th Street. Three of the trains that travel beyond 179th Street serve Laraway Road and Manhattan as "flag to discharge" stops.

Since March 2020 and as of January 2023, Saturday service on the SouthWest Service is currently suspended. There is also no service on Sundays or holidays.

The Laraway Road and Manhattan stations see a combined ridership of under 60 people daily, making them two of the least-used stations on Metra's system.

Ridership

Since 2014 annual ridership has declined from 2,659,040 to 2,356,767, an overall decline of 11.4%.^[17][18] Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, ridership dropped to 574,815 passengers in 2020.^[19][20]

500,000

1,000,000

1,500,000

2,000,000

2,500,000

3,000,000

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

2021

2022

2023

Stations

County	Zone	Location	Station	Connections and notes
Cook	1	Chicago	Union Station	Amtrak (long-distance): California Zephyr, Cardinal, City of New Orleans, Empire Builder, Floridian, Lake Shore Limited, Southwest Chief, Texas Eagle Amtrak (intercity): Blue Water, Borealis, Hiawatha, Illini and Saluki, Illinois Zephyr and Carl Sandburg, Lincoln Service, Pere Marquette, Wolverine Metra: ■ BNSF, ■ Heritage Corridor, ■ Milwaukee District North, ■ Milwaukee District West, ■ North Central Service, Chicago "L": Blue (at Clinton), Brown Orange Pink Purple (at Quincy) CTA Bus: 1, 7, J14, 19, 28, 56, 60, 120, 121, 124, 125, 126, 128, 130, 151, 156, 157, 192 Pace: 755 Amtrak Thruway: Chicago–Madison and Chicago–Rockford (Van Galder), Chicago–Louisville (Greyhound)
			Dearborn Station	Closed 1976, service switched to Union Station
			47th Street	Closed between 1976 and 1984
			Englewood	Closed between 1976 and 1984
			Halsted	Closed between 1976 and 1984
			Racine	Closed between 1976 and 1984
			Ashland	Closed between 1976 and 1984
			Western Avenue	Closed May 1984
	2		Wrightwood	CTA Bus: 52A, 79
			Ashburn
	3	Oak Lawn	Oak Lawn	Pace: 381, 395, 769
		Chicago Ridge	Chicago Ridge	Pace: 384
		Worth	Worth	Pace: 385, 386
		Palos Heights	Palos Heights	Pace: 769
	4	Palos Park	Palos Park
		Orland Park
			Southmore	Closed between 1976 and 1984
			Orland Park 143rd Street	Pace: 379
			Orland Park 153rd Street
			Orland Park 179th Street
Will		New Lenox	Steele	Closed 1962
			Brisbane	Closed 1962
	4		Laraway Road
		Manhattan	Manhattan

References

1. "Ridership Reports - System Facts". Archived from the original on January 2, 2010. Retrieved January 2, 2010.
2. State of the System - SouthWest Service
3. "Did you know?" (PDF). On the Bi-Level: 3. June 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 2, 2010.
4. Metra (2013). "SouthWest Service History". Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved June 7, 2014.
5. Burgess, Paul (Spring 2013). "Follow the Flag: Chicago's Metra "Wabash Extension"". First & Fastest. Vol. 29, no. 1. Lake Forest, Illinois: Shore Line Interurban Historical Society. p. 12.
6. Burgess, Paul (Spring 2013). "Follow the Flag: Chicago's Metra "Wabash Extension"". First & Fastest. Vol. 29, no. 1. Lake Forest, Illinois: Shore Line Interurban Historical Society. p. 11.
7. Schafer, Mike (2000). More Classic American Railroads. Osceola, Wisconsin: MBI Publishing Co. ISBN 978-0-7603-0758-8.
8. Norfolk and Western Railway (July 3, 1972). "Suburban Passenger Service".
9. Holland, Kevin J. (2001). Classic American Railroad Terminals. Osceola, WI: MBI. ISBN 9780760308325. OCLC 45908903.
10. Burgess, Paul (Spring 2013). "Follow the Flag: Chicago's Metra "Wabash Extension"". First & Fastest. Vol. 29, no. 1. Lake Forest, Illinois: Shore Line Interurban Historical Society. p. 14.
11. "RTA closing 13 rail stations". Chicago Tribune. March 9, 1984. p. 51. Retrieved January 20, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
12. Wronski, Richard (August 17, 2007). "Pace bus route, Bears shuttle cut". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved February 17, 2023.
13. Hood, Joel (March 2, 2009). "Metra adding Saturday service to SouthWest line in March". Chicago Metra. Archived from the original on March 25, 2009. Retrieved February 3, 2009.
14. "P2, P3, EW2, GS19 75th Street Corridor Improvement Project" (PDF). CREATE. November 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 13, 2020. Retrieved January 10, 2018.
15. "Preckwinkle, Partners Mark 75th Street Rail Corridor Improvement Project". The Chicago Crusader. October 1, 2018. Retrieved December 12, 2018.
16. "Metra Moving". Railway Track & Structures. September 12, 2009. Retrieved April 21, 2012.^{[permanent dead link‍]}
17. "RIDERSHIP TRENDS ANNUAL REPORT 2018" (PDF). Metra. p. 4. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 12, 2019. Retrieved May 12, 2019.
18. "RIDERSHIP TRENDS ANNUAL REPORT 2019" (PDF). Metra. Retrieved February 27, 2021.
19. "RIDERSHIP TRENDS ANNUAL REPORT 2020" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on April 23, 2021. Retrieved April 4, 2021.
20. RTAMS. "Metra Ridership By Line".

External links

Template:Attached KML/SouthWest Service

KML is from Wikidata

• Metra SouthWest Service Information Archived December 30, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
• Metra SouthWest Service Expansion Project