The Union Pacific West Line (UP-W) is a Metracommuter 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.[4] 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. The line was once known as the Chicago & Northwestern/West Line until UP took over the C&NW in 1995. All Metra trains on this line terminated at Geneva until 2006, when the line was extended to its present terminus in Elburn. The line runs as part of the Union Pacific Railroad's Geneva Subdivision (ex-C&NW line to Clinton, Iowa).
As of February 16, 2024, Metra operates 58 trains (29 in each direction) on the Union Pacific West Line on weekdays. Of these, 23 inbound trains originate from Elburn, two from La Fox, three from Geneva, and one from West Chicago. Two outbound trains terminate at Geneva, three at La Fox, and the remaining 24 terminate at Elburn.
On weekends, all trains run the full route to Elburn, with Metra operating 10 roundtrip trains on Saturday and nine on Sundays and holidays.
Union Pacific is building a third track from West Chicago through all of Geneva. The project started in September 2022 and is expected to be finished in July 2024. The improvements are designed to ensure smoother traffic flow and reduce conflicts between commuter and freight trains.[5]
By the first quarter of 2024, the Union Pacific Railroad is expected to transfer operations of the three Union Pacific lines to Metra. The Union Pacific will continue to own and maintain the right-of-way.[6]
Ridership
Since 2014 annual ridership has declined from 8,423,188 to 7,883,185, an overall decline of 6.4%.[7][8] Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, ridership dropped to 1,945,886 passengers in 2020 and to 1,486,536 passengers in 2021.[9][10][11]
This branch line ran from West Chicago to Freeport, Illinois. Service was discontinued in the late 1940s. Metra is planning to revive service from Big Timber Road to Rockford on this line, stopping in Huntley and Belvidere, but there are no plans to restore passenger service south of Elgin.
