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Heritage Corridor

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Heritage Corridor
Heritage Corridor inbound train preparing to board passengers at Joliet station in Joliet, Illinois
Overview
OwnerCanadian National
Termini
Stations7
Service
TypeCommuter rail
SystemMetra
Operator(s)Metra, Canadian National
Daily ridership2,400 (Avg. Weekday 2016)[1]
Ridership252,907 (2023)
Technical
Line length37.3 mi (60.0 km)
Number of tracks2
Track gauge4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Route map
Map Heritage Corridor highlighted in maroon
Legend
 enlarge… NCS to Antioch
enlarge… MD-W to Big Timber Road
enlarge… MD-N to Fox Lake
0 mi
 Union Station Amtrak
Blue
 enlarge… BNSF to Aurora
Chicago River (south branch)
IC West Line
to Randolph Street Station
 enlarge… SWS to Manhattan
Orange to the Loop
I-90.svgI-94.svg I-90 / I-94
2.6 mi
4.2 km
Halsted Street Metra | Halsted
Bubbly Creek
I-55.svg I-55
IC West Line
to Addison
Orange to Midway
Western Avenue Corridor
5.2 mi
8.4 km
Brighton Park
BNSF Railway
Belt Railway of Chicago
10.3 mi
16.6 km
Glenn
11.9 mi
19.2 km
 Summit Amtrak
Indiana Harbor Belt Railroad
I-294.svg I-294
Mt. Forest
17.5 mi
28.2 km
 Willow Springs
Cal-Sag Channel
Lambert
25.3 mi
40.7 km
 Lemont
I-355.svg I-355
29.2 mi
47 km
 Romeoville
31.7 mi
51 km
5th Street
32.9 mi
52.9 km
 Lockport
EJ&E Railway
State Prison
 enlarge… RI to LaSalle Street
37.3 mi
60 km
 Joliet Amtrak
LowerLeft arrow CSX Transportation
Amtrak
Amtrak to St. Louis,
San Antonio, and Los Angeles
Mileage[2]
source
Handicapped/disabled accessAll stations are accessible
 
Key
 Heritage Corridor
Other Metra lines
Other freight lines
CTA lines
This diagram:
For the public park system, see National Heritage Corridor.

The Heritage Corridor (HC) is a Metra commuter rail line in Chicago, Illinois, and its southwestern suburbs, terminating in Joliet, Illinois. While Metra does not refer to its lines by colors, the Heritage Corridor appears on Metra timetables as "Alton Maroon," after the Alton Railroad, which ran trains on this route.[3] The name Heritage Corridor refers to the Illinois and Michigan Canal Heritage Corridor. Established in 1984, it runs parallel to the line.[4]

Unlike other Metra lines, the Heritage Corridor runs during weekday rush hours only in the peak direction–to Chicago in the morning and Joliet in the afternoon, with the trip from Joliet to Union Station taking about 1 hour and 7 minutes.[5] The Rock Island District also serves Joliet with 21 trains.

As of February 15, 2024, Metra operates six trains (three in each direction) on the Heritage Corridor on weekdays, with each train serving all stations on the route. All inbound trains originate from Joliet in the morning, and all outbound trains terminate at Joliet in the afternoon. Except for occasional seasonal excursion services,[6][7] there is no Saturday service. There is currently no off-peak, Sunday, or holiday service on the Heritage Corridor.

The Heritage Corridor has the lowest train frequency and fewest number of stations of any other Metra line.

Like the North Central Service and the SouthWest Service, all stations on the route are fully ADA-accessible.

Route

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The line runs from Union Station in downtown Chicago through southwestern suburbs to Joliet. In March 2016, the public timetable shows four Chicago to Joliet trains each weekday. An additional train runs inbound during the afternoon rush hour but as an empty equipment move or deadhead.

Amtrak's Texas Eagle and Lincoln Service use these tracks from Union Station to Joliet, as do Canadian National freight trains, with CN being the owner of the tracks on which the corridor runs. The Texas Eagle only stops at Chicago and Joliet, while the Lincoln Service also stops at Summit. The Joliet Transportation Center replaced Joliet Union Station on April 11, 2018.[8]

On May 16, 2017, Metra announced that the new station for Romeoville had officially broken ground near the intersection of 135th St and New Avenue. The cost of the new station is estimated to be around $4.9 million.[9] The station was opened to the public on February 5, 2018.[10]

Metra has included the possibility of extending the Heritage Corridor in their Cost Benefit Analysis report. If this were to happen, the Heritage Corridor would continue south from Joliet to Wilmington, with an additional station in Elwood.[11]

Stations

[edit]
County Zone Location Station Connections and notes
Cook 1 Chicago Union Station Amtrak Amtrak (long-distance): California Zephyr, Capitol Limited, Cardinal, City of New Orleans, Empire Builder, Lake Shore Limited, Southwest Chief, Texas Eagle
Amtrak Amtrak (intercity): Blue Water, Borealis, Hiawatha, Illini and Saluki, Illinois Zephyr and Carl Sandburg, Lincoln Service, Pere Marquette, Wolverine
Metra Metra: ■ BNSF, ■ Milwaukee District North, ■ Milwaukee District West, ■ North Central Service, ■ SouthWest Service
Chicago "L": Blue (at Clinton), Brown Orange Pink Purple (at Quincy)
Bus interchange CTA Bus: 1, 7, J14, 19, 28, 56, 60, 120, 121, 124, 125, 126, 128, 130, 151, 156, 157, 192
Bus interchange Pace Bus: 755
Bus interchange Amtrak Thruway: Chicago–Madison and Chicago–Rockford (Van Galder), Chicago–Louisville (Greyhound)
  23rd Street Closed 1902, replaced with Halsted Street[12]
Halsted Street Closed 1984[13]
Brighton Park Closed 1984[13]
Central Stickney Glenn Closed 1989[13]
2 Summit Summit Amtrak Amtrak: Lincoln Service
Bus interchange Pace Bus: 307
  Willow Springs Mt. Forest Closed
3 Willow Springs Bus interchange Pace Bus: 390
  Lemont Lambert Closed
3 Lemont Bus interchange Pace Bus: 755
Will 4 Romeoville Romeoville Bus interchange Pace Bus: 755
  Lockport 5th Street Closed 1988[13]
4 Lockport Bus interchange Pace Bus: 755, 834
  Joliet State Prison Closed
4 Joliet Amtrak Amtrak: Lincoln Service, Texas Eagle
Metra Metra: ■ Rock Island
Bus interchange Pace Bus: 501, 504, 505, 507, 508, 509, 511, 832, 834

Ridership

[edit]

Between 2014 and 2019 annual ridership remained steady at roughly 730,000.[14][15] Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, ridership dropped to 177,838 passengers in 2020[16] and to 82,197 passengers in 2021.[17][18]

100,000
200,000
300,000
400,000
500,000
600,000
700,000
800,000
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023

Excursion service

[edit]

Metra has offered "Rails, Trails, and Ales" excursion service on Saturdays in the fall of 2021; 2023; and 2024, and the summer of 2022. In 2021, two trains in each direction made all stops between Union Station and Joliet from September 18 to October 16.[19] In 2022, three trains in each direction made all stops between Union Station and Joliet from July 2 to September 3.[20] In 2023, three trains in each direction made all stops between Union Station and Joliet from September 9 to October 14.[7] In 2024, three trains in each direction made all stops between Union Station and Joliet from September 7 to October 12.[6]

References

[edit]
  • Baty, Chris (2004). Chicago. Lonely Planet. ISBN 1-74104-032-9.
  1. ^ "Operations and Ridership Data". Metra. Archived from the original on March 31, 2020. Retrieved October 7, 2017.
  2. ^ State of the System - Heritage Corridor
  3. ^ "Did you know?" (PDF). On the Bi-Level: 3. June 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-01-02.
  4. ^ Baty (2004), 237-238.
  5. ^ "Heritage Corridor | Metra". ridertools.metrarail.com. Retrieved 2024-01-12.
  6. ^ a b Earnest, Andrea (20 September 2024). "Metra Offers Special Saturday Service Along Heritage Corridor Line". Patch. Retrieved 26 September 2024.
  7. ^ a b "Metra's 'Rails, Trails and Ales' program returns on Heritage Corridor". Trains. 22 August 2023. Retrieved 26 September 2024.
  8. ^ Fabbre, Alicia (April 11, 2018). "New train station opens for commuters in Joliet, ending a six-year wait". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved July 24, 2018.
  9. ^ "Romeoville breaks ground on new Metra station | Metra". Archived from the original on 2017-07-31.
  10. ^ "Romeoville Metra station opens – Bugle Newspapers". buglenewspapers.com. Retrieved February 24, 2018.[permanent dead link]
  11. ^ "Systemwide Cost Benefit Analysis of Major Capital Improvements" (PDF). Retrieved May 7, 2022.
  12. ^ "Removal of Station". Chicago Tribune. August 12, 1902. p. 9 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ "RIDERSHIP TRENDS ANNUAL REPORT 2018" (PDF). Metra. p. 4. Retrieved 12 May 2019.
  14. ^ "RIDERSHIP TRENDS ANNUAL REPORT 2019" (PDF). Metra. Retrieved 27 February 2021.
  15. ^ "RIDERSHIP TRENDS ANNUAL REPORT 2020" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2021-04-23. Retrieved 2021-04-04.
  16. ^ "RIDERSHIP TRENDS 2021" (PDF).
  17. ^ "RTAMS | Regional Transportation Authority Mapping and Statistics". rtams.org. Retrieved 2023-06-22.
  18. ^ "Metra launches Saturday excursions on Heritage Corridor". Trains. 21 September 2021. Retrieved 26 September 2024.
  19. ^ "Metra brings back Saturday excursions on Heritage Corridor". Trains. 24 June 2022. Retrieved 26 September 2024.
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