The Heritage Corridor (HC) is a Metracommuter 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 Metra line.
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.
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]
Amtrak: Lincoln Service, Texas Eagle Metra: ■Rock Island Pace Bus: 501, 504, 505, 507, 508, 509, 511, 832, 834
Ridership
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
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Excursion service
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]
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Heritage Corridor
