Oak Forest is a city in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The city is out 24 miles (39 km) south-southwest of downtown Chicago in Bremen Township. Per the 2020 census, the population was 27,478.
Metra is the commuter rail system in the Chicago metropolitan area serving the city of Chicago and its surrounding suburbs via the Union Pacific Railroad, BNSF Railway, and other railroads. The system operates 242 stations on 11 rail lines. It is the fourth busiest commuter rail system in the United States by ridership and the largest and busiest commuter rail system outside the New York City metropolitan area. In 2022, the system had a ridership of 23,726,400, or about 116,200 per weekday as of the first quarter of 2023. The estimated busiest day for Metra ridership occurred on November 4, 2016—the day of the Chicago Cubs 2016 World Series victory rally.
The Blue Line is a 26.93-mile-long (43.34 km) Chicago "L" line which extends through The Loop from O'Hare International Airport at the far northwest end of the city, through downtown via the Milwaukee–Dearborn subway and across the West Side to its southwest end at Forest Park, with a total of 33 stations. At about 27 miles, it is the longest line on the Chicago "L" system and second busiest, and one of the longest local subway/elevated lines in the world. It has an average of 47,120 passengers boarding each weekday in 2021.
The Green Line is a rapid transit line on the Chicago Transit Authority's "L" system. It is the only completely elevated route in the "L" system. All other routes may have various combinations of elevated, subway, street level, or freeway median sections.
The South Shore Line is an electrically powered interurban commuter rail line operated by the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District (NICTD) between Millennium Station in downtown Chicago and the South Bend International Airport in South Bend, Indiana, United States. The name refers to both the physical line and the service operated over that route. The line was built in 1901–1908 by predecessors of the Chicago South Shore and South Bend Railroad, which continues to operate freight service. Passenger operation was assumed by the NICTD in 1989. The South Shore Line is one of the last surviving interurban trains in the United States. In 2022, the system had a ridership of 1,406,400, or about 4,600 per weekday as of the first quarter of 2023.
Millennium Station is a major commuter rail terminal in the Loop (downtown), Chicago. It is the northern terminus of the Metra Electric District to Chicago's southern suburbs, and the western terminus of the South Shore Line to Gary and South Bend, Indiana.
The Metra Electric District is an electrified commuter rail line owned and operated by Metra which connects Millennium Station, in downtown Chicago, with the city's southern suburbs. As of 2018, it is the fifth busiest of Metra's 11 lines, after the BNSF, UP-NW, UP-N, and UP-W Lines with nearly 7.7 million annual riders. While Metra does not explicitly refer to any of its lines by color, the timetable accents for the Metra Electric District are printed in bright "Panama orange" to reflect the line's origins with the Illinois Central Railroad (IC) and its Panama Limited passenger train. Apart from the spots where its tracks run parallel to other main lines, it is the only Metra line running entirely on dedicated passenger tracks, with no freight trains operating anywhere on the actual route itself. The line is the only one in the Metra system with more than one station in Downtown Chicago, and also has the highest number of stations (49) of any Metra line.
Central Station was an intercity passenger terminal in downtown Chicago, Illinois, at the southern end of Grant Park near Roosevelt Road and Michigan Avenue. Owned by the Illinois Central Railroad, it also served other companies via trackage rights. It opened in 1893, replacing Great Central Station, and closed in 1972 when Amtrak rerouted services to Union Station. The station building was demolished in 1974. It is now the site of a redevelopment called Central Station, Chicago.
The Chicago North Shore and Milwaukee Railroad, also known as the North Shore Line, was an interurban railroad that operated passenger and freight service over an 88.9-mile (143.1 km) route between the Chicago Loop and downtown Milwaukee, as well as an 8.6-mile (13.8 km) branch line between the villages of Lake Bluff and Mundelein, Illinois. The North Shore Line also provided streetcar, city bus and motor coach services along its interurban route.
The Chicago Central Area Transit Plan, generally referred to as the Chicago Central Area Transit Project (CCATP) in the 1970s, was an extensive study of the rapid transit system in downtown Chicago; the study had begun in 1965.
River Forest is a Metra commuter railroad station in River Forest, Illinois, a western suburb of Chicago, on the Union Pacific West Line. Trains go east to Ogilvie Transportation Center in Chicago and as far west as Elburn, Illinois. Travel time to Ogilvie is 20 to 24 minutes. As of 2018, River Forest is the 107th busiest of the 236 non-downtown stations in the Metra system, with an average of 448 weekday boardings. Unless otherwise announced, inbound trains use the north (side) platform and outbound trains use the south (island) platform.
Grand/Cicero is a commuter railroad station in the Austin neighborhood on the West Side of Chicago and is 6.5 miles (10.5 km) away from Chicago Union Station, the eastern terminus of the line. As of 2018, Grand/Cicero is the 199th busiest of Metra's 236 non-downtown stations, with an average of 80 weekday boardings. The station is located at the corner of West Grand Avenue and North Cicero Avenue. Service to the station began on December 11, 2006. The station is served by the Milwaukee District West Line. Metra's North Central Service trains use these tracks but do not stop. Grand/Cicero station is closed on weekends, holidays, and after 6:30 P.M.
LaVergne is one of three stations on Metra's BNSF Line located in Berwyn, Illinois. The station is 9.0 miles (14.5 km) away from Union Station, the eastern terminus of the line. In Metra's zone-based fare system, LaVergne is in zone B. As of 2018, LaVergne is the 167th busiest of Metra's 236 non-downtown stations, with an average of 174 weekday boardings. It is just west of the large BNSF Cicero Yard and the Canadian National's Freeport Subdivision.
Bensenville is a station on Metra's Milwaukee District West Line in Bensenville, Illinois. The station is 17.2 miles (27.7 km) away from Chicago Union Station, the eastern terminus of the line. In Metra's zone-based fare system, Bensenville is in zone D. As of 2018, Bensenville is the 115th busiest of Metra's 236 non-downtown stations, with an average of 414 weekday boardings.
Grayland is a Metra commuter railroad station in the Old Irving Park neighborhood in Chicago, Illinois, along the Milwaukee District North Line. It is located at 3729 North Kilbourn Avenue, is 8.2 miles (13.2 km) away from Chicago Union Station, the southern terminus of the line, and serves commuters between Union Station and Fox Lake, Illinois. In Metra's zone-based fare system, Grayland is in zone B. As of 2018, Grayland is the 132nd busiest of Metra's 236 non-downtown stations, with an average of 357 weekday boardings.
The Lake Street Elevated, also known as the Lake branch, is a 8.75 mi (14.08 km) long branch of the Chicago "L" which is located west of the Chicago Loop and serves the Green Line for its entire length, as well as the Pink Line east of Ashland Avenue. As of February 2013, the branch serves an average of 27,217 passengers each weekday. It serves the Near West Side, East Garfield Park, West Garfield Park, and Austin neighborhoods of Chicago, as well as the suburbs Oak Park and Forest Park. It owes its name to Lake Street, the street that the branch overlooks for 6.25 mi (10.06 km) before continuing its route straight west, adjacent to South Boulevard, towards the terminus at Harlem/Lake.
The Cermak branch, formerly known as the Douglas branch, is a 6.6 mi (10.6 km) long section of the Pink Line of the Chicago "L" system in Chicago, Illinois. It was built by the Metropolitan West Side Elevated west of the Loop. As of February 2013, it serves an average of 17,474 passengers every weekday. The branch serves the Near West Side, Pilsen, Lower West Side, South Lawndale, and North Lawndale neighborhoods of Chicago, and the west suburb Cicero, Illinois. The branch operates from 4:05 a.m. to 1:25 a.m., weekdays, and Saturdays from 5:05 a.m. to 1:25 a.m., and Sundays from 5:00 a.m. to 1:25 a.m., including holidays.
The Freeport Subdivision is a railroad line in Illinois which runs from 16th Street in downtown Chicago to Freeport, Illinois. It is owned and operated by the Canadian National Railway (CN). As of 2016 the line is almost exclusively freight-only, with only a small segment within Chicago, between 21st Street in Chinatown and Ashland Avenue in Bridgeport, hosting Amtrak and Metra passenger trains.
The Randolph Street Branch and Cuyler Avenue Shuttle were two different incarnations of a rapid transit line operated in and around Oak Park, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, by the Lake Street Elevated intermittently between 1899 and 1912. The Randolph Street Branch served as the line's westward extension to Wisconsin Avenue from Lombard Avenue, whereas the Cuyler Avenue Shuttle was intended to serve the Harlem Race Track. Local opposition resulted in the lines being discontinued.
