Joliet Union Station | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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General information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Location | 50 East Jefferson Street Joliet, Illinois 60432 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Owned by | City of Joliet (2⁄3) and Metra (1⁄3) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Platforms | 1 side platform (Rock Island District) 1 side, 1 island (Amtrak) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Tracks | 1 (Rock Island District) 4 (Amtrak) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Connections | Pace Buses | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Construction | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Parking | Yes | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Bicycle facilities | Yes | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Accessible | Yes | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Other information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Station code | JOL (Amtrak) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Fare zone | H (Metra) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
History | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Opened | 1912 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Closed | 2014 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rebuilt | 1989–1991 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Passengers | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2017 | 61,367 [1] 5.42%(Amtrak) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Former services | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Joliet Union Station | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Location | Joliet, Illinois, USA | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Coordinates | 41°31′28″N88°4′46″W / 41.52444°N 88.07944°W | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Architect | Cook Engineering & Construction, Jarvis Hunt | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Architectural style | Beaux Arts/Classical | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
NRHP reference No. | 78001200 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Added to NRHP | August 1, 1978 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Joliet Union Station was a train station in Joliet, Illinois that served Amtrak long-distance and Metra commuter trains. It was replaced by the new Joliet Transportation Center in 2018, a train station that was constructed adjacent to the Union Station's location. [2] Train service to Joliet Union Station permanently ceased in September 2014. [3] The station is 37.0 miles (59.5 km) from Chicago Union Station on the Heritage Corridor, and 40.1 miles (64.5 km) from Chicago LaSalle St. Station on the Rock Island District.
When it was in active service, Joliet Union Station was at the junction of the former Rock Island Line, Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe, and Alton Railroad main lines. Therefore, it has two different milepost numbers depending on how far each route is to Chicago. On The Metra Rock Island District Line, Joliet is 40.2 miles (64.7 km) away from LaSalle Street Station, the northern terminus of the line in Downtown Chicago. [4] On The Metra Heritage Corridor and Amtrak routes, 37.2 miles (59.9 km) away from Chicago Union Station, the northern terminus of the line. [5]
The Rock Island line runs via Blue Island, Illinois to LaSalle Street Station (track owned by Metra), while the Metra Heritage Corridor line runs via Summit, Illinois to Chicago's Union Station (track owned by Canadian National). The Blue Island trains leave from a single track on the south side of the station, while four tracks on the east side serve Amtrak, Metra Heritage, BNSF freight, and Union Pacific freight trains (BNSF owns the western two tracks, while UP owns the eastern two). [6] [7] CSX takes over ownership of the Rock Island tracks just west of the station, with trackage rights from the Iowa Interstate Railroad. [7]
Five Amtrak trains on the Chicago – St. Louis corridor stop in Joliet daily each way: the Texas Eagle and the Lincoln Service . This was also a stop for the Ann Rutledge until April 2007.
Train service to Joliet was begun by the Chicago and Rock Island Railroad, a predecessor of the Rock Island Line, in 1852. Joliet Union Station was designed by architect Jarvis Hunt in the Beaux Arts Classical style, and was built in 1912. [8] [9] The City of Joliet owns two thirds of the station and Metra owns the other third. [6] The former waiting room has been converted to a banquet hall that can hold 350 guests. [6]
This station used to serve the Southwest Chief until the BNSF merger in 1996 when Amtrak rerouted the Southwest Chief over BNSF track to Galesburg. Joliet Union Station is the site of the old Rock Island Line diamond.
When originally built, there were pedestrian tunnels between the terminal and a platform between the first and second track on both the south and east sides of the building. Canopies also covered those platforms. However, the tunnels were later closed and the canopies removed. Finally passenger service on the east side of the building was moved to the third and fourth rails, requiring passengers to cross over the freight tracks to access the trains. [10] Later the number of Rock Island tracks on the south side of the building was reduced from four to one.
Joliet Union Station was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on August 1, 1978. [11] The station was extensively renovated and made accessible-accessible in 1989–1991. Eastbound U.S. Highway 30, the Lincoln Highway, passes by Joliet Union Station.
The state government of Illinois announced, on October 28, 2010, a $42 million long-term plan to replace Joliet Union Station and partly rebuild the tracks. Separate tracks, dedicated solely to freight traffic, will be laid for BNSF container stacktrains. Rail passengers will be rerouted into a new multimodal train and bus station. [12] $32 million came from "Illinois Jobs Now!", a six-year, $31 billion statewide capital program supported by 20 year state bonds and federal and local matching funds. The BNSF Railway also pledged $2.2 million and the city contributed $7.5 million. [13] The existing Union Station building will remain, but a new terminal was built beside it. New tunnels provide Metra access to the Heritage Corridor Line trains, eliminating the need to cross the BNSF freight tracks. The project includes a new 500-car parking garage. [12] The new transportation center opened on April 11, 2018. [2]
Currently Metra controls the interlocking tower at the junction of the Rock Island and BNSF tracks. As a result, Metra makes freight trains stop in order to give Metra passenger trains priority. Under the grant, control of the interlock would be shifted to the BNSF and Union Pacific and the tower building itself will be preserved. The Metra Rock Island passenger platform would be moved across the diamond to the east side of the BNSF tracks to avoid conflict with the flow of freight trains. [14]
Metra is the primary 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 154,200 per weekday as of the third 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 BNSF Line is a Metra commuter rail line operated by the BNSF Railway in Chicago and its western suburbs, running from Chicago Union Station to Aurora, Illinois. In 2010, the BNSF Line continued to have the highest weekday ridership of the 11 Metra lines. While Metra does not refer to its lines by particular colors, the BNSF line's color on Metra timetables is "Cascade Green," in honor of the Burlington Northern Railroad.
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. The name Heritage Corridor refers to the Illinois and Michigan Canal Heritage Corridor. Established in 1984, it runs parallel to the line.
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. 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.
The Rock Island District (RI) is a Metra commuter rail line from Chicago, Illinois, southwest to Joliet. Metra does not refer to its lines by color, but the timetable accents for the Rock Island District line are "Rocket Red" in honor of the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad's Rocket passenger trains.
LaSalle Street Station is a commuter rail terminal at 414 South LaSalle Street in downtown Chicago. First used as a rail terminal in 1852, it was a major intercity rail terminal for the New York Central Railroad until 1968, and for the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad until 1978, but now serves only Metra's Rock Island District. The present structure became the fifth station on the site when its predecessor was demolished in 1981 and replaced by the new station and the One Financial Place tower for the Chicago Stock Exchange. The Chicago Board of Trade Building, Willis Tower, and Harold Washington Library are nearby.
The Alton Railroad was the final name of a railroad linking Chicago to Alton, Illinois; St. Louis, Missouri; and Kansas City, Missouri. Its predecessor, the Chicago and Alton Railroad, was purchased by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad in 1931 and was controlled until 1942 when the Alton was released to the courts. On May 31, 1947, the Alton Railroad was merged into the Gulf, Mobile and Ohio Railroad. Jacob Bunn had been one of the founding reorganizers of the Chicago & Alton Railroad Company during the 1860s.
Summit is an Amtrak and Metra train station in Summit, Illinois. It is served by Amtrak Illinois' Lincoln Service, which operates daily, and Metra's Heritage Corridor commuter line, which operates only during morning and evening rush hours in peak direction. Amtrak's Texas Eagle trains also use these tracks but do not stop. It is 11.9 miles (19.2 km) away from Union Station, the northern terminus of the line. In Metra's zone-based fare system, Summit is in zone C. Summit is also the closest Metra station to Midway Airport.
La Grange Road station, or La Grange station, is a train station in La Grange, Illinois. It is served by Amtrak's Illinois Zephyr and Carl Sandburg and Metra's BNSF Line. Amtrak's California Zephyr and Southwest Chief also pass by this station, but do not stop there. It is one of two stations in the suburb of La Grange. The other station, named La Grange – Stone Avenue, is .4 miles (0.64 km) away. La Grange is 13.7 miles (22.0 km) from Chicago's Union Station, at 25 West Burlington Avenue between Ashland Avenue and La Grange Road. Parking is available along West Hillgrove and West Burlington Avenues.
Harlem Avenue is one of three stations on Metra's BNSF Line in Berwyn, Illinois. The station is 10.0 miles (16.1 km) from Union Station, the east end of the line. In Metra's zone-based fare system, Harlem Avenue is in zone B. As of 2018, Harlem Avenue is the 106th busiest of Metra's 236 non-downtown stations, with an average of 451 weekday boardings. A station building is on the south side of the three-track main.
Congress Park is one of three stations on Metra's BNSF Line in Brookfield, Illinois. The station is 13.0 miles (20.9 km) from Union Station, the east end of the line. In Metra's zone-based fare system, Congress Park is in zone C. As of 2018, Congress Park is the 128th busiest of Metra's 236 non-downtown stations, with an average of 368 weekday boardings. Shelters are on both sides of the tracks. Metra trains serve Congress Park in the peak direction on weekdays only.
Blue Island–Vermont Street is a Metra station in Blue Island, Illinois, servicing the Rock Island District and Metra Electric District Lines. On the Rock Island, it is 16.4 miles (26.4 km) from LaSalle Street Station. For the Metra Electric, it is the southern terminus of the Blue Island Branch, and is 18.9 miles (30.4 km) from Millennium Station.
The Aurora Transportation Center is a station on Metra's BNSF Line in Aurora, Illinois. The station is 37.1 miles (59.7 km) from Union Station, the east end of the line. In Metra's zone-based fare system, Aurora is in zone H. As of 2018, Aurora is the 13th busiest of Metra's 236 non-downtown stations, with an average of 1,856 weekday boardings. There is a staffed station building. Just north of the station is the Hill Yard, a large coach yard used to store the Metra trains on the BNSF Line. Aurora is a stub-track terminal, which means the Metra tracks end here. Amtrak and BNSF freights use the two tracks east of the station.
Lockport station is a station on Metra's Heritage Corridor in Lockport, Illinois. The station is 32.9 miles (52.9 km) away from Union Station, the northern terminus of the line. In Metra's zone-based fare system, Lockport is in zone G. As of 2018, Lockport is the 136th busiest of Metra's 236 non-downtown stations, with an average of 344 weekday boardings. As of 2022, Lockport is served by three inbound trains in the morning and three outbound trains in the evening on weekdays only.
Elgin is one of three stations on Metra's Milwaukee District West Line in Elgin, Illinois. The station is 36.6 miles (58.9 km) away from Chicago Union Station, the eastern terminus of the line. In Metra's zone-based fare system, Elgin is in zone H. As of 2018, Elgin is the 116th busiest of Metra's 236 non-downtown stations, with an average of 411 weekday boardings.
Chicago, Illinois, is the third-largest city in the United States and a world transit hub. The area is served by two major airports, numerous highways, elevated/subway local train lines, and city/suburban commuter rail lines; it is the national passenger rail hub for Amtrak routes, and also the main freight rail hub of North America.
The Prairie Marksman was a daily passenger train operated by Amtrak between Chicago's Union Station and East Peoria, Illinois. The route was an indirect successor to the Rock Island's Peoria Rocket.
The Joliet Transportation Center is a multimodal mass transit center linking passenger bus routes, two Metra commuter lines, and Amtrak passenger trains in the city of Joliet, Illinois. It has replaced Joliet Union Station as the commuter and passenger train station serving Joliet. Union Station ceased to provide train service in September 2014, and groundbreaking for the new station took place late in 2016, with construction beginning shortly afterward. After several delays, the station officially opened to Amtrak and Metra traffic on April 11, 2018. Joliet is 37.2 miles (59.9 km) from Chicago Union Station, the northern terminus of the Heritage Corridor and Amtrak services; and 40.0 miles (64.4 km) from LaSalle Street, the northern terminus of the Rock Island District. It is the only Metra station outside of its Chicago stations where two lines terminate. In Metra's zone-based fare system, Joliet is in zone H on both lines.
Media related to Joliet Union Station at Wikimedia Commons