The Hiawatha Service, or simply Hiawatha, is an 86-mile (138 km) train route operated by Amtrak on the western shore of Lake Michigan between Chicago, Illinois, and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. However, the name was historically applied to several different routes that extended across the Midwest and to the Pacific Ocean. As of 2007, twelve to fourteen trains ran daily between Chicago and Milwaukee, making intermediate stops in Glenview, Illinois; Sturtevant, Wisconsin; and Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport. The line is partially supported by funds from the state governments of Wisconsin and Illinois. The line utilizes the CPKC Railway's C&M Subdivision and Metra's Milwaukee District North Line.
The Richard B. Ogilvie Transportation Center, on the site of the former Chicago and North Western Terminal, is a commuter rail terminal in downtown Chicago, Illinois. For the last century, this site has served as the primary terminal for the Chicago and North Western Railway and its successors Union Pacific and Metra. Intercity services had disappeared by the 1970s, but commuter services on the three ex-CNW mainlines, Metra's UP District lines, continue to terminate here. The tracks are elevated above street level. The old CNW terminal building was replaced in the mid 1980s with a modern skyscraper, the 500 West Madison Street building. The modern building occupies two square city blocks, bounded by Randolph Street and Madison Street to the north and south and by Canal Street and Clinton Street to the east and west. It is the second busiest rail station in Chicago, after nearby Union Station, the sixth-busiest railway station in North America, and the third-busiest station that exclusively serves commuter traffic.
The Milwaukee District North Line (MD-N) is a Metra commuter rail line in Chicago, Illinois and its northern suburbs, running from Union Station to Fox Lake. Although Metra does not refer to any of its lines by color, the timetable accents for the Milwaukee District North line are pale "Hiawatha Orange" in honor of the Milwaukee Road's Hiawatha passenger trains.
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.
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.
Zenda is an unincorporated community in the Town of Linn, Walworth County, Wisconsin, United States. It is located south of Geneva Lake and just north of the Illinois border. Its ZIP code is 53195.
Glenview station is a Metra commuter rail and Amtrak intercity rail station in Glenview, Illinois, United States, north of Chicago. The station is located at 1116 Depot Street, 17.5 miles (28.2 km) from Chicago Union Station, the southern terminus of the lines. The facility opened in March 1995 as a replacement for a since-demolished 1950s era station. The new station, designed by Legat Architects of Waukegan, cost approximately $3 million and was funded from a number of sources, including Metra, the Illinois Department of Transportation, Amtrak and the village of Glenview.
Rondout is an unincorporated community in Lake County, Illinois, United States that first formed around a railroad junction. The area is located within Libertyville Township. As Rondout is an unincorporated community rather than a municipality, it lacks clearly defined borders, and shares postal codes with Lake Bluff, Lake Forest and Libertyville, Illinois. It has its own elementary school which comes under Rondout School District 72. Illinois Route 176 passes east–west through Rondout, serving as the "main street" of the community, where it is also called "Rockland Road".
Milwaukee Intermodal Station is an intercity bus and train station in downtown Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Amtrak service at Milwaukee includes the daily Empire Builder, the daily Borealis, and the six daily Hiawatha Service round trips. It is Amtrak's 18th-busiest station nationwide, and the second-busiest in the Midwest, behind only Chicago Union Station. The station is served by bus companies Coach USA - Wisconsin Coach Lines, Greyhound Lines, Jefferson Lines, Indian Trails, Lamers, Badger Bus, Tornado Bus Company, and Megabus. It is also the western terminus of the M-Line service of The Hop streetcar.
Homewood station is an Amtrak intercity and Metra commuter train station in Homewood, Illinois. It is also the location of the Homewood Railroad Park Museum.
Kenosha is a railroad station in Kenosha, Wisconsin, served by Metra's Union Pacific North Line. It is the northern terminus of the line, which runs south to the Ogilvie Transportation Center in Chicago. Kenosha is the only Metra station outside of Illinois, and is 51.6 miles (83.0 km) from Ogilvie Transportation Center. Because it is located outside the RTA's jurisdiction, the service to the station is partially subsidized by the city of Kenosha. It is the northernmost station of the entire Metra system, making it the most northern station in the entire RTA network. As of 2018, Kenosha is the 135th busiest of Metra's 236 non-downtown stations, with an average of 345 weekday boardings.
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 4. As of 2018, Elgin is the 116th busiest of Metra's 236 non-downtown stations, with an average of 411 weekday boardings.
Fox Lake is a station on Metra's Milwaukee District North Line in Fox Lake, Illinois. The station is located on Nippersink Boulevard at Grand Avenue, is 49.4 miles (79.5 km) away from Chicago Union Station, the southern terminus of the line, and serves commuters from Fox Lake to Downtown Chicago. The station is the northern terminus of the Milwaukee District North Line. As of 2018, Fox Lake is the 141st busiest of Metra's 236 non-downtown stations, with an average of 322 weekday boardings.
The Lake Country Limited was a short-lived Amtrak route which connected Chicago, Illinois with Janesville, Wisconsin. The route was part of Amtrak's Network Growth Strategy, which envisioned an expanded role for mail and express business. The Lake Country Limited would have exchanged goods with a new Chicago–Philadelphia train named the Skyline Connection, which in the end never began operation. The previous time when there was interstate train service along the route was the era immediately before Amtrak when the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad operated the Sioux and the Varsity trains.
The Chicago and Milwaukee Subdivision is a 85.5-mile (137.6 km) railway line running between Chicago, Illinois and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It is mostly dispatched by Canadian Pacific Kansas City Limited from a CP Rail facility in Minneapolis. From Pacific Junction to Chicago Union Station, it is dispatched by Metra's Consolidated Control Facility. The C&M Subdivision is the primary of CPKC's two northern routes from Chicago. The Union Pacific Railroad operates its Milwaukee Subdivision, a former Chicago & Northwestern Railway line, parallel to the C&M.
The Varsity was a passenger train operated by the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific Railroad over a 140-mile route between Chicago and Madison, Wisconsin.
The Fox Lake Subdivision is a railway line in the state of Illinois in the United States. It runs 17.5 miles (28.2 km) from a junction with the C&M Subdivision of the CPKC Railway at Rondout, Illinois, to a junction with the Wisconsin and Southern Railroad at Fox Lake, Illinois. Metra, the commuter rail authority for the Chicago area, owns and operates the line. The line hosts Milwaukee District North Line commuter trains. The line is part of the former Milwaukee Road route between Chicago and Madison, Wisconsin. The Wisconsin & Southern owns the portion between Fox Lake and Janesville, Wisconsin, and has trackage rights over the Metra portion. The tracks north of Metra's Fox Lake station host exclusively freight traffic.
The Borealis, referred to as Twin Cities–Milwaukee–Chicago (TCMC) during planning, is an Amtrak inter-city rail service that operates daily between Chicago, Illinois, and Saint Paul, Minnesota, via Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The first service began on May 21, 2024 under the Amtrak Midwest brand.
