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Millennium Station | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Location | 151 East Randolph Street Chicago Loop, Chicago, IL 60601 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Coordinates | (150 N/150 E) 41°53′09″N87°37′24″W / 41.88594°N 87.62345°W | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Owned by | Metra | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Platforms | 6 island platforms (plus one unused) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Tracks | 12 revenue (7 upper-level South Shore Line, 5 lower-level Metra), 1 non-revenue [1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Connections | Chicago "L": Washington/Wabash CTA Buses Chicago Pedway | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Construction | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Accessible | Yes | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Other information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Fare zone | 1 (Metra and South Shore) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
History | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Opened | 1856, 1926 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rebuilt | 1985, 2005 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Electrified | Overhead line, 1,500 V DC | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Previous names | Randolph Street Station or Randolph Street Terminal | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Services | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Millennium Station (formerly Randolph Street Terminal; sometimes called Randolph Street station or Randolph/South Water Street 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.
Located under Millennium Park, a terminal station was first established here in the 1800s by the Illinois Central Railroad (IC) but has gone through several re-configurations. Most recently, it was rebuilt in the early 21st century and is owned by Metra through its operating arm, the Northeast Illinois Regional Commuter Railroad Corporation. Not counting commuters on the South Shore Line, over 18,000 people board Metra trains at Millennium Station each day. [2] During peak periods, trains leave the terminal as frequently as twice a minute. It is the third-busiest train station in Chicago.
As Great Central Station, Randolph Street Terminal, along with Van Buren Street a few blocks south, was IC's primary downtown Chicago terminal until the completion in 1893 of Central Station (closed 1972) just south of Grant Park at today's Roosevelt Road. It still received many trains thereafter, but was of secondary importance. Its importance increased dramatically in 1926 with the electrification of commuter services on IC's main line and its Blue Island and South Chicago branches. Commuter trains from all three branches were now routed into the Randolph Street terminal, while intercity traffic continued to terminate at Central Station.
For many years, the station platforms were exposed and the ticketing facilities and the waiting room were located in the attached facility. The construction of Millennium Park gradually placed the entire station "underground." Randolph Street Station existed in a state of perpetual construction from the mid-1980s until 2005: exposed steel girders covered in flame retardant, unpainted plywood walls, bare concrete floors, and dim utility lights created a notoriously unfriendly, cave-like environment. Skidmore, Owings and Merrill was the architect for the station redesign. [3] With the completion of construction in 2005, the station was renamed Millennium Station. However, many longtime Chicago-area residents still call it "Randolph Street Terminal."
The main entrance to the station is at the southwest corner of the intersection of Randolph Street and Michigan Avenue. [4] From the entrance, a concourse lined with shops and restaurants leads to the main waiting area. [5] The waiting area consists of a number of benches and ticket vending machines as well as a ticket counter and information desk for Metra. [6]
From the waiting room, there is a passage to the upper-level South Shore Line platforms, and along this passage is a set of ticket windows for the South Shore Line. [7] At the north end of the South Shore Line platforms, there is a set of ticket vending machines. On the lower level are the Metra tracks, accessed by staircases or ramps from the concourse. [8] The Metra platforms have a secondary exit at Lower South Water Street on the north end.
Millennium Station serves as a nexus of several Chicago Pedway connections, which links it to several hotels, residential buildings, office buildings, "L" stations and other notable locations. The pedway itself hosts a number of shops, eateries and services. While some portions of the system remain open at all hours, most close by 7:00 PM on weekdays and 6:00 PM on the weekends, rendering a significant portion of the system unusable during non-business hours.
In the 2008 film The Dark Knight , there is a brief shot where the Batpod is driven through Millennium Station's concourse during a chase scene. [9]
Chicago Union Station is an intercity and commuter rail terminal located in the West Loop neighborhood of the Near West Side of Chicago. Amtrak's flagship station in the Midwest, Union Station is the terminus of eight national long-distance routes and eight regional corridor routes. Six Metra commuter lines also terminate here.
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, Illinois 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, who also purchased the track in 1990. The South Shore Line is one of the last surviving interurban trains in the United States. In 2023, the system had a ridership of 1,406,900, or about 5,400 per weekday as of the second quarter of 2024.
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 Chicago Pedway is a network of tunnels, ground-level concourses and bridges in Chicago, Illinois connecting skyscrapers, retail stores, hotels, and train stations throughout the central business district.
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, the only line with no stations in fare zone 4, 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.
Van Buren Street station is a commuter rail station in downtown Chicago that serves the Metra Electric Line to University Park, Blue Island, and South Chicago neighborhood; and the South Shore Line to Gary and South Bend, Indiana.
Rogers Park is a Metra commuter railroad station in the Rogers Park neighborhood on the north side of Chicago. It is located at 7000 North Ravenswood Avenue, between West Greenleaf Avenue and West Lunt Avenue. In Metra's zone-based fare system, Rogers Park is in zone 2. As of 2018, Rogers Park is the 26th busiest of Metra's 236 non-downtown stations, with an average of 1,393 weekday boardings. The neighborhood that surrounds the station is residential, with single-family houses and small apartment buildings, but just a block to the east is Clark Street, a major north–south artery with buses and shopping.
Museum Campus/11th Street is a commuter rail station in downtown Chicago that serves the Metra Electric Line north to Millennium Station and south to University Park, Blue Island and South Chicago; and the South Shore Line to Gary and South Bend, Indiana.
McCormick Place station is a commuter rail station in Chicago underneath McCormick Place, Chicago's main convention center, that serves the Metra Electric Line north to the Millennium Station and south to University Park, Blue Island, and South Chicago; and the South Shore Line to Gary and South Bend, Indiana.
55th–56th–57th Street is a commuter rail station in Hyde Park, Chicago that serves the Metra Electric Line north to Millennium Station and south to University Park, Blue Island, and South Chicago; and the South Shore Line to Gary and South Bend, Indiana. The South Shore Line calls the station 57th Street. It is the closest station to the Museum of Science and Industry, and also serves the residential neighborhood adjoining the University of Chicago. As of 2018, the station is the 39th busiest of Metra's 236 non-downtown stations, with an average of 1,133 weekday boardings.
63rd Street station is a commuter rail station within the city of Chicago that serves the Metra Electric Line north to Millennium Station and south to University Park, Blue Island, and the Chicago neighborhood of South Chicago and the South Shore Line to Gary and South Bend, Indiana. Most South Shore Line trains do not stop at this station, except for one inbound train during the AM rush and two outbound trains during the PM rush on weekdays. As of 2018, the station is the 169th busiest of Metra's 236 non-downtown stations, with an average of 167 weekday boardings.
Lake is an "L" station on the CTA's Red Line in the Chicago Loop that is part of the State Street subway. Lake is a transfer station between the Red Line and the Brown, Green, Orange, Pink, and Purple Lines at the State/Lake station and the Blue Line at Washington via the Chicago Pedway. In 2019, Lake had an average of 19,364 weekday passenger entries, making it the busiest 'L' station.
51st–53rd Street is a commuter rail station within the City of Chicago serves the Metra Electric Line north to Millennium Station and south to University Park, Blue Island, and South Chicago. As of 2018, the station is the 78th busiest of Metra's 236 non-downtown stations, with an average of 671 weekday boardings. The station location, one of the oldest in the United States, has been in continuous use by commuters since 1856.
South Chicago station is a Metra Electric Line station on East 93rd St and South Baltimore Avenue in Chicago's South Chicago neighborhood. The station provides transport services to Chicago's South Chicago, South Deering, and East Side neighborhoods. The station is located 13.0 miles (20.9 km) southeast of Millennium Station, the line's northern terminus at Randolph/South Water Street in downtown Chicago. As of 2018, South Chicago is the 101st busiest of Metra's 236 non-downtown stations, with an average of 472 weekday boardings.
University Park is a station on Metra's Metra Electric District line located in University Park, Illinois. University Park is the southern terminus of the Metra Electric main line and is 31.5 miles (50.7 km) away from the northern terminus at Millennium Station. The station is located on South Governor's Highway near West Stuenkel Road. In Metra's zone-based fare system, University Park is in zone 3. As of 2018, University Park is the 64th busiest of Metra's 236 non-downtown stations, with an average of 808 weekday boardings.
The Jefferson Park Transit Center is an intermodal passenger transport hub in the Jefferson Park neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois. It serves as a station for rail and also as a bus terminal. Jefferson Park Transit Center's railroad station is on Metra's Union Pacific Northwest Line, with the station located at 4963 North Milwaukee Avenue. Jefferson Park is 9.1 miles (14.6 km) away from Ogilvie Transportation Center in downtown Chicago, the inbound terminus of the Union Pacific Northwest Line. Under Metra's zone-based fare system, Jefferson Park is in zone 2. As of 2018, Jefferson Park is the 97th busiest of Metra's 236 non-downtown stations, with an average of 510 weekday boardings.
Matteson is one of two commuter rail stations along the Main Branch of the Metra Electric line which serve Matteson, Illinois. It is located at 215th and Main Streets, and is 28.2 miles (45.4 km) away from the northern terminus at Millennium Station. In Metra's zone-based fare system, Matteson station is in zone 3. As of 2018, Matteson is the 86th busiest of Metra's 236 non-downtown stations, with an average of 591 weekday boardings.
Evanston Central Street is the northernmost of the three commuter railroad stations in Evanston, Illinois. It is an elevated station at Green Bay Road and Central Street, surrounded by a neighborhood of stores, restaurants and multi-story apartment buildings. Just north of the station, the tracks descend to grade and pass through Wilmette on ground level.