Metra Electric Line

The Electric Line is the only Metra line that is powered by overhead Catenary Wire . Trains operate on 1500 Volts DC , and all station have High-level Platform s. Sharing the main line north of Kensington is NICTD's South Shore Line , an Interurban Streetcar line that runs through northern Indiana to South Bend .

HISTORY

The line was originally built and operated by the Illinois Central Railroad . Commuter Service , one of the first off the U.S. East Coast , began July 21 , 1856 between the Illinois Central's downtown station (at the current location of Randolph Street Station ) and Hyde Park . Extensions of the commuter service were later made, and part of the line was elevated for the World's Columbian Exposition of 1893 in Jackson Park .

Also built were two branches - one from Brookdale southeast to South Chicago (in the early 1880s ), and the other from Kensington southwest to Blue Island (in the early 1890s ). These two branches were also electrified and are still operated by Metra.

The IC Electrified its commuter tracks in 1926 , then stretching from downtown to Matteson . In addition to the removal of all Grade Crossing s, the tracks were completely separated from and moved to the west side of the two freight and Intercity tracks. At McCormick Place in downtown Chicago, the two non-electrified tracks crossed over the new electric alignment to end at Central Station . The electric tracks continued north to the new Randolph Street Station , on the site of the Illinois Central's original terminal before Central Station opened in 1893 (though it still served commuters).

The main line had six tracks between Roosevelt Road (Central Station) and 53rd Street, and four tracks from there south to 111th Street. The six-track segment was reduced to four tracks in 1962 . The main line has two tracks south from 111th Street, as does the South Chicago branch. The Blue Island branch is single-track.

Service was extended 1.1 mile southward from Matteson to Richton Park , a new station built at the south end of coach storage yard, in 1946 .

This line was electrified because of its very heavy traffic and political pressure for smoke abatement. The "IC Electric" was once Chicago's busiest suburban railroad, and carried a great deal of traffic within the city as well as to suburban communities. The three lines carried 26 million passengers during the first full year of electrified operation, 1927. This rose to 35 million at 1929, and reached an all-time peak of 47 million at 1946.

By the early 1900s, the IC was running as many as 300 trains a day, all belching smoke across the then-fashionable Hyde Park neighborhood. In 1919, as a result of discussions with business leaders and community activists, the IC and Chicago collaborated to build a berm stretching from the far south suburb of Homewood into the city and digging a trench from the near south side into the city proper to eliminate all the grade crossings. Furthermore, they replaced all the steam trains with electric trains to relieve the smoke-clogged concerns of the well-to-do Hyde Parkians. The result was the only commuter rail in Chicago that is electrified and the only rail line left in the city with an overhead catenary system.

In 1976 the Regional Transportation Authority signed a contract with the Illinois Central to fund its commuter service. The next year a short (2.3-mile) extension was built to the current terminal at University Park (originally named Park Forest South). On May 1 , 1987 Metra bought the Electric Line and branches for $28 million. The two intercity/freight tracks are still owned by the IC, now part of the Canadian National Railway , and are used by Amtrak 's '' City Of New Orleans '' and '' Illini ''.

STATION STOPS

Metra Electric Line trains make the following station stops; not all trains stop at all stations.