Harvey station (Illinois)

Harvey is one of two Metra Electric commuter rail stations along the line's Main Branch in Harvey, Illinois. The station is located at Park Avenue and 154th Street, and is 20 miles (32 km) away from the northern terminus at Millennium Station.[2] In Metra's zone-based fare system, Harvey is in zone D. As of 2018, Harvey is the 102nd busiest of Metra's 236 non-downtown stations, with an average of 471 weekday boardings.[1]

Harvey
Location	Park Avenue & 154th Street Harvey, Illinois
Coordinates	41.6086°N 87.6437°W / 41.6086; -87.6437
Owned by	Metra
Line(s)	University Park Sub District
Platforms	1 Island platform (formerly 2)
Tracks	2
Connections	Pace Buses
Construction
Parking	Yes
Bicycle facilities	Yes; Bicycle racks
Disabled access	Yes
Other information
Fare zone	D
History
Opened	1856
Rebuilt	1926, 2001
Electrified	Yes
Passengers
2018	471 (average weekday)[1]  13.1%
Rank	102 out of 236[1]
Services
Preceding station Metra Following station 147th Street (Sibley Boulevard) toward Millennium Station Metra Electric District Main Line Hazel Crest toward University Park
Former services Preceding station Illinois Central Railroad Following station Homewood toward New Orleans Main Line Kensington toward Chicago Hazel Crest toward Richton Electric Suburban Main Line 147th Street toward Randolph Street Preceding station New York Central Railroad Following station Kankakee toward Cincinnati Chicago – Cincinnati Kensington toward Chicago

Compared to most stations along the Metra Electric line, including Harvey's other station at 147th Street, Harvey is quite grand in its appearance, at least in the vicinity of its given location. The station is located two blocks from City Hall, and next to Pace's Harvey Transportation Center.[3]

Parking is available along Park Avenue and the west side of the tracks between 155th Street and a bridge for a Canadian National Railway line that crosses underneath the Metra Electric Main Branch, as well as the Amtrak line that runs parallel to it, carrying the City of New Orleans, Illini, and Saluki trains. These tracks carried the intercity-trains of the Illinois Central until 1971, and most trains stopped here. It also contains a much larger parking lot on the east side of the tracks surrounded by 155th Street, Commercial Avenue, and 156th Street.

On the evening of October 12, 1979, a switchman incorrectly aligned a switch in front of an oncoming Amtrak train, leading it to go across a now-removed crossover into a stationary freight train. The resulting crash killed 2 crew members of the freight train in what would become known as the Harvey, Illinois train collision.