SouthWest Service

The line south of the curve at the east end of the section aligned with 75th Street was built by the Wabash, St. Louis and Pacific Railway, which opened in 1880 to Chicago. That curve was a junction with the Chicago and Western Indiana Railroad, of which the Wabash owned one-fifth, and used to reach Dearborn Station in downtown Chicago. Commuter service from Chicago began as early as 1893, with trains running as far south as Orland Park,[5] and by 1909, the service had been extended with several trains operating as far south as Manhattan.[6] The level of service deteriorated in the 1930s, with commuter operations effectively reduced to one train in each direction making local stops from Chicago to Decatur. By 1964, the once daily Chicago–Decatur trains were cut back to Orland Park.[5]

After several reorganizations the Wabash Railroad was leased by the Norfolk and Western Railway on October 16, 1964.[7]^:145 The single round trip continued under the new ownership, who named the train the Orland Park Cannonball.[8] On May 1, 1971, Amtrak assumed control of most intercity passenger trains in the United States. On this date all intercity services operating into and out of Chicago were either routed into Union Station or discontinued, leaving the single Orland Park Cannonball as the only train to still use Dearborn Station. Dearborn Station closed, but the commuter train continued to use a small platform and track on the property until 1976 when it relocated to Union Station, via a new connection at Alton Junction.[9]^:71

The Regional Transportation Authority began to subsidize the service in 1978.[10] N&W merged with Southern Railway to form the Norfolk Southern Railway in 1982, and for the next decade the line was known as the Norfolk Southern Line (NS). The RTA closed the Western Avenue station on May 15, 1984, as part of a cost reduction plan which saw the closure of twelve other lightly used stations and the removal of ticket agents from an additional seventeen stations across the system.[11] On June 1, 1993 Metra took over operations and renamed it the SouthWest Service.[4]

The rail line expansion project, which includes 11 miles (18 km) of new track and at least two additional train stations, was completed (except for the Laraway Road station) in January 2006. The number of trains per day increased from 16 to 30, 15 in each direction. For years, Pace operated Route 835, whose bus service enhanced the limited train service in the SouthWest Service corridor. With the rail service expansion, ridership on route 835 became so poor that Pace eliminated it on August 17, 2007.

Metra started Saturday service on March 21, 2009, with six trains between Union Station and Manhattan.[12]

SouthWest Service trains will shift from Union Station to LaSalle Street Station with the reconfiguration of the 75th Street Corridor under the auspices of the Chicago Region Environmental and Transportation Efficiency Program (CREATE).[13] This will happen no earlier than 2025 when construction is scheduled for completion.[14] Additional mainline trackage will also be built between LaSalle St Station and 74th to handle the increase in traffic. LaSalle St Station will also be expanded.[15] This would relieve congestion at Union Station and improve reliability for the SouthWest Service, as well as allowing more trains to run in each direction.[13]

As of February 5, 2018, the last time Metra revised the timetable, the SouthWest Service has fifteen round-trips per day on weekdays and three on Saturday. There is no Sunday/holiday service. All Saturday trains run through to Manhattan. Of the weekday trains, one terminates at Orland Park 153rd Street, two at Manhattan, and the remainder at Orland Park 179th Street.[16]

From 2006 to early 2018, a third weekday train (a midday one) terminated at Manhattan. Due to lack of ridership as well as service cuts, this train became a short-turn to Orland Park 179th Street effective Spring 2018.

The Laraway Road and Manhattan stations see a combined ridership of under 60 people daily, making them two of the least-used stations on Metra's system.

Since 2014 annual ridership has declined from 2.6 million to 2.4 million, an overall decline of 9%.[17]

Chicago–Decatur local
0.0 mi 0 km Dearborn Station 4.6 mi 7.4 km 47th Street 6.6 mi 10.6 km Englewood 7.6 mi 12.2 km Halsted 8.6 mi 13.8 km Racine 9.6 mi 15.4 km Ashland 10.0 mi 16.1 km Western Avenue 11.4 mi 18.3 km Landers 12.2 mi 19.6 km Ashburn 14.6 mi 23.5 km Oak Lawn 16.6 mi 26.7 km Chicago Ridge 17.8 mi 28.6 km Worth 19.9 mi 32 km Palos Park 21.2 mi 34.1 km Southmoor 23.2 mi 37.3 km Orland Park 30.1 mi 48.4 km Marley 33.6 mi 54.1 km Steele 34.6 mi 55.7 km Brisbane 40.3 mi 64.9 km Manhattan 47.0 mi 75.6 km Symerton 52.9 mi 85.1 km Ritchie 54.2 mi 87.2 km Custer Park 59.8 mi 96.2 km Essex 66.0 mi 106.2 km Reddick 72.2 mi 116.2 km Campus 76.6 mi 123.3 km Emington 82.4 mi 132.6 km Saunemin 87.4 mi 140.7 km Wing 92.4 mi 148.7 km Forrest 99.4 mi 160 km Strawn 104.0 mi 167.4 km Sibley 112.1 mi 180.4 km Gibson City 120.2 mi 193.4 km Foosland 123.4 mi 198.6 km Lotus 125.1 mi 201.3 km Osman 127.3 mi 204.9 km Blue Ridge 131.2 mi 211.1 km Mansfield 136.1 mi 219 km Galesville 140.0 mi 225.3 km Lodge 145.0 mi 233.4 km Monticello 153.0 mi 246.2 km Bement 161.3 mi 259.6 km Cerro Gordo 165.4 mi 266.2 km Oakley 172.6 mi 277.8 km East Decatur 174.2 mi 280.3 km Decatur

• Metra SouthWest Service Information
• Metra SouthWest Service Expansion Project