Metra expands weekend service on 3 lines starting next month

CHICAGO - Service on three Metra train lines will expand starting next month, including on the weekends, the agency announced.

What we know:

Metra is adding service to its BNSF line in the western suburbs, Union Pacific North serving the northern suburbs, and Union Pacific West, which serves parts of the northwest suburbs.

BNSF line

Starting Sept. 8, the BNSF line will add weekday express trains and hourly service on the weekends.

There will be two added inbound express trains during the morning which will make stops from Lisle to Downers Grove and then express to Chicago. There will also be two added outbound trains from Chicago that will stop Congress Park then make all stops to Fairview Avenue, and two trains that will travel directly from Chicago to Downers Grove and then make all stops to Aurora.

On the weekends, there will be four new BNSF trains to make an hourly inbound service between 5 a.m. and 9 p.m. and hourly outbound service between 8:30 a.m. and 12:30 a.m.

UP-West line

Also starting on Sept. 8, the UP-West line will add stops to its weekday off-peak trains and all weekend service.

Weekday evening off-peak trains will no longer skip the Kedzie station. On the weekends, all trains will stop at the Kedzie, Maywood, and Melrose Park stations.

UP-North line

Starting on Sept. 20, the UP-North line will also expand its weekend service.

The new schedule will include 15 inbound and outbound trains on both Saturdays and Sundays, an increase of four trains on Saturdays and 12 on Sundays. Metra said the expanded service will significantly improve service to and from Kenosha on the weekends.

What you can do:

The new schedules for the BNSF, UP-West, and UP-North lines are available on the agency’s website, metra.com.