Villa Park is a Metra commuter railroad station in Villa Park, Illinois, a western suburb of Chicago. It is served by the Union Pacific West Line and lies 17.8 miles (28.6 km) from the eastern terminus.[2] Trains go east to Ogilvie Transportation Center in Chicago and as far west as Elburn, Illinois. Travel time to Ogilvie ranges from 43 minutes on local trains to 31 minutes on express trains, with faster times during peak hours. As of 2018, Villa Park is the 59th busiest of the 236 non-downtown stations in the Metra system, with an average of 870 weekday boardings.[1] Unless otherwise announced, inbound trains (except inbound train no. 38) use the north platform and outbound trains (and train no. 38) use the south platform.
As of February 16, 2024, Villa Park is served by 54 trains (27 in each direction) on weekdays, by all 20 trains (10 in each direction) on Saturdays, and by all 18 trains (nine in each direction) on Sundays and holidays.
The station is on ground level, at North Ardmore Avenue and West Terrace Street, with parking lots north and south of the tracks. Villa Park's commercial district is centered on Ardmore Ave. and Saint Charles Road, several blocks south of the station. Another Villa Avenue station, which was built by the Chicago, Aurora, and Elgin Railroad in 1929, has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1986.[3]
Due to the relatively close proximity to Proviso Yard, Metra trains occasionally must use the middle track to avoid the frequent freight traffic. Because the middle track has no platform, the train's cab car receives and discharges passengers at the Ardmore Avenue railroad crossing when this does occur.
References
- ^ a b c "Commuter Rail System Station Boarding/Alighting Count: Summary Results Fall 2018" (PDF). metrarail.com. April 2019. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 May 2019.
- ^ Metra Railfan Tips - Union Pacific/West Line
- ^ DuPage County Listings at the National Register of Historic Places
External links
- Metra – Stations – Villa Park station
- Villa Park Historical Society Museum — historical photos
- Station from Ardmore Avenue from Google Maps Street View