Blue Island–Vermont Street station

Blue Island–Vermont Street is a Metra station in Blue Island, Illinois, servicing the Rock Island District and Metra Electric Lines. On the Rock Island, it is 16.4 miles (26.4 km) from LaSalle Street Station.[1] For the Metra Electric, it is the southern terminus of the Blue Island Branch.

Blue Island Vermont Street
A platform for the Rock Island District station
Location	2300 West Grove Street Blue Island, Illinois
Coordinates	41.6548°N 87.6778°W / 41.6548; -87.6778
Owned by	City of Blue Island
Line(s)	Joliet Subdistrict
Platforms	2 side platforms (Rock Island) 1 island platform (Metra Electric)
Tracks	7 (4 Rock Island, 3 Metra Electric)
Connections	Pace
Construction
Parking	Yes
Disabled access	Yes
Other information
Fare zone	D
History
Opened	1868
Electrified	Yes, via overhead line (Metra Electric) No (Rock Island)
Services
Preceding station Metra Following station Robbins toward Joliet Rock Island District Prairie Street toward LaSalle Street Rock Island District Rush hour only 103rd Street–Washington Heights toward LaSalle Street Givins closed 1984 toward LaSalle Street Burr Oak toward Millennium Station Metra Electric District Blue Island Branch Terminus
Former services Preceding station Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad Following station Joliet toward Colorado Springs Main Line Washington Heights toward Chicago Robbins toward Joliet Suburban Service via Main Line Givins toward Chicago Suburban Service via Beverly Blue Island Prairie Street toward Chicago Preceding station Illinois Central Railroad Following station Terminus Electric Suburban Blue Island Branch Burr Oak toward Randolph Street

The two stations share the same parking facilities and the same bus connections. Although these two stations are across the street from each other and trains do not use the same platform areas, the proximity of the two to each other functionally allows riders to transfer from one to the other with only a very short walk (less than an eighth of a mile) between them.

Blue Island-Vermont Street is one of the busiest stations on the Rock Island District. It is the centerpiece of the entire line, historically and presently. Many trains terminate here, most of them locals on the Beverly Branch, and most rush hour trains stop at this station, running express to and from this station. A coach yard is located just north of the station and is used to store out-of-service trains when not in use.

Vermont Street is a favorite of railfans due to its unique four-track setup, frequent train action, and switching movements. Later on in the day, Iowa Interstate Railroad runs a daily freight train along the Rock Island tracks, from Blue Island to Council Bluffs, Iowa. For this reason, this daily freight train is officially named the BICB. Blue Island's police and fire departments are located several blocks away from Vermont Street.

Blue Island–Vermont Street Station is in zone D of Metra's zone-based fare system.

History

Rock Island service was established in Blue Island in 1852,[2] and the current brick station at Vermont Street replaced the original frame depot in 1868.[3] The Beverly Branch splits from the main line here and runs at the base of the ridge serving stations in Blue Island and the Chicago neighborhoods of Morgan Park and Beverly before veering east to serve Brainard and reconnecting to the main line at the Gresham station at 87th and Vincennes. This branch line was created in 1889[4] through the influence of the Blue Island Land and Building Company to serve its interests in the development of what was then the village of Morgan Park[5] and carries most of the passenger traffic for the area, although some rush-hour trains travel north-east on the main line. In 1891, the Metra Electric station was built as a branch of the Illinois Central's commuter line from Kensington-115th Street.

On July 12, 1971 the station began service to Amtrak trains.[6] (The sited station list shows non-Amtrak stations, and mentions that at the top of the page. The cash-starved Rock Island couldn't afford to join Amtrak, and ran their own intercity passenger trains until Illinois withdrew the operating subsidy and service was terminated on December 31, 1978.) By the 1980s, the station became part of the Metra system.

Tracks

The station has six tracks for in-service trains, four for the Rock Island and two for the Metra Electric. Of the Rock Island platforms, two are on the Beverly Branch, and two are on the main line. Most trains on the Beverly Branch terminate at this station, the lone exception being weekday middays, and run inbound back to LaSalle Street Station.

The Metra Electric station at Blue Island

The Metra Electric station, being a stub terminus, has two tracks and one island platform. It is one of only two stations on the Blue Island Branch to have more than one track, the other being West Pullman where the line has a passing siding.

Bus connections

Pace

"Route 348 – Harvey/Riverdale/Blue Island". PaceBus.com. Chicago: Pace Suburban Bus Service. "Route 349 – South Western". PaceBus.com. Chicago: Pace Suburban Bus Service. "Route 359 – Robbins/South Kedzie Avenue". PaceBus.com. Chicago: Pace Suburban Bus Service. "Route 385 – 87th/111th/127th". PaceBus.com. Chicago: Pace Suburban Bus Service.

References

1. Metra Railfan Tips - Rock Island District
2. Volp, John Henry (1938). The First Hundred Years - 1835–1935, an Historical Review of Blue Island, Illinois. Blue Island: Blue Island Publishing. p. 83.
3. Blue Island Historic Preservation Commission Landmark Tour - Vermont Street Rock Island Depot
4. "Chicago Real Estate - Some Large Transfers". Chicago Daily Tribune: 2. February 7, 1889.
5. "EXCITED SUBURBANITES - WASHINGTON HEIGHTS OBJECTS TO FOOTING IT TO THE STATION - Rock Island Proposes to Moving the Dummy Tracks a Half a Mile West - Residents Say it is a Real Estate Scheme and Get an Injunction". Chicago Daily Tribune: 2. December 4, 1888.
6. July 12, 1971 Amtrak Timetables

External links

• Media related to Vermont Street (Metra) at Wikimedia Commons
• Media related to Blue Island (Metra) at Wikimedia Commons
• Metra – Stations – Blue Island–Vermont Street station

• Metra – Stations – Blue Island
• Old image of former Rock Island Station (Rock Island Technical Society)
• Station from Vermont Street from Google Maps Street View