Harvard station (Metra)

Harvard station is a Metra commuter rail station in Harvard, Illinois. It is the terminus of the Union Pacific/Northwest Line. Harvard is by far the farthest Metra station from Chicago at 63.16 miles (101.6 km) with the next furthest stop Antioch which is on North Central Service being over 10 miles less than that at 52.91 miles (85.2 km).[2] The station contains a parking lot operated by the City of Harvard. A coach yard is adjacent to the station and is used to store trains during weekends and overnight hours. Harvard was the only Metra station located in the M zone, until the M zone was retired by Metra in 2018. Trains that traveled to Chicago passed through an entire fare zone to reach Woodstock. However, no stations were located in zone L. Originally, Hartland was the only station located in zone L, however, the stop was closed in 1984. Today, Harvard is located in fare zone J. It is the westernmost station of the Metra system, as well as the farthest stop from any other stops on its route. The next most westerly stop is Elburn on the Union Pacific/West Line and the next largest gap between two stations on the Metra system is between Lake Forest and Libertyville on the Milwaukee District/North Line. Harvard is the last station to use more than one track, as further beyond this station, the UP line is single tracked until reaching Janesville, Wisconsin.

Harvard
Harvard Metra Station, looking northwest
Location1 North Ayer Street
Harvard, Illinois
Coordinates42.4199°N 88.6175°W / 42.4199; -88.6175
Owned byUnion Pacific
Platforms1 side platform, 1 island platform
Tracks3
Connections Pace Buses
Construction
Structure typeBrick
ParkingYes, parking lot operated by City of Harvard
Disabled accessYes
Other information
Fare zoneJ
History
Opened1993
Traffic
Passengers (2018)265 (average weekday)[1]  19.9%
Rank151 out of 236[1]
Services
Preceding station Metra Following station
Terminus Union Pacific / Northwest
Harvard Branch
 Woodstock
toward Ogilvie
Hartland
closed 1984
toward Ogilvie
Former services
Preceding station Chicago and North Western Railway Following station
Chemung
via Beloit
toward Minneapolis
 Chicago – Minneapolis via Madison Hartland
toward Chicago
Sharon
via Clinton
toward Minneapolis
Chemung
toward Rockford
 KD Line Alden
toward Kenosha

Being Chicago's most northwesterly commuter rail station, the Harvard station attracts commuters from the Rockford and Belvidere region of northern Illinois as well as South-Central Wisconsin. As of 2018, Harvard is the 151st busiest of the 236 non-downtown stations in the Metra system, with an average of 265 weekday boardings.[1]

Bus connections

Pace

  • 808 Crystal Lake/Harvard

References
  1. "Commuter Rail System Station Boarding/Alighting Count: Summary Results Fall 2018" (PDF). metrarail.com. April 2019. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 July 2019.
  2. "Railroad Operating Information: Union Pacific". Chicago Railfan.


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