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.[2] 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
Location2300 West Grove Street
Blue Island, Illinois
Coordinates41.6548°N 87.6778°W / 41.6548; -87.6778
Owned byCity of Blue Island
Line(s)Joliet Subdistrict
Platforms2 side platforms (Rock Island)
1 island platform (Metra Electric)
Tracks7 (4 Rock Island, 3 Metra Electric)
ConnectionsPace
Construction
ParkingYes
Disabled accessYes
Other information
Fare zoneD
History
Opened1868
ElectrifiedYes, via overhead line (Metra Electric)
No (Rock Island)
Passengers
2018595 (average weekday)[1]  13.5% (Rock Island District)
Rank84 out of 236 (RI)[1]
2018197 (average weekday)[1]  8.8% (Metra Electric)
Rank164 out of 236 (ME)[1]
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. As of 2018, Blue Island-Vermont Street station on the Rock Island District is the 84th busiest of Metra's 236 non-downtown stations, with an average of 595 weekday boardings.[1] Blue Island station on Metra Electric is the 164th busiest of Metra's 236 non-downtown stations, with an average of 197 weekday boardings.[1]

History

Rock Island service was established in Blue Island in 1852,[3] and the current brick station at Vermont Street replaced the original frame depot in 1868.[4] 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[5] 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[6] 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.[7] (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. "Commuter Rail System Station Boarding/Alighting Count: Summary Results Fall 2018" (PDF). Metra. April 2019. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 May 2019.
  2. Metra Railfan Tips - Rock Island District
  3. Volp, John Henry (1938). The First Hundred Years - 1835–1935, an Historical Review of Blue Island, Illinois. Blue Island: Blue Island Publishing. p. 83.
  4. Blue Island Historic Preservation Commission Landmark Tour - Vermont Street Rock Island Depot
  5. "Chicago Real Estate - Some Large Transfers". Chicago Daily Tribune: 2. February 7, 1889.
  6. "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.
  7. July 12, 1971 Amtrak Timetables
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