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 the farthest Metra station from Chicago at 63.16 miles (101.65 km) from Chicago; the next furthest stop, Antioch on the North Central Service, is over 10 miles closer to Chicago at 52.9 miles (85.1 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 all fare zones beyond J were retired by Metra in 2018. Trains that traveled to Chicago passed through an entire fare zone to reach Woodstock. No stations were located in zone L. Originally, Hartland was the only station located in zone L, however, the stop was closed in 1984. Harvard was then located in fare zone J until February 2024, when the fare structure was simplified across the system. Harvard is now in Zone 4. It is the westernmost station of the Metra system; the next most westerly stop is Elburn on the Union Pacific West 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
General information
Location	1 North Ayer Street Harvard, Illinois
Coordinates	42°25′12″N 88°37′03″W / 42.4199°N 88.6175°W / 42.4199; -88.6175
Owned by	Union Pacific
Platforms	1side platform, 1 island platform
Tracks	3
Connections	Pace Buses
Construction
Structure type	Brick
Parking	Yes, parking lot operated by City of Harvard
Accessible	Yes
Other information
Fare zone	4
History
Opened	1993
Passengers
2018	265 (average weekday)[1]  19.9%
Rank	151 out of 236[1]
Services
Preceding station Metra Following station Terminus Union Pacific Northwest Harvard Branch Woodstock toward Ogilvie
Former services Preceding station Metra Following station Terminus Union Pacific Northwest Harvard Branch Hartland closed 1984 toward Ogilvie Preceding station Chicago and North Western Railway Following station Sharon via Clinton toward Minneapolis Chicago – Minneapolis via Madison Hartland toward Chicago Capron via Beloit toward Minneapolis Chemung toward Rockford KD Line Alden toward Kenosha
Track layout Legend UP Harvard Subdivision continues northwest UP-NW ends Ayers St. UP-NW southeast to Ogilvie
Location

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^[update], Harvard is the 151st busiest of the 236 non-downtown stations in the Metra system, with an average of 265 weekday boardings.^[1]

As of February 16, 2024, Harvard is served by 27 trains (14 inbound, 13 outbound) on weekdays, by 20 trains (10 in each direction) on Saturdays, and by 15 trains (seven inbound, eight outbound) on Sundays.

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