Are the west suburb Metra schedules accurate? (Chicago, Naperville: house, to buy)

[Moonpies]

The Naperville express schedule shows a travel time of 33 minutes to Union Station from Naperville. I've heard it's more like 50 minutes. Any Metra riders with real experience? (I've already reviewed the threads on the parking situation - hoping I can go early enough to do daily parking).

Similarly, from Glen Ellyn to Ogilvie is supposedly 36 minutes (leaving at 6:59am) on the UPWest line. Any Glen Ellyn metra riders out there?

I don't want to buy a house based on commute time and be surprised later...I'll be working near Union Station.

[myrc60]

The train schedules are mostly accurate but you will need time to get out of the station too. I'd say it took up to 10-15 minutes to de-train and get out of the station and up to the street at Union Station. Make sure you allow for that.

[gardener34]

If they are working on the trax or something, you can expect delays. I don't commute daily, but this summer I was down there a lot. And I had up to a 20 minute delay on several days because of construction we were told.

[ilikekilo]

Originally Posted by myrc60

The train schedules are mostly accurate but you will need time to get out of the station too. I'd say it took up to 10-15 minutes to de-train and get out of the station and up to the street at Union Station. Make sure you allow for that.

It never took too much time for me to get out of Ogilive station assuming that U are in the front cars of the train...never been thru Union station much I am surprised to know that its 10-15 mnts..whats special there in U station?

[Moonpies]

Originally Posted by gardener34

If they are working on the trax or something, you can expect delays. I don't commute daily, but this summer I was down there a lot. And I had up to a 20 minute delay on several days because of construction we were told.

Were the delays you experienced during rush hour? I would assume Metra would avoid construction delays during peak hours...

Any Wheaton/Glen Ellyn commuters care to share their knowledge of travel times vs. the published schedule?

[oakparkdude]

I reverse commute on the Union Pacific West. When there's no freight train interference, schedules run pretty much on the dot (maybe +/- two minutes). Unfortunately, the UP-W is one of the busiest freight train routes, so maybe 5-10% of the time commuter rails get stuck behind a slow-moving freight train with delays up to 20minutes. Very rarely due to accidents, severe snow storms, traffic is delayed 1 hr+.

Currently, Union Pacific is improving the line (adding more third tracking and improving signals) which should eventually improve commuter rail reliability (and frequency), hopefully within a few years.

In summary, I think the train (despite the above limitations) is way more reliable than driving.

[Rikki Tikki Tavi]

daily commuter here....you can pretty much set your watch by the rt 59 express trains, inbound and out, and if you get to the station by the 717am, parking is no problem on the naperville or north parking lot...don't buy the hype

[brian1887]

Originally Posted by Rikki Tikki Tavi

daily commuter here....you can pretty much set your watch by the rt 59 express trains, inbound and out, and if you get to the station by the 717am, parking is no problem on the naperville or north parking lot...don't buy the hype

I agree with these comments, I take the Rt59 express every day (6:37 a.m. train), parking is never a problem, and the train is typically on time (there are some delays during the winter as they have problems with the trains).

[Moonpies]

Originally Posted by brian1887

I agree with these comments, I take the Rt59 express every day (6:37 a.m. train), parking is never a problem, and the train is typically on time (there are some delays during the winter as they have problems with the trains).

and do you agree with ilikekilo, who suggested that it takes 10-15 minutes to get out of union station?

[Ophidian14]

Originally Posted by Moonpies

and do you agree with ilikekilo, who suggested that it takes 10-15 minutes to get out of union station?

Look, I don't think so. I come into Union Station on Thursdays (at about 8:00am) from the North Central line, and it takes me maybe five minutes to get up to the Madison Street exit (from the north tracks). That said, I've also taken the BNSF into Chicago and admittedly, it did seem more crowded (but not triple as bad, certainly).

Currently I'm coming into Ogilvie from Cary (zone "H"), and it pretty much comes right at 7:42am every day, and generally arrives downtown between zero and five minutes late at least 95+% of the time.