Metra considers changing the names of all its lines, asks public to weigh in

CHICAGO (WGN) — A change in the operation on three of Metra’s lines has given the agency an opportunity to rename all lines, and the public has a chance to weigh in.

Metra will soon assume complete operational control on the Union Pacific North, Union Pacific Northwest and Union Pacific West Lines. Union Pacific owns the infrastructure and has provided service with its own employees but no longer wants to run passenger trains.

Metra has been hiring many of UP’s workers and this spring will begin to directly run the service. “Union Pacific” will be phased out of line names.

“Renaming the three UP lines presents Metra with an opportunity to reconsider all its line names, which follow no logical or consistent pattern,” Metra said in a statement. “Many are named after freight railroads that used to or still operate the service, while some are named for directions, or how trains are powered, or their location in a historic corridor. On maps, signs, and timetables, each line uses a different color.”

Outreach events are scheduled for Tuesday at Union Station, Wednesday at Ogilvie Transportation Center and Thursday at Millennium and LaSalle Street stations from 3:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. to share details on three options Metra has put forth:

• Retaining all the current names and colors except for the three UP lines; 
• Using a single color for all lines and labeling all lines with an “M” for Metra paired with a number. For instance, M1, M2, M3, etc. 
• Using a single color for lines that share a downtown station, and labeling them with a letter to indicate the direction they go from downtown paired with a number. For instance, the three lines that use Ogilvie would be the same color, and would be labeled N1 (for the UP North), N4 (for the UP Northwest) and W2 (for the UP West).

The document below illustrates Metra’s lines and two of the re-naming schemes:

The public is asked to weigh in with their preferences via an online survey at metra.com/LineNames.

Design of the new line names will continue through the rest of this year and into 2026. Metra hopes to complete the rollout of the new signs by early 2029.