Homewood station
Template:Short description Template:Use American English Template:Use mdy dates Script error: No such module "Infobox".Template:Template otherScript error: No such module "Parameter validation".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".Script error: No such module "check for deprecated parameters". Homewood station is an Amtrak intercity and Metra commuter train station in Homewood, Illinois. It is also the location of the Homewood Railroad Park Museum.
Served by the Metra Electric District, Homewood is Script error: No such module "convert". from that line's northern terminus at Millennium Station.[1] It is six stops away from the line's southern terminus at Template:Stl. In Metra's zone-based fare system, Homewood is located in zone 3. since 2018[update]Template:Dated maintenance category (articles)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters"., Homewood is the 32nd busiest of Metra's 236 non-downtown stations, with an average of 1,171 weekday boardings.[2] It is also Script error: No such module "convert". from Union Station, the northern terminus of the three Amtrak services which stop here.
History
In 1851, the Illinois Central Railroad began construction of their new rail line which branched south of Chicago to what is now the Village of Homewood. The first passenger train to run on this line ran from Chicago to Kankakee, IL on August 5, 1853, and stopped in present day Homewood. Also in 1853, the Illinois Central built a one-and-a-half story depot to serve to area. When the depot was built, the nearest town to the new depot was the large village of Thornton, IL, about three miles to the east of the depot, and the depot was named the "Illinois Central Thornton Depot" for sixteen years. In 1869, the depot was officially renamed to the Homewood Station.
The Illinois Central Railroad built the current Homewood Depot in 1923 to serve the Panama Limited and Seminole Limited.[3][4] The station house, now used by Amtrak, was built in a mission revival style in order to complement the architecture of the clubhouse of the nearby Ravisloe Country Club.[4]
Three years after the station opened, commuter services began. Throughout the years, the station also served such intercity trains as the City of New Orleans, Creole, and Green Diamond. In 1971, Amtrak assumed control of the Illinois Central's passenger operations and continued to stop at Homewood. Metra purchased the commuter services in 1987. In 2003 the Homewood Rail Heritage Committee approved the installation of a train watching platform for railfans similar to that of the Rochelle Railroad Park in Rochelle, Illinois. As with many suburban Metra stations, bus connections are provided by Pace Transit Systems.
On the Metra Electric, it is a regular stop on the main line. On Amtrak, it is served by the regional Template:Lnl and the long-distance City of New Orleans.
2020s renovation
The station underwent renovations in the early 2020s. The renovations improved facilities and brought the station complex into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. Prior to the renovation, among the accessibility issues was a lack of an accessible path to the platforms from the west-side of the tracks (where Amtrak's station building is located).[4][5]
The first part of the project was a $15 million renovation by Amtrak of its facilities at the station. This project utilized federal funds. The Amtrak station closed in August 2020 for the renovations.[4] Much of the architectural features of the Amtrak portion of the station were retained, as the facility is on the Illinois Register of Historical Places. It was expanded with a new structure.[4] Amtrak demolished the former boarding platform and built a new covered island platform to serve the two tracks that its trains utilize at the station.[4][5]
After Amtrak completed its renovation of its facilities, Metra separately began a $14 million renovation of their facilities at the station. Metra replaced their station structure at Harwood Avenue and Ridge Road with a new structure, and renovated the track-access tunnel. It was funded through a combined $9 million funds from the Federal Transit Administration and Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning, with a further $4 million coming from Metra, $585,000 coming from Homewood, and $300,000 coming from Cook County. Metra's renovation of their facilities at the Homewood station was announced in 2020, and was part of a five-year capital investment plan involving the renovation of nine stations (including Homewood) on the Metra Electric District.[4][6]
Bus connections
- 356 Harvey/Homewood/Tinley Park
- 359 Robbins/South Kedzie Avenue (weekdays only)
References
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- ↑ Metra Railfan Tips – Metra Electric Line
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- ↑ Great American Stations. Accessed March 21, 2013.
- ↑ a b c d e f g Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
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External links
- Homewood, IL – Amtrak
- Homewood, IL – Station history at Great American Stations (Amtrak)
- Metra – Stations – Homewood
- Homewood Amtrak Station (USA Rail Guide -- Train Web)
- Homewood Railroad Park (NRHS: Blackhawk Chapter)Template:Category handler[<span title="Script error: No such module "string".">usurped]Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
- Chicago Railfan image (Homewood Station)
Template:Metra stations navbox Template:Amtrak Illinois stations
- Pages with script errors
- Articles using Infobox station with markup inside name
- Articles using Infobox station with links or images inside name
- Amtrak stations in Illinois
- Metra stations in Illinois
- Former Illinois Central Railroad stations
- Railway stations in the United States opened in 1923
- Railway stations in Cook County, Illinois
- 1923 establishments in Illinois