The Metra UP North line is very convenient, a very affordable way to get from the Northern burbs into Chicago. The trains are clean, the schedule is good, they run pretty on time. I'm coming from Milwaukee, and the Kenosha station shuts down early. In fact, there are no late Amtrak trains, or any bus coming from Milwaukee to Chicago, even the airport shuttle shut down early evening. So the best way to get into the Windy from Beer Town later in the evening is to beg some good friend to drive me to Waukegan, and take the Metra UP North line into Chicago, and most points from the Near North to Downtown are better served by getting off at Clybourne and hitching an Uber (if I have more money) or shifting to the CTA (if I have more time). You can now buy a Metra train ticket online (download the Ventra application) and have your ticket on your phone like a plane ticket. The Metra trains have working outlets to charge your phone en route. read more

Metra UP North Line - Clybourn station - Public Transportation Near Me

My only experience with trains is the Chicago CTA and the Metra in Chicago, but between the two....Metra, hands down when I can. Quiet ride, helpful staff, never a hassle in a platform. Rarely an issue with other passengers except for the occasional person listening to a video without earbuds. It does cost more, but imo, very worth it. read more

"Denise P.", who gave the UP-N line one star in her review, probably hasn't ridden the train more than once. Actually, UP-N (Metra's third-busiest line) provides great commuter service and off-peak service to Chicago's north side and the North Shore suburbs of Chicago. Competing services (the CTA Brown line and Purple line) certainly have their place, but can hardly compare against scheduled commuter rail service. If you're in Evanston, Rogers Park, or Ravenswood, and within 10-15 minutes walking distance of a UP-N station, you'll get downtown quicker via Metra. Have a ten-ride pass? It's cheaper to ride in on the UP-N from Ravenswood to Ogilvie than it is to take the Brown line. I consider that to be a pretty good reason to put up with a late train once in a while. read more

This is not a manned stop. Elevated platform....lots of stairs. Make sure you know which train you need since there are a number of different lines that come through. Bike parking is on the northern side near the vehicle parking. 7-11 across the street (east) has an atm to pay for your ticket. read more

A few of the reviews are strange, just because I've never had any overly terrible experiences riding this line. It's the norm once in a rare while for a train to be terribly late, and other than one really bad experience I had waiting for a train a couple years ago to go to Kenosha(over 30 mins. late, and had to switch platforms), haven't had any probs riding this line otherwise. Only thing is that certain stations on this line are aging and could use improvement(especially Clybourn), though at least Ravenswood is finally getting an overdue renovation. And there are stations in worser shape(i.e. Metra Electric's 63rd-111th St. stops, and the stops on the Blue Island ME branch). Nice too that there is a late afternoon train from Waukegan to Chicago that makes limited stops on both Saturday and Sunday on the schedule. As once when I was coming back from Waukegan, that train saved my butt and allowed me to meet up with a friend successfully, without being late(barely). read more

Ive been riding the metra for over a year, and took my last regular ride last week, as I got a new, closer job. Here are the reasons I'll miss my metra. -Quiet. Sure, you'll get occasional loud folks, but for the most part, the commuters use subdued voices and are polite. -Quick. I could get to Evanston in half an hour, and watched traffic crawling along. -Friendly conductors. They know you, you know them. You smile, you chat, they tell you to have a good day. -The really friendly tall black man in the green jacket who stands outside the metra market. Seriously, he brightened my day so much. Even when he gave me crap about wearing my packer jacket. (sorry, your bears still suck). Was his sole job to greet people? He's fantastic at it. -Reliable transportation. Sure, rail construction and occasional other mishaps cause for delays, but we are always well informed. You can even get email alerts of your line's notifications. Thumbs up. -Cheap. I mean, I don't own a car, so I don't have to pay insurance, gas or parking for it. In my book, I'll pay $90 a month to ride and consider it a good deal. -I get to read. I'll miss that. read more

Friendly conductors, nice folks on board and a decent view from the City. Can't complain.

I have been taking the metra for the last month to get from what I now understand to be the Ravenswood station to the Great Lakes station. After my car broke down, I dislocated my knee roller blading to work, and have since been traveling to the Captain James A. Lovell in a brace and on crutches for treatment. As a Navy veteran, there isn't anywhere within the city I can go. Each time I purchased a ticket from Waukegan to Great Lakes because when I first looked up the directions that is what google maps identified the station as; google told me to take the 81 bus on Lawrence to the Waukegan Metra station on Ravenswood and ride until I got to Great Lakes. These 4 total trips have produced two stories: On my third trip, when I was heading back into the city, I missed my stop and ended up at the end of the line. I told the conductor and he kindly took me to an outbound train and relayed my predicament to its conductor. They let me ride back to my correct station at Ravenswood, and I was so grateful for their assistance! My most recent trip, I was informed that I had purchased the wrong ticket. This surprised me a bit since no one else had told me on any of my previous trips back and forth that I was incorrect. I asked the conductor what I should do, to which he said purchase the correct ticket. I told him that I didn't have the funds to purchase a second ticket ($7.25) since I had already purchased and was using the one I had ($4.25). He told me I can't just ride the train for free, and I asked him again what I should do. He responded the same way. I tried asking him if there was a second ticket I could purchase to cover the $3, but it seems he didn't understand my plea for assistance. He said that he wasn't the one that purchased the wrong ticket, that I can't just ride for free, and barraged me with questions about how I could have made such a mistake making me feel like the biggest idiot in the world. I wasn't trying to ride for free and in fact didn't since I was using the incorrect purchased ticket, however, I did wish to correct my mistake and called customer support on the back of my ventra card. After speaking with a few people, I discovered that Metra doesn't offer refunds, doesn't upgrade/change tickets, and we all know the only thing accepted by the conductors is cash, which I had none. Due to my injury, I've been unable to work, so the money I had on the card is all that I had - I was stuck. Luckily, after the conductor had a second turn at humiliating and degrading me, I was left alone and got off at my stop. I tried not to cry on the trip up North, but ultimately failed and am currently writing this review in the hospital bathroom with blurry eyes. Reviews are supposed to assist a company in what they could do better in the future, so I will end with my suggestions: I recognize and accept the fault of purchasing the wrong ticket, and I understand that it is the conductors job to make sure everyone pays. I also understand that it is my responsibility to ensure that I get off at the correct stop. Please teach your conductors that their job is not limited to the exchange of money, but is also based on the well-being of their passengers. Belittling, lecturing, and mocking passengers regardless of gender, military status, or physical ailments is absolutely unnecessary and inappropriate. There are other options to travel, and such behaviors will loose you business. Lastly, your monetary exchange system is outdated and ineffective for dealing with situations such as the one I described. Update your policies and applications to better serve the people that use your system. I will no longer be taking the Metra, so don't inact change for me - do it for the hundreds of other people who have to put up with this bullshit. read more

I had a similar experience as Madeleine K on the UP-N to OTC. In my case, the conductor wasn't doing his job and he had the gall to essentially blame his mistake on me and yell at me and lecture me for something that was HIS FAULT. The funny part is that these folks rank lower in authority than even mall cops. I could have let it slide, but it happened twice in a week. Same conductor, same BS, different day. I ride the train so I can have a peaceful commute to work. Not so that some idiot can feel powerful in his otherwise insignificant existence. I filed a complaint. I doubt the bureaucracy that they call the METRA will do anything about it. Next time I will probably just tell him off. read more

My 1st Metra ride was on this line. It was worth waking up at 3:30 in the morning for. The only problem I had on the trip to Waukegan to get to Gurnee Mills, was several hood folks who boarded the train, going to the now-hoodified North Chicago to see some relatives. Before the train was scheduled to pull off, one, a woman who looked to be in her late 40s constantly told a young male in his late teens, her son or nephew probably, to shut the fuck up, whenever he made an inquiry about something. I was thinking, hey, this is Metra. Take that mess on the Red or Green Line. It was a neat little ride to Waukegan, and a quiet one too, albeit the presence of the hot-headed woman. Cool seeing the nearby Purple Line stations as the train traveled through Evanston. Neat to see the Chicago Botanical Gardens logo on the Glencoe stop (sigh, I can't wait to go here later this year). Nice to pass Ravinia Park, the venue where many classical music concerts are held (I'm going here this summer too). Nice to see the Great Lakes naval base. This was just so cool! The return trip was nice, although I sat on the platform at Waukegan and made a couple lunchmeat sandwiches and read a book for over 1.5 hours waiting for the next train in to Ogilvie, because I came too early from the Mills and missed the last one. What I found absolutely hilarious on the return trip was the sound the wheels of the train made as it was approaching Ogilvie. If you've ever seen a teacher drag a piece of chalk along a chalkboard in a movie and heard the sound of it, then you'll have an aural vision of what that sounded like, only three times worse. People in the same car as I constantly said "Damn," but I just listened to it and thought, "Whoa." Overall, five stars. Nothing major, nothing out of the ordinary. Just a very nice Metra line, and it became my very first Metra line on my very first day of Metra riding. read more

Have had good experiences on this line. Just wish the good citizens of Wisconsin allowed this line to continue to Milwaukee... too bad that scheduling and passenger flow makes this a "bumble train" that makes all station stops. It seems to take for-(h)-ever to get to North Chicago/Lake Bluff and thereabouts. Good commuter rail is something that people don't seem to appreciate until it's gone. Metra is much better than other cities' options. I hope service can increase. It's relatively cheap. it's easy. and snafus are less likely than they are while driving. it should be a no brainer! go metra! read more

So sometimes I take this home instead of riding the El. It's significantly faster and it's a much nicer ride. I usually buy a 10 punch pass. My stop: Ravenswood to Ogilvy. I like it for the ride home, not so much for the ride to work. By the time it get's to Ravenswood it's pretty crowded. No more seats so I end up standing. I give it a 4 stars instead of a 5 because the few times I have taken it in the morning the train has been late. When it's warm out I don't mind, but when it's cold or raining I am cursing myself for taking the train and not taking the El. So 5 stars for the ride home, 3 stars for the ride to downtown in the morning rush hour. Equals 4 stars. read more

Dirtiest train I have been on in a long time. Mop slop all over the seats on the 5:35 pm train. How do we let them treat the passengers this way!!! Disgusting!!! read more

There was an idle train for about ten minutes. Somebody inside the train (not the conductors) came outside to tell us that this train was in fact heading to the city. We all started walking towards the train since only two carts were open. As we were walking a conductor looks at us rushing, gets in and locks the doors. We start knocking and the train starts moving. This complete bullshit. The conductor should've announced on the platform that this particular train was heading to the city. They should've also waited since they only had TWO carts open. I called to complain. Ridiculous. read more

I was waiting to board #345 at Ogilvy Transportation Center. The conductor was holding the door as a group of people boarded at the last minute. I was the last person on the platform, and as i moved forward to step onboard, he pointed his finger in my face and sneered, "Not you!!" I've ridden this line for years, and this conductor has been a hostile prick for years. I've never spoken to him beyond the usual interaction of having my ticket collected. He's a tall white guy with blue eyes, white hair, a ruddy complexion and horrible acne-scarred and pock-marked skin. When I tried to get information about his name from another trainman standing nearby--Tom was what his nametag displayed--Tom was also rude, and evasive, not offering any information about the train, the trainman, the location of the information office, how one might file a complaint, etc. Finally, a manager in the ticket office helped me, although he never asked for my contact information. I gave him my card and requested a return phone call to inform me of the status of my complaint. He did pass my information on, as I received a phone call about an hour later with information on who would take my complaint up the line. Metra is expensive and the conductors are rude. Apparently they have no comprehension that riders give them jobs. I'd love to see a boycott by everyone who has ever experience this level of nasty behavior... it would be like the Freedom Riders Part II. If not bringing down the Metra like the buses were brought down in the 60's, at least this jerk should be fired and his pension denied. read more