Evanston Main Street

Evanston Main Street is the southernmost of the three commuter railroad stations in Evanston, Illinois. It is served by Metra's Union Pacific North Line trains, which go south to Ogilvie Transportation Center in Chicago and as far north as Kenosha, Wisconsin. Travel time to Ogilvie is typically 23 minutes, but can be as high as 26 minutes during rush hour. In Metra's zone-based fare system, the station is in zone 2. As of 2018, Evanston Main Street is the 41st busiest of Metra's 236 non-downtown stations, with an average of 1,130 weekday boardings. The station does not contain a ticket agent booth; passengers must purchase their tickets on board the train. As of February 16, 2024, Evanston Main Street is served by 59 trains (30 inbound, 29 outbound) on weekdays, by 24 trains (12 in each direction) on Saturdays, and by all 18 trains (nine in each direction) on Sundays and holidays. During the summer concert season, the extra weekend train to Ravinia Park also stops here. The station is located on Main Street between Chicago Avenue and Custer Avenue, with CTA's Main station immediately to the east. It is one of two Metra stations in Evanston to provide direct transfers to the CTA rail system, the other being the Davis Street station. The neighboring area contains multi-story apartment buildings and the Main Street Station Shopping District. Main Street station also houses a cultural center known as Evanston Arts Depot, which houses the offices of the Custer's Last Stand festival and has performance space for Piccolo Theatre.