McHenry

McHenry is a station on Metra's Union Pacific Northwest Line, located in McHenry, Illinois. The station is the terminus of the McHenry Branch of the Northwest Line; inbound trains operate as far as Ogilvie Transportation Center in Chicago. The station is also the only station on the McHenry Branch after it splits off at Pingree Road, although the line previously extended to Williams Bay, Wisconsin. Proposals exist to expand service on the line by adding stations in Prairie Grove and Johnsburg. It is the fifth furthest Metra Station from Chicago after Harvard, Antioch, Woodstock, and Kenosha, at 50.47 miles (81.22 km). Most Northwest Line trains operate along the Harvard branch to Harvard or Crystal Lake rather than the McHenry Branch. The station only has one track and one platform due to the low number of trains that serve the station. Two storage tracks are used to store two trains during overnight hours as well as weekends and holidays. The station is located at grade level. There is one grade crossing of a road at the station, which is placed under a Federal Railroad Administration horn quiet zone. As of 2018, McHenry is the 198th busiest of the 236 non-downtown stations in the Metra system, with an average of 85 weekday boardings. As of February 16, 2024, McHenry is served by six trains (three in each direction) on weekdays. There is no weekend or holiday service on the McHenry branch.