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Union Pacific West Line

The Union Pacific West Line (UP-W) is a Metra commuter rail line operated by Union Pacific Railroad in Chicago, Illinois and its western suburbs. Metra does not refer to its lines by particular colors, but the timetable accents for the Union Pacific West line are "Kate Shelley Rose" pink, honoring an Iowa woman who saved a Chicago & North Western Railway train from disaster in 1881. Green and yellow were already selected for the Union Pacific North Line and Union Pacific Northwest Line, respectively, so pink was chosen for this line. Therefore, the UP-W is the only Metra line that uses a color to honor a person instead of a fallen flag railroad. Until the late 1940s the line had a branch to Freeport, Illinois. It diverged from the main line at West Chicago and had stations at Elgin, Marengo, Belvidere, Rockford, Freeport, and other communities. The line was once known as the Chicago & Northwestern/West Line until UP took over the C&NW in 1995. All Metra trains on this line terminated at Geneva until 2006, when the line was extended to Elburn, its present terminus. The line runs as part of the Union Pacific Railroad's Geneva Subdivision.

Ridership
Since 2014 annual ridership has declined from 8,423,188 to 7,883,185, an overall decline of 6.4%. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, ridership dropped to 1,945,886 passengers in 2020 and to 1,486,536 passengers in 2021. The line's 4,037,778 riders in 2025 made it the fourth busiest Metra line. == Station stops ==
Station stops
Freeport Branch This branch line ran from West Chicago to Freeport, Illinois. Service was discontinued in the late 1940s. Metra is planning to revive service from Big Timber Road to Rockford on this line, stopping in Huntley and Belvidere, but there are no plans to restore passenger service south of Elgin. == References ==
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