Ravenswood Metra Union Pacific North Station

Hi like to post this message because joyce walker is an exceptional piano player specially around holiday time. i wish I can attend where ever she performs her music.

Does anyone besides me think this station seems extremely dangerous with the extremely long — and what I presume is also sound-​proof — tunnels? I suppose they’d be ok if you’re with a crowd during rush hour. But getting off the train after rush with no one around? That seems extremely scary to me.
And where is all the inside seating? All I saw was 2 or 3 benches inside — the rest is a 2-​block long shed.
Sorry my tax dollars couldn’t have been put to more efficient use.

Worst train station ever. All the signs point you in the wrong direction. And apparently, all the stores near by close at ten.

This review is for the station in October 2014, while it is under construction. First of all, there is no communication to the riders when the new station will open. Construction seems to be halted and its my understanding it should have been completed a year ago. Northbound passengers must stand on a narrow strip of concrete with no slip grips and no rail, while express trains rush by. This is unsafe! Also, there are very few signs saying which side of the tracks you should stand on. The southbound side (east platform) is not much better. The sidewalk below under the bridge does not have enough room to accommodate all passengers entering and leaving the station plus the traffic from Marianos. The new train station looks nice, why can’t they open it? If you can use another station, due so!

Well, I admit, I’ve only been to this station once, and it was when it was under construction (currently), but having traveled on the Metra hundreds of times (literally), I found this station to be somewhat confusing and the signage isn’t visible until you’re right on top of it (unfortunately, this caused me to have to go to the completely opposite side from what I thought and turned into a crosswalk mess.
The announcement only came through for the train headed the other way, so, when my train came, those with their heads buried in phones or books were surprised, causing a mess when the train let out as folks were waiting on both sides of the walkways, tons of folks were getting out of the train, and the platform isn’t really big enough to support.
I can only hope the new station fixes these issues, but I’ve been to a number of other, more customer friendly stations.

Metra is so easy to take and typically on time. I’m glad they remodeled this station and I also hope there are diagonal parking like before the project. There was also a ton of spots in the Sears parking lot that are no longer available. This is a very busy stop and very close to downtown and easy way to go to Ravinia. I’m glad it will be handicap accessible now and looking forward to the new design. Mariano’s is a beautiful store and this location is very busy.

Granted, this is just the place I catch the train in the morning to go to work, but come on, Metra. This is a sad state of affairs. Since I moved to the area, the station has been under construction. Maybe sometime in the future it’ll be more than a slab of concrete with a place to hide from the rain/​snow/​cold/​general unpleasant weather, and maybe they’ll even put in a bench or two, but as it is now, I might as well just sit on the track and wait for the train.
Some of you may argue that there is a bench on the side of the tracks going north. I’m sorry, but I’m not about to hustle to the train station to sit on this garbage covered bench that’s usually already taken by like ten people. The glass is all gross and dirty. I feel like I’m just sitting in there waiting for a serial killer to pop in and put me out of my misery.
So I walk down the platform and find a nice place to hang out while I wait. The one nice thing about this station is that when you lean against the fence blocking off the construction you can get a nice trampoline bouncing thing going. It passes the time.

After riding Milwaukee West line today to run an errand I am really glad I ride UPN regularly instead. There is nothing quite like the 12 minute express train ride home even if it has gotten crowded over the years. I can’t wait for the new station to be completed.

Make it sure to listen every announcement they make via p.a. system.
.platform always changes. especially north bound.

The Ravenswood station is the busiest of stations on Metra’s Union Pacific (formerly the Chicago & Northwestern railroad) North Line. It’s a bare-​bones station with modest shelter from the elements, but trains mostly are on schedule. Access to the #81 Lawrence bus is right at Lawrence and Ravenswood Avenues. The #145 and #148 (peak express) bus routes for service to Uptown, East Lakeview, North Michigan Avenue and the Loop can be found at Wilson and Ravenswood Avenues.
Trains on this line (along with other former C&NW lines) run in reverse direction (much like the English style of driving), so beware that when boarding a train to the northern suburbs, you’ll need to be on the WEST platform. Oh yeah, and watch out for the express trains; they’ll pass you by at a good 60mph!

Not much of a station to review. The old platform heading into the city now boards north of Lawrence and appears to be a rickety wooden structure. Should be interesting to see if it makes it through the winter.
The area is supposed to undergo some drastic changes but with Metra putting their projects on hold only time will tell.

While the station is far from being in great condition (look at the image and you’ll see), it is a straight shot to the far northern suburbs like Evanston, Lake Forest, Great Lakes/​Fort Sheridan bases, Waukegan or Kenosha, Wisconsin. You’ll get a glance at basically all the rich and poor north shore suburbs and those stuck in between. It also takes you to Ravinia Park for wonderful spring/​summer concerts where you can drink and dance your heart out on the lawn, with an easy stumbling distance to the train station.
The station was originally located off Wilson Street but was relocated to its current location above Lawrence Ave. Supposedly it is the busiest station on the Union North Metra line. This station consists of the two common To and From Chicago platforms and does not contain a ticket agent booth (in other words you pay on the train).
Not to share my secret with the world, but if you get on in the first car, you can sometimes sneak a free ride northbound during busy hours. Shhhh.
Keep a schedule with you because many express trains skip this station during rush hours and throughout the day. Also know that this train ends in the Ogilvie Transportation Center downtown and not Union Station. Just a better reason to visit the Chicago French Market.
There is free parking along Ravenswood and in the Sears Parking lot off Lawrence Ave. However, Ravenswood Station lofts and businesses is supposed to be coming in the near future where the Sears lot exists, but they’ll have a parking garage inside (most likely for pay).