Fox Lake is a station on Metra's Milwaukee District North Line in Fox Lake, Illinois. The station is located on Nippersink Boulevard at Grand Avenue, is 49.5 miles (79.7 km) away from Chicago Union Station, the southern terminus of the line,[2] and serves commuters from Fox Lake to Downtown Chicago. The station is the northern terminus of the Milwaukee District North Line. As of 2018, Fox Lake is the 141st busiest of Metra's 236 non-downtown stations, with an average of 322 weekday boardings.[1]

Fox Lake
General information
Location22 N Nippersink Boulevard
Fox Lake, Illinois
Coordinates42°23′54″N 88°10′56″W / 42.3984°N 88.1823°W / 42.3984; -88.1823
Owned byVillage of Fox Lake
Line(s)Fox Lake Subdivision
Platforms1 side platform
Tracks3
ConnectionsLocal Transit Pace Buses
Construction
ParkingYes
Bicycle facilitiesYes (Open sheltered bicycle rack)
AccessibleYes
Other information
Fare zone4
History
Opened1902
Rebuilt2001
Passengers
2018322 (average weekday)[1]Decrease 9.6%
Rank141 out of 236[1]
Services
Preceding station Metra Following station
Terminus Milwaukee District North Ingleside
Former services
Preceding station Milwaukee Road Following station
Spring Grove
towards Madison
Madison – Rondout Ingleside
towards Rondout
Spring Grove
towards Walworth
Suburban Service Ingleside
towards Chicago
Location
Map

As of February 15, 2024, Fox Lake is served by 32 trains (16 in each direction) on weekdays, by 18 trains (nine in each direction) on Saturdays, and by all 18 trains (nine in each direction) on Sundays and holidays. All Metra trains that serve Fox Lake originate and terminate here.

Until 1982 commuter trains continued to Walworth, Wisconsin and until the creation of Amtrak in 1971, inter-city trains like the Varsity and the Sioux, both operated by the Milwaukee Road, connected Fox Lake with Janesville, Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin, and Rapid City, South Dakota.

Station layout

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Fox Lake consists of a single platform serving in-service Metra trains. Two other tracks exist at the station, but they are only used for locomotives that pull out of the yard to switch onto the mainline. A coach yard used to store trains during off-peak hours and overnight is located just east of the station. The tracks north of Fox Lake are owned by the state of Wisconsin, are operated for freight service by the Wisconsin and Southern Railroad, and see freight traffic only. Also, commuter service beyond the station was abolished in the 1980s. From 2000 to 2001, Amtrak ran the Lake Country Limited over the WSOR trackage. This service did not stop in Fox Lake and was discontinued due to low ridership and bad conditions of the tracks north of Fox Lake.

Bus connections

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Pace

  • 570 Fox Lake-CLC
  • 806 Crystal Lake-Fox Lake

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Commuter Rail System Station Boarding/Alighting Count: Summary Results Fall 2018" (PDF). Metra. April 2019. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 May 2019.
  2. ^ "Metra Railfan Tips - Milwaukee District/North Line". Archived from the original on 2010-01-29. Retrieved 2009-12-01.
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