BNSF Railway (Metra)

The BNSF Railway Line is a Metra commuter rail line operated by the BNSF Railway in Chicago and its surrounding suburbs. In 2010, the BNSF Railway Line continued to have the highest weekday ridership (average 64,600) of the 11 Metra lines. (Metra does not refer to its lines by particular colors, but the timetable accents for the BNSF line are "Cascade Green," like the paint of the Burlington Northern Railroad.) In April 2014, the public timetable (published March 11, 2012) showed 47 trains leaving Chicago each weekday, of which 31 run to Aurora. Of the 16 trains that do not reach Aurora, 3 terminate at Westmont, 5 at Route 59, 6 at Fairview Avenue, 1 at Brookfield, and 1 at Downers Grove-Main St.

The east end is Union Station in downtown Chicago. The line traverses Chicago and its western and far western suburbs to Aurora. BNSF Railway operates it under a "purchase of service agreement" with Metra; management and crews are BNSF employees and Metra owns the equipment. The June 2007 timetable shows a 70 mph maximum allowed speed for passenger trains.