McCormick Place
McCormick Place station in March 2019.
General information
Location	23rd Street, between King Drive & Lake Shore Drive Near South Side,Chicago, Illinois
Coordinates	41°51′06″N87°36′58″W / 41.851598°N 87.616160°W /41.851598; -87.616160
Owned by	Metra
Line	University Park Sub District
Platforms	1island platform
Tracks	4
Construction
Structure type	Underground
Accessible	Yes
Other information
Fare zone	2
History
Electrified	Overhead line, 1,500 V DC
Previous names	23rd Street
Passengers
2018	124 (average weekday)[1]  14.8% (Metra)
Rank	179 out of 236[1]
Services
Preceding station Metra Following station 27th Street towardUniversity Park,South Chicago orBlue Island Metra Electric 18th Street towardMillennium Station
Former services Preceding station Illinois Central Railroad Following station 27th Street towardRichton,91st Street orBlue Island Electric Suburban 18th Street towardRandolph Street Preceding station NICTD Following station 55th–56th–57th Street towardSouth Bend Airport South Shore Line [note 1] Museum Campus/​11th Street towardMillennium Station Preceding station Chicago South Shore and South Bend Railroad Following station Roosevelt Road towardRandolph Street South Shore Line 53rd Street towardSouth Bend
Track layout Legend Amtrak west toUnion Station Metra Electric District north toMillennium Station McCormick Place Metra Electric District south toUniversity Park, Amtrak south toCarbondale Blue Island, or South Chicago orNew Orleans This diagram: view talk edit
Location

McCormick Place station is acommuter rail station inChicago underneathMcCormick Place, Chicago's main convention center, that serves theMetra Electric Line north to theMillennium Station and south toUniversity Park,Blue Island, andSouth Chicago. Since August 2024,South Shore Line trains, which travel toGary andSouth Bend, Indiana, only stop there in exceptional cases like special events.^[2][3][4]

The main entrance to the station is from the Grand Concourse in the South Building of McCormick Place.^[5] A passageway from the concourse leads to a waiting room,^[6] which contains seats and displays showing upcoming arrivals.^[7] The platform is accessed from the waiting room via a single staircase and elevator at the north end.^[8]

Immediately north of the station, still underneath McCormick Place, the adjacent freight tracks cross over the Metra mainline, switching from running west of the Metra tracks and diverging towardsDowntown Chicago to the north of the station to east of and directly adjacent to the Metra tracks for the remainder of the line toUniversity Park.^[9]

The original station in this vicinity opened in 1868 at 22nd Street, originally consisting of a wooden station building and serving both suburban trains as well as long distance passenger trains. This station served as a temporary terminal for the Illinois Central and Michigan Central railroads after theGreat Chicago Fire inflicted significant damage onGreat Central Station, rendering it unsuitable as the line's primary terminal. In 1880, the wooden station building was replaced with a brick building. In 1907, long-distance trains ceased stopping there, leaving only suburban trains.^[10]

In 1926, the original station at 22nd Street was closed and a new station was opened as its replacement at 23rd Street in conjunction with the Illinois Central Railroad's electrification program.^[10]

When McCormick Place was expanded in 1996, the South Building was built over the existing 23rd Street station, which was then reconfigured to serve the expanded convention center. This reconfiguration was accompanied by replacing an outdated wooden platform with a newer concrete platform.^[11]

In 2017, a series of upgrades were performed on the station. These upgrades included mural paintings, digital signage and audio announcements, better lighting, and better signage. Additionally, Metra is investigating the possibility of adding a crossover track to the south of the station to allow more trains to access the platform from the outer tracks.^[12]

Beginning on August 20, 2024, South Shore Line trains no longer stop at McCormick Place station on weekends, ending regular service at the station. However, certain trains occasionally stop at this station to serve special events in the convention center.^[13][14][2]

Select Metra Electric District trains stop at McCormick Place on weekdays, while most trains stop on weekends. All three branches have trains stopping at McCormick Place.^[15] As of 2018, McCormick Place is the 179th busiest of Metra's 236 non-downtown stations, with an average of 124 weekday boardings.^[1]

The South Shore Line stops at McCormick Place for special events only and will not board passengers northbound or discharge passengers southbound.^[2][16]

CTA bus routes

• 3 King Drive
• 21 Cermak^[17]

• Media related toMcCormick Place train station at Wikimedia Commons
• Metra – Stations – McCormick Place
• South Shore Line - StationsArchived August 21, 2017, at theWayback Machine

• Former Illinois Central Railroad stations
• Metra stations in Chicago
• South Shore Line stations in Illinois
• McCormick Place
• Railway stations in the United States opened in 1868
• Railway stations in the United States opened in 1996
• Railway stations located underground in Illinois
• Underground commuter rail

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