EvanstonDavis Street, also called simply Evanston, is a commuter railroad station in downtown Evanston, Illinois, United States. It is served only by Metra's Union Pacific/North Line with trains going south to Ogilvie Transportation Center in Chicago and as far north as Kenosha, Wisconsin. In Metra's zone-based fare system, Davis Street is in zone C. The station is next to the Davis station of the Chicago Transit Authority's Purple Line, where CTA and Pace buses terminate. Between the two stations is 909 Davis Street, a six-story building, with a kiss-and-ride loop for car drop-off. Davis Street station, at Davis Street and Maple Avenue, has two elevated platforms. Northbound trains stop at the west platform and southbound trains stop at the east platform. The ticket agent's office is on the east platform. At ground level, there is a restaurant called Chef's Station. Just to the east of the Davis CTA station is the 12-story Sherman Avenue Garage. This is the closest Metra station to most of the buildings on Northwestern University's Evanston campus, with the notable exception of Ryan Field, which is closer to the Central Street station. As of 2018, Evanston Davis Street is the 12th busiest of Metra's 236 non-downtown stations, with an average of 1,876 weekday boardings.
History
When the Chicago & Milwaukee railroad, the predecessor of the Chicago and North Western Railway was built, there was only a single track. The stations were placed on the North side of tracks on the other C&NW West line, the original Chicago and Galena Union line. The station buildings were built on the side for inbound Chicago passengers. The Davis Street station was the only stop in Evanston for intercity Chicago and North Western Railway trains, such as the Twin Cities 400. The Union Pacific bought the assets of the C&NW.
Transportation
The Davis Street Metra station is only steps west of the CTA station and, together with that station, forms a transportation center allowing easy transfer from one station to the other, there is also a pedestrian walkway. Rail CTA Purple Line
