{{short description|Commuter rail station in Chicago, Illinois}} {{Use American English|date=February 2025}} {{Use mdy dates|date=February 2025}} {{distinguish|Cermak–McCormick Place station}} {{Infobox station | style = Metra | name = {{Metra header | name=McCormick Place | icon={{ric|Metra|me}}}} | line = University Park Sub District | image = Platform at McCormick Place, looking north (32422047917).jpg | image_caption = McCormick Place station in March&nbsp;2019. | address = 23rd Street, between King Drive & Lake Shore Drive | borough = [[Near South Side, Chicago|Near South Side]], [[Chicago|Chicago, Illinois]] | coordinates = {{coord|41.851598|-87.616160|region:US-IL_type:railwaystation|display=inline,title|format=dms}} | other = | structure = Underground | platform = 1 [[island platform]] | levels = | tracks = 4 | parking = | bicycle = | passengers = 124 (average weekday)<ref name=":0" /> | pass_year = 2018 | pass_percent = 14.8 | pass_rank = 179 out of 236<ref name=":0" /> | pass_system = Metra | opened = | closed = | rebuilt = | electrified = 1926<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1926/08/08/archives/chicago-welcomes-electrified-roads-illinois-central-line-does-away.html|title=CHICAGO WELCOMES ELECTRIFIED ROADS; Illinois Central Line Does Away With Coal-Burners on Its Suburban Trains.|date=1926-08-08|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=2026-02-17}}</ref> | accessible = Yes | code = | owned = Metra | zone = 2 | former = 23rd Street | services = {{Adjacent stations|system1=Metra |line1=Metra Electric|left1=27th Street|right1=18th Street }} | other_services_collapsible = yes | other_services_header = Former services | other_services = {{Adjacent stations|system=Illinois Central Railroad |line=Electric Suburban|left=27th Street|right=18th Street |system2=NICTD |line2=Former|note-mid2={{notetag|Discontinued 2024, except for special events}}|left2=55th–56th–57th Street|right2=Museum Campus/11th Street|to-left2=South Bend Airport|to-right2=Millennium Station |system3=Chicago South Shore and South Bend Railroad|line3=South Shore|left3=53rd Street|right3=Roosevelt Road|to-left3=South Bend|to-right3=Randolph Street}} | mapframe = yes | mapframe-zoom = 15 | mapframe-marker-color = #000 | mapframe-marker = rail | mpassengers = | route_map = {{McCormick Place station}} | map_state = collapsed }} '''McCormick Place station''' is a [[commuter rail]] station in [[Chicago]] underneath [[McCormick Place]], Chicago's main convention center, that serves the [[Metra Electric Line]] north to the [[Millennium Station]] and south to [[University Park, Illinois|University Park]], [[Blue Island, Illinois|Blue Island]], and [[South Chicago, Chicago|South Chicago]]. Since August 2024, [[South Shore Line]] trains, which travel to [[Gary, Indiana|Gary]] and [[South Bend, Indiana]], only stop there in exceptional cases like special events.<ref name="SSL Aug20">{{cite web |title=South Shore Line Schedule Revision - Aug. 20, 2024 |url=https://mysouthshoreline.com/south-shore-line-schedule-revision-aug-20-2024/ |website=South Shore Line |access-date=August 20, 2024 |date=August 15, 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=South Shore Line providing extra trains for Chicago Marathon |url=https://www.wndu.com/2024/10/04/south-shore-line-providing-extra-trains-chicago-marathon/ |access-date=October 19, 2024 |work=WNDU |date=October 4, 2024 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Chicago Marathon McCormick Place Service: October 11-12, 2024 |url=https://mysouthshoreline.com/chicago-marathon-mccormick-place-service-october-11-12-2024/ |website=South Shore Line |access-date=October 19, 2024 |date=October 4, 2024}}</ref>

==Structure== The main entrance to the station is from the Grand Concourse in the South Building of McCormick Place.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.mccormickplace.com/getting-here/public-transportation/|title=Public Transportation|date=May 31, 2018 |publisher=McCormick Place|access-date=December 26, 2019}}</ref> A passageway from the concourse leads to a waiting room,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/jacob-x/46449011985/|title=Entrance to Metra waiting room at McCormick Place|last=G.|first=Jacob|date=March 9, 2019|publisher=Flickr}}</ref> which contains seats and displays showing upcoming arrivals.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/jacob-x/46449011265/|title=Metra waiting room at McCormick Place|last=G.|first=Jacob|date=March 9, 2019|publisher=Flickr}}</ref> The platform is accessed from the waiting room via a single staircase and elevator at the north end.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/jacob-x/46640746584/|title=Entrance to platform at McCormick Place|last=G.|first=Jacob|date=March 9, 2019|publisher=Flickr}}</ref>

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 towards [[Downtown Chicago]] to the north of the station to east of and directly adjacent to the Metra tracks for the remainder of the line to [[University Park station|University Park]].<ref>{{cite AV media|title=Metra Ride Along - Metra Electric District: Outbound|url=https://youtube.com/watch/?v=D1EyL5CdMvw&t=475|date=November 17, 2018|access-date=February 21, 2020|publisher=Metra|time=7:55}}</ref>

==History== 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 the [[Great Chicago Fire]] inflicted significant damage on [[Great 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.<ref name="ic-history">{{cite journal|jstor=1|title=History of Illinois Central Passenger Stations on the Chicago Lake Front|last1=Mottier|first1=Charles H.|journal=The Railway and Locomotive Historical Society Bulletin|issue=43|pages=69–76|date=April 1937}}</ref>

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.<ref name="ic-history" />

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.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.plasticsnews.com/article/19960318/NEWS/303189976/all-aboard-mccormick-place-gets-rail-service|title=ALL ABOARD! MCCORMICK PLACE GETS RAIL SERVICE|date=March 18, 1996|publisher=Plastics News|access-date=February 8, 2020}}</ref>

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.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://metrarail.com/about-metra/newsroom/mccormick-place-station-upgrades-complete|title=McCormick Place Station Upgrades Complete|publisher=Metra|date=November 8, 2017|access-date=December 26, 2019|archive-date=December 26, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191226223440/https://metrarail.com/about-metra/newsroom/mccormick-place-station-upgrades-complete|url-status=dead}}</ref>

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.<ref>{{cite news |title=South Shore Line makes some schedule changes |url=https://www.wndu.com/2024/08/15/south-shore-line-makes-some-schedule-changes/ |access-date=August 20, 2024 |work=WNDU |date=August 15, 2024 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Lurea |first1=Anne |title=Major schedule changes coming to South Shore Line |url=https://wsbt.com/news/local/major-schedule-changes-coming-south-shore-line-commuter-rail-south-bend-chicago-sbn-millenium-station-double-track-schedule-indiana-illinois-transportation |access-date=August 20, 2024 |work=WSBT |date=July 30, 2024 |language=en}}</ref><ref name="SSL Aug20"/>

==Service== 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://metrarail.com/sites/default/files/metra_81797_fm100_university_park_tt_web_2.pdf|title=Metra Electric: Chicago to University Park|publisher=Metra|date=April 23, 2018|access-date=December 26, 2019}}</ref> As of 2018, McCormick Place is the 179th busiest of Metra's 236 non-downtown stations, with an average of 124 weekday boardings.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://metrarail.com/sites/default/files/assets/planning/ridership/2018_summary_results_report_final.pdf|title=Commuter Rail System Station Boarding/Alighting Count: Summary Results Fall 2018|date=April 2019|website=Metra|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190526034459/https://metrarail.com/sites/default/files/assets/planning/ridership/2018_summary_results_report_final.pdf|archive-date=May 26, 2019|url-status=}}</ref>

The South Shore Line stops at McCormick Place for special events only and will not board passengers northbound or discharge passengers southbound.<ref name="SSL Aug20"/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.mysouthshoreline.com/images/ADA-Accessibility-.pdf|title=ADA Accessibility|publisher=Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District|access-date=December 26, 2019|archive-date=September 21, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190921212021/https://www.mysouthshoreline.com/images/ADA-Accessibility-.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Bus connections== '''[[List of Chicago Transit Authority bus routes|CTA bus routes]]''' * {{rint|chicago|bus|3}} King Drive * {{rint|chicago|bus|21}} Cermak<ref>{{cite web|url=https://metrarail.com/maps-schedules/train-lines/ME/stations/MCCORMICK|title=Stations/Parking|publisher=Metra|access-date=December 26, 2019}}</ref>

==Notes== {{notefoot}}

==References== {{reflist}}

== External links == * {{Commons category-inline|McCormick Place train station}} {{Metra web|Metra Electric|MCCORMICK|McCormick Place}} * [http://www.mysouthshoreline.com/tickets/maps-stations South Shore Line - Stations] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170821214735/http://www.mysouthshoreline.com/tickets/maps-stations |date=August 21, 2017 }}

{{Metra stations navbox}} {{South Shore Line navbox}}

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