Watch your step while exiting at La Grange ROad

La Grange Road, my home away from home. I regularly make trips to and from downtown La Grange, so I use this station as the starting point for most of my journeys into Chicago. Being my favorite station on the Metra system (I’m definitely not biased), it just feels right for La Grange Road to be one of my very first station reviews.

Statistics & Connections

La Grange Road is on the BNSF line, which is owned and operated by BNSF, and is the busiest of Metra’s 11 lines. It is also served by Amtrak’s Carl Sandburg and Illinois Zephyr services to Quincy, IL. Located 13.8 miles away from Chicago Union Station, it is in Zone 3 of Metra’s zone based fare system. A full fare from here to CUS is $5.50, but I always recommend regular transit users to buy 30 day passes or annual passes to cut the cost down over many trips.

As of December 2025, La Grange Road is served by 65 trains on weekdays, 33 inbound and 32 outbound trains. On weekends, it’s served by 36 trains, 18 per direction. The service on the BNSF line is nothing short of superb, with a myriad of trains both local and express. A express trip to Chicago only takes about 25 minutes, making it a viable option compared to taking the Stevenson or Eisenhower. For this reason, La Grange Road is the 23rd most used station on the Metra system, with a total of 1,452 weekday boardings.

La Grange Road offers connections to Pace’s 330, 331, and 302 buses. The 330 runs daily between Harlem/Archer and O’hare, providing a convenient connection between the station and the airport. 302 runs on weekdays and Saturdays, and 331 only runs on weekdays. They run from La Grange Road to Cicero/Cermak and the Cumberland CTA station respectively. While I’m unsure if the Pace and Metra schedules align for seamless connections, I wouldn’t expect anything greater than a 20 minute connection between the BNSF and 330 bus.

Amenities & Surroundings

From the Noodle’s & Company across Burlington Ave, to the movie theater just down La Grange Road, there is no shortage of things to do in Downtown La Grange. The station bearing the same name is in a prime location, just a short walk from anywhere you’d want to go.

As for the amenities at the station, the station has everything you could ask for: a nice station house with comfortable seating, bike parking galore, and bathrooms for public use. The station house even has a small cafe inside, but for now it appears abandoned. I believe there are plans to bring it back to life, but for now it remains barren.

Both platforms have plenty of benches, canopies, and tree cover. The outbound platform does not have an enclosed shelter, however it does have canopied benches as well as a pick up and drop off zone off of Hillgrove Ave. Ticket machines can be found on the inbound platform. With La Grange being a street level station, all facilities are fully accessible. La Grange Road has everything you would ever need from a train station and more.

Closing THoughts

A review of La Grange Road would be incomplete without mentioning the incredible trainspotting opportunities this station provides. The “BNSF Racetrack”, as it’s lovingly known by railfans, is an incredibly high frequency line for both freight and passenger trains due to its triple track alignment. No place is better to catch a scenic shot of a train rolling by than La Grange Road.

When asking for regional rail service in Chicago, you can’t get better than the BNSF line. Providing fast, frequent service to Union Station is its specialty. Combine that with a clean, safe station in the heart of a bustling Chicago suburb, and you get a transit hub that deserves nothing but the highest of praise. A few parking lots on the east side of La Grange are a bit disappointing, but they barely impact the walkability and vibes of the station. La Grange exemplifies everything a transit station should do, and for that I give it an exemplary score of:

9.5/10

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