Riding Metra to downtown Chicago has many advantages over driving: 1. Spaces for Day Parking $2 until 2359 hrs. 2. Buy parking pass via ATM. 3. Rte 59 station has bathrooms, ATM, bus card machine, soda, snacks, coffee shop, dry cleaner, and a live person behind bulletproof glass. 4. Bathrooms are relatively clean and have toilet paper - and are free to use. 2018 cost for a round trip ticket to Union Station is $16. Damn, that's high - but still less than parking downtown. But the best part about riding the train is the gentle rocking motion that puts me right to sleep. Don't worry about missing your stop. All you have to do is ask the conductor to wake you and they usually do. read more

This train station is by far the most crowded on the BNSF. Good thing there are a lot of express trains to and from Chicago with little to no stops in between. The parking lots are meh, it can really get clustered during rush hour. Also, being as crowded as this place is, I really wish they would cover where you wait, for those rainy and snowy days. read more

Metra Train Station - Route 59 - Public Transportation Near Me - Aurora, Illinois

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So call me crazy, but my experience with the Route 59 train station usually involves me being frazzled, frustrated, and slightly out of breath. Okay, so some of this is my own fault (for always running late), but I've never had an overly stellar experience here. With this review I hope to provide some tricks and tips I've learned along the way to help make your commuter experience more enjoyable! -- Commuting into the city during the week? If you want to snag a daily park spot, follow these guidelines: 7:32 a.m. train or earlier = no problem parking 7:52 a.m. train = you're taking a gamble but still possible 8:16 a.m. train = forget it. No daily spots available. -- Daily parking is $2, so bring cash. Also maybe carry some back-up change because it's happened to me more than once where the meter I'm using isn't accepting dollar bills for whatever reason. -- During the week they have a little shop below the Metra station office. Pop in for some coffee, breakfast or a snack for your morning commute! There's also a dry cleaners located here, which I would assume might make some people's lives a lot more convenient. -- 7:32 am train during the week is an express train into the city and it's glorious. Straight shot into union after Naperville and it's not packed so you can probably snag your own seat! -- Weekend parking is FREE. Total plus. Traveling into the city on a weekend is easy-peasy. -- Depending where you're coming from, AVOID taking Route 59 to get to the station. CONSTRUCTION, CONSTRUCTION, CONSTRUCTION. Always. -- There's a waiting list for a monthly parking pass, but it's not as bad as the Naperville Train Station. read more

Metra Train Station - Route 59 - Public Transportation Near Me - Aurora, Illinois

Overall, this station runs well and trains are usually on time. There are many express trains that get you into the city. However, the design of the parking lot drives me crazy-there are only two entrances and exists on the Aurora side, which means the exit can really get backed up during rush hour. Like a prior reviewer stated, if you're planning on taking the 8:16 express train (which is the last express train into the city), you will not find parking. However, parking should be available for any train that arrives to the station 7:52 and earlier. Luckily, there are many express trains going from Route 59 to Chicago with only stop in Naperville. To get into Union Station within 40-45 minutes is pretty remarkable considering Route 59 is a whopping 31 miles away from Union! After the train gets into the station, the conductors usually wait for 3-5 minutes because it takes a while for passengers to board, especially in the cars towards the front of the train. I do take advantage of that considering I'm always pulling into the station right around the time the train also pulls into the station :P Exiting the train station is really problematic, especially during rush hour. There are only two exists on the Aurora side. If you take the train that leaves Union at 5:22 and arrives at route 59 at 6:03, you may not leave the train station until after 6:20. The cars back up and the two exits get really backed up. Also, depending on where you park, there are completely different methods of payment accepted. The parking lot on the north side of tracks is in Naperville and the parking lot on the south side is in Aurora. These parking lots are not connected, so you cant get from one parking lot to the other by car. Its really confusing because they are managed by the city in which the lot is located in and consequently, have completely different systems for payment. I prefer the Aurora side, its easier to get to and you pay using your license plate number, and I pay for the whole week on the Parkmobile app (which the Naperville side does not use). On the Naperville side, you pay by your parking spot, which can and does change day by day, so its impractical to pay for parking for the whole week, since you most likely wont have the same spot for the whole week. The train ride itself is very comfortable and a nice way to relax before the work day. Fellow passengers are quiet and courteous. read more

When I don't drive into work, I bike to this station. First, the parking lot needs a traffic director dring rush hour. Cars are often flying by, not really looking out for pedestrians or bikes. Second, the bike rack isn't covered. For the amount of people that actually use the rack, it could be a nicer set-up. Third, more often than not, one ticket agent is open in the busy mornings...of two possible windows. Forth, don't drink the water from the fountain. Pack with that in mind. Fifth, the bathrooms. For one of the busiest Metra stations on the entire line, you'd think they'd have a few. And they're dark and the toilets usually don't flush. Overall, this station is due for some MAJOR improvements. Take a clue, Metra. I was kind and didn't mention the excessive late trains... that's more than likely a CN train problem anyway. read more

I spent my last two years of college taking the train downtown from the Route 59 stop. My mom would drop me off, usually after I'd get off of work at 4:00 p.m., or for a super early 7:00 a.m. train on a Saturday, and I was always sucking the life out of every last minute to have my mom drive at NASCAR speed down the winding, industrial park roads that lead to the Route 59 train station. Not much has changed. 7:30 a.m. We were planning to get on an early train on Saturday morning. This will give us all day to do all of the super fun things I had on my itinerary for the day, starting with getting to the Sears Tower Skydeck just before opening. COUGH HACK COUGH. I turn off the alarm clock and declare we will take the 11:28 a.m. train instead. I'm still sick and doing the self-guided architectural tour I had planned was no longer an attractive idea. We plan to leave the house at 10:50 a.m. 10:45 a.m. I'm still doing my hair, discover I am out of hairspray, and proceed to have an embarrassing hissy fit over this. 10:50 a.m. I yell to my husband, "we're taking the 2:28 train now!" He walks the dog. I manage to style my hair with a mini bottle of some crappy, sticky, cheap hairspray that I found in our linen closet, take a deep breath, and take my sweet time putting on my make-up since I have tons of time now. 12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m. I sigh loudly a few times because I'm bored. I declare that I'm ready to go when he is, and maybe we should hang out at Starbucks for awhile. 1:30 p.m. Arrive at Starbucks on Route 59 at 95th Street, a good 20 minutes from the station. Order chocolate chai. We both complain about work. I'm a chronic time-checker, but for some reason I didn't have the urge to do it. Meanwhile, my husband is texting friends and checking his fantasy football line-up, on his phone, which has a clock... 2:10 p.m. My husband announces the time. I grab my shit and flee to the car. 2:20 p.m. We have 8 minutes and everyone is out shopping today among the congested, construction laden, Route 59/Aurora Avenue corridor. 2:25 p.m. My husband drives recklessly through the Best Buy parking lot, cruises across the Meijer lot and onto Liberty Street. 2:27 p.m. We pull into the mostly empty parking lot and park. 2:28 p.m. Train pulls into the station. We have ZERO time to pay for parking. I jump out of the car and, without looking behind me, start running for the train. My husband follows. I figured that he runs faster than me, so he's totally going to bypass me. We got on the train, got a few dirty looks from the conductor, and after about 5 minutes I could breathe normally again. We took the risk of not paying for parking knowing that a ticket would be about the same as if we had paid for parking downtown. Worth the risk. Sometime after 11:00 p.m., we pull back into the Route 59 station from downtown and cross our fingers that there isn't a ticket on the car. Walking past the pay boxes, I see a sign that states, "FREE PARKING AFTER 5:00 P.M. AND ON WEEKENDS." Lessons to be learned at Route 59: *You CAN make it here when in a rush *Plenty of parking on the weekends *Parking is extremely limited on weekday mornings, with something like a 5-year waiting list for a parking pass *Seats are always available on inbound trains, since this is the second stop on the route. read more

If you haven't been to this station in a while, it recently had a complete upgrade in the parking lot and drop off areas. You can't always pick your station, so we're kind of stuck with this one. It's much better now than it was before, but I've seen better ones. read more

I agree with the previous poster about the speakers being so inaudible you can't hear what they say and having to walk forever to cross the tracks. That's kind of irritating. However, my coworkers scared me into thinking I'd never get a spot, I'd have to be at the train station during the 6am hour just to park, etc. Not at all. We take the 7:17 train and there are TONS of spaces, even numbered spaces in the closest lot on the Naperville side. So, yeah, parking hasn't been an issue at all. I like how the people are quiet for the most part in the morning and same with the afternoon. The conductors are all nice and for the most part, we get to where we're going without a hitch. It sure beats the CTA! read more

The Route 59 station is definitely one of the most popular stops on the BNSF railway. As with most Metra stations, a stranger may find it difficult to use this wonderful service. You don't know which train (Chicago or Aurora) will be arriving and when. The signage is barely helpful. Parking is pretty much impossible after 8am. The reserved parking waiting list is 5 years long, according to the offices I spoke to on my quest to acquire one of these precious passes. One time I missed a train, drove around for an hour, and parked on the side that I was originally supposed to board. And I missed my train again! I needed to use a sick day! I was livid. So you might miss your train if you are on the wrong side of the tracks. You must walk a distance of about 2-3 blocks just to take the underground tunnel to the other side. The small megaphone-style speakers aren't loud enough to hear the announcements unless you are in the station's very small "sweet spot." Pace service to Route 59 is spotty during non-rush hours, but pretty decent during rush periods. On the bright side, the regular guy in the ticket booth brightens my mornings. He's so cheerful and informative. And there are several seating areas (2 buildings, a few covered benches) on each side of the tracks, which is pretty good compared to some other stations. read more

Thanks for being relatively close to my friends' home. I don't come out to Aurora often, but it's nice to know it's a quick to and from for planning purposes. PS: The address is wrong above. See http://metrarail.com/metra/en/home/maps_schedules/metra_system_map/bnsf/station.ROUTE59.html read more

Worst train station, we arrived at the station 20 minutes early looking to head to Chicago and the ticket window was uninformed that the train would be arriving on the tracks opposite of the ticket booth. We were left waiting another hour for the next train. This is not a one time occurrence either I've had too many issues with this station. Also the tunnel that you have to walk through when returning from the city is always leaking, and dimly lit. It feels very unsafe and I'm always terrified I will be mugged there. read more

very nice train station. Very clean and the parking lot is well maintained too. I luckily didn't have to purchase tickets inside, but the building is nice, and the people seemed friendly, at least from a distance. read more

This one of the largest stop on the BNSF line, please explain to me why there's only one window open at the beginning of the month? It's bad enough we pay $199, but waiting in ridiculous long lines is unacceptable. Metra put a vending machine at this location or open an additional window. You need to work on a more effective plan other than late trains and long lines.... read more

This facility is really poorly maintained considering the fact that that we pay such high taxes to live here.

I took Metra for an appointment downtown Chicago from the Route 59 station. The ticket agent was helpful and the agents at Union station were able to direct me to the correct locations. The trip was very easy and stress free. read more

This Metra station is farther away than the Naperville Metra station. I usually stop by this one only because I went past Naperville stop. This however is the last stop, so you don't have to worry about going past further. read more

My boyfriend and I purchased tickets one day for the BSNF line from Route 59 to Union Station on Friday, August 18th. We went to purchase our tickets from the ticket agent and noticed they had a military discount. My boyfriend is active duty so he presented his military ID & he was able to purchase both of our round trip tickets at a reduced rate, it was perfect. The following Monday, August 21st we needed to take the train again from Route 59 to Union Station. There was no ticket agent on duty and we had no cash so I downloaded the Ventra app so we could purchase our tickets with a debit card. My boyfriend selected the reduced military ticket knowing that he would need to present his ID when the conductor came through to check tickets. When the conductor, Thomas F, came he all of a sudden was rude the second he saw we selected a reduced rate. He said "I need your high school ID's if you want the reduced rate". My boyfriend said "We are not in high school" and the train conductor said "well then you can't get the reduced rate" My boyfriend then explained that he is in the military and showed his ID and the train conductor looked at me and told me that I don't get the discount because I don't have a military ID to show, even though my boyfriend was the one purchasing the tickets. We then explained to the conductor that we just took the train on Friday and this is exactly how we purchased the tickets. The conductor Thomas F was extremely rude about the entire situation and we had to end up purchasing three tickets when we only needed two. Thomas F was very rude, unprofessional, and not helpful in trying to explain the problem to us. It makes me even more mad that I take this train four times a week for school and have never experienced any problems until now. It's sad that a person who is active duty in the military got so talked down to and treated with absolutely no respect when he was showing nothing but respect to the Conductor. read more

When going to work taking this train in bad weather it is almost always late. The people on the train are mostly rude and if you go after 9:00 a.m. forget about finding a parking space. The price is going up and the service is going down. read more

Clean station with a huge parking lot. Easy access through route 59 which is a big street. Also, route 59 has a lot of good restaurants and stores. Route 59 is a major road in the western suburbs. read more