Metra, UP to close Evanston ticket office

Metra yesterday announced that on Oct. 31, Union Pacific Railroad will close the on-site ticket office at the Evanston Central Street Station in Evanston, Illinois, due to declining on-site sales.

Located on the UP North Line, the station sold an average of 940 tickets per month this year. The station sells the fewest tickets of all of UP’s ticket agent-staffed locations, Metra officials said in a press release.

After Oct. 31, riders boarding trains at Evanston Central Street can use cash to purchase a one-way ticket from a conductor or via the Ventra mobile application. 

About 47 percent of Metra riders now buy tickets via the Ventra app. Ticket sales have declined at many Metra stations as passengers make the switch to mobile purchasing, Metra officials said. 

Previously, on-site ticket sales were eliminated at the Clarendon Hills, Riverside, Brookfield and Stone Avenue stations on the BNSF Line; the Mokena, 111th Street/Morgan Park, 91st, 95th, 99th Street and 103rd Street/Beverly Hills stations on the Rock Island Line; the Bensenville and Franklin Park stations on the Milwaukee District West Line; the 57th Street Station on the Metra Electric Line; the Winnetka, Glencoe, Hubbard Woods, Kenilworth and Lake Bluff stations on the UP North Line; the Harvard Station on the UP Northwest Line; and the Oak Park Station on the UP West Line.