The Aurora Transportation Center is a station on Metra

Metra

Metra is the commuter rail division of the Illinois Regional Transportation Authority. The system serves Chicago and its metropolitan area through 240 stations on 11 different rail lines. Throughout the 21st century, Metra has been the second busiest commuter rail system in the United States by...

's BNSF Railway Line

BNSF Railway Line

The BNSF Railway Line is a commuter rail line in the United States, provided by Metra and operated by the BNSF Railway in Chicago and its surrounding suburbs...

 in Aurora, Illinois

Aurora, Illinois

Aurora is the second most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois, and the 112th largest city in the United States. A suburb of Chicago, located west of the Loop, its population in 2010 was 197,899. Originally founded within Kane County, Aurora's city limits have expanded greatly over the past...

. The station is 38.4 miles (61.8 km) from Union Station

Union Station (Chicago)

Union Station is a major train station that opened in 1925 in Chicago, replacing an earlier 1881 station. It is now the only intercity rail terminal in Chicago, as well as being the city's primary terminal for commuter trains. The station stands on the west side of the Chicago River between Adams...

, the east end of the line. In Metra's zone-based fare system, Aurora is in zone H. There is a staffed station building.

Aurora is the west end of the BNSF Railway Line and is served by numerous Pace

Pace (transit)

Pace is the suburban bus division of the Regional Transportation Authority in the Chicago metropolitan area. It was created in 1983 by the RTA Act, which established the formula that provides funding to CTA, Metra and Pace. In 2010, Pace had 35.077 million riders. Pace's headquarters are in...

 bus routes. It also serves as a Greyhound

Greyhound Lines

Greyhound Lines, Inc., based in Dallas, Texas, is an intercity common carrier of passengers by bus serving over 3,700 destinations in the United States, Canada and Mexico, operating under the well-known logo of a leaping greyhound. It was founded in Hibbing, Minnesota, USA, in 1914 and...

 bus stop, but Amtrak

Amtrak

The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak , is a government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971, to provide intercity passenger train service in the United States. "Amtrak" is a portmanteau of the words "America" and "track". It is headquartered at Union...

 trains do not stop.

The station replaced the former Aurora Train Station, at the corners of South Broadway and Washington Street (see picture below). That station was smaller with considerably less parking area, but Amtrak trains as well as Metra trains stopped here. The station opened in the early 1900s and closed in the mid-1980s. The building is considered by many an architectural landmark, but also an example of urban blight in Aurora.

Aurora is a stub-track terminal, which means the Metra tracks actually stop here. Amtrak and BNSF freights use the two tracks east of the station.

Bus connections

Pace

Pace (transit)

Pace is the suburban bus division of the Regional Transportation Authority in the Chicago metropolitan area. It was created in 1983 by the RTA Act, which established the formula that provides funding to CTA, Metra and Pace. In 2010, Pace had 35.077 million riders. Pace's headquarters are in...