Evanston Central Street Station Ticket Office To Close

EVANSTON, IL — The Central Street station on the Union Pacific North Line will close at the end of the month, Metra announced Wednesday.

The station serves about 1,300 customers every weekday, according to Metra. So far this year, the ticket office has sold an average of just 940 tickets every month — the fewest of any of Union Pacific's locations staffed by ticket agents.

Starting Oct. 31, customers boarding at Central Street will be able to buy one-way tickets from a conductor on board the train at no extra cost.

Tickets will continue to be sold in Evanston at the Davis Street station, as well as from agents and vending machines at each of the stations in downtown Chicago.

The Central Street station's ticket office is the latest in a growing list of ticket offices at Metra stations to be shuttered as passengers increasingly switch to paying for their trips using mobile purchasing and the Ventra app. Nearly half of all customers now use the app, according to Metra.

On the UP North Line, on-site ticket sales have already ended at the Glencoe, Hubbard Woods, Kenilworth, Lake Bluff and Winnetka stations.