Elburn Metra Station- Union Pacific West Line

It is adequate. Not much of an indoor waiting room. I like the option to pay for parking on my cell phone but I once got two $ 20 tickets on the same day! One for being parked crooked over the side line and another for being too far forward over the front line, I was rushing to catch a train and the parking lot was EMPTY! The station is also creepy at night if there is not a crow exiting the train with you.

Don’t trust your GPS! We were trying to pick up some friends from this station, and my GPS took us to a spot across the tracks from the station, insisting that we were right there when we clearly weren’t. We then drove around, following a road I saw on the map that seemed to connect, only to find it blocked by a barrier. We finally had to stop at a gas station and ask for directions, to find out that you have to drive waaaay out of the way to get to the actual station (looks like they’re trying to build a subdivision out there?).
Also, since it was a Saturday, I wanted to be sure that the station would be open in case we were late, but when I called the village of Elburn (no mention of hours on the Metra site), they seemed pretty confused and eventually decided that it would probably be fine. Which it was, but especially since we spent a good 15 minutes extra driving around trying to find the place, it would’ve been nice to know that my friends could wait inside out of the cold.
Moral of the story, this is the end of the line, and it shows.

It’s a clean station with plenty of parking. I also like the electronic convenience of payment option. The biggest deterrent is the police parking enforcement. I am among the first there in the morning and I return late. These guys will drive through the lot and ticket you for just about any infraction they can find… even if you clearly paid to park; they will ticket your car for expired tags, etc. it’s ridiculous. When you’re busy, like I am, I update this online, so how do they even know if it hasn’t already been paid (awaiting by mail). Now I have to figure out how to pay this «distraction» without interrupting my work day. Beware!

Pretty standard for suburban Metra stops. It’s the last stop on the Union Pacific West line. However, don’t speed when exiting the Metra. It’s a long winding road and the cops will catch you if you try to get home quicker. The speed limit is 35. Don’t go one mile per hour over. Other than that, it’s fine. The conductors/​train attendants are always very friendly.

I’ve been using this station since it opened 5 years ago. I used the Schaumburg station for 12 years before that and I still prefer Schaumburg. There is plenty of parking for Elburn but the village screwed it up recently. They expanded the parking lot (which was needed) and added electronic payboxes instead of the older ones that just take bills or coins in a little drop box. The new electronic ones don’t take credit cards and they suck at taking cash. There are frequently lines of people struggling to use one machine that is working while the other 3 are inoperative. Sometimes it takes days to get any of them fixed. The problem seems to get worse when the temperatures drop.
And beware the Elburn police when parking. They expect you to park with the front of your car facing the line between cars, not out towards the aisle. It’s a $ 20 ticket for parking the wrong way. Yes, there are signs instructing you to park tail-​out but they aren’t large and conspicuous. They also don’t believe in letting you slide until the end of the day on payment. My first day in Elburn I didn’t know how much it would cost ($ 1.25) and I had just spent the last 3 days moving my family from Schaumburg to Elburn. I was running late so I parked my car and barely made the train. When I got back to the station that night I had a nice $ 20 ticket from the village for non-​payment. In Schaumburg they would give you a warning first and allow you to place the make-​up payment in a box next to the parking meter. If you didn’t pay 3 times they would write you the ticket. Elburn isn’t so accommodating.
They also don’t offer monthly parking passes like bigger cities do. No discount for the people that use it every day.

Elburn Station is the final stop on the West bound line of Metra’s Union Pacific West. Elburn is a little town just east of DeKalb, IL (where Northern University is).
It’s a small station, there’s never an agent attending, and there are no restrooms, but it’s very clean, it’s very new, and the shelter is pretty warm in the winter, cool in the summer. There is enough room for probably 40 people to be waiting in there if need be, although I’ve never seen that many people there.
Parking is very plentiful, and I think it’s a dollar or two a day. CHEAP!
If you are trying to get to DeKalb, I notice that when school is in session, there is occasionally a «Husky Bus» that comes to this station on a schedule.
This station is about 5 minutes north of Interstate 88, and about 20 minutes east of Interstate 39. I use Elburn Station when I’m coming and going to my parents’ home, and I will continue to. It’s a great option. $ 5 weekend passes for unlimited use of Metra. Whata deal!