Metra Heritage Corridor line offers special Saturday service for fall

Metra will again offer special services on the Heritage Corridor Line on six Saturdays this fall, providing opportunities to explore the bike trails, festivals, craft breweries, restaurants and communities along the route.

The line begins in Joliet, with stops in Lockport, Romeoville, Lemont, Willow Springs and Summit, and ends at Chicago’s Union Station.

The service, dubbed “Rails, Trails and Ales,” is in its fourth year offering three round-trip trains, equipped with Metra’s bike cars, on six consecutive Saturdays from Sept. 7 through Oct. 12. The trains will depart Chicago’s Union Station at 10:30 a.m., 4:15 p.m. and 8 p.m. and make all stops to Joliet, according to a news release from Metra.

Inbound trips will depart Joliet at 8 a.m., 1:45 p.m. and 6:30 p.m., making all stops to Union Station. The schedule also provides an opportunity for those living along the Heritage Corridor to use Metra for trips to the city on Saturdays, according to the release. Full schedules can be viewed at metra.com.

Metra’s $7 Saturday Day Pass offers unlimited rides for a single fare. Metra’s Family Fares, which allows three children ages 11 and younger to ride free with a fare-paying adult, can be used in conjunction with the Saturday pass, according to Metra.

“Autumn is a great time to explore the entire Chicago region, and adding this special excursion service is an affordable way for Metra riders to explore areas that aren’t normally served by trains on weekends,” Metra CEO/Executive Director Jim Derwinski said in the release. “Bring your bike and ride a bike path. Check out a weekend festival. Ride a zip line. There are scores of possibilities along the Heritage Corridor Line.”

Upcoming special events along the Heritage Corridor Line

• The Joliet Latino Economic Development Association’s annual music and food festival will be at 3 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 14, at Billie Limacher Bicentennial Park, 201 W. Jefferson St. in Joliet. For a listing of local artists, food vendors and shops participating in the event, visit jolietleda.org/fiesta.

• Lockport Township Park District’s Military History Weekend will be from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 7, and Sunday, Sept. 8, at Dellwood Park, 325 Parkview Lane in Lockport.

• The Taste of Lemont helps the Lemont High School Educational Foundation. The event is held beginning at 5 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 7, in the Lemont Metra lot. This a family-friendly event featuring local food vendors, music and more.

• The Lockport Township High School 205 Foundation will host the annual Taste of Lockport community event from 5 to 10:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 21. The event is a partnership with the city of Lockport with the goal of fundraising for LTHS students’ scholarships, programs, faculty grants and LTHS community events. The family-friendly event is in historic downtown Lockport on Hamilton Street in front of City Hall.

• Lemont hosts Scarecrow Fest from noon to 3 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 21, at the Lemont Township Community Center, 1115 Warner Ave. in Lemont.

• The Lemont Park District hosts Harvest Fest from 3 to 6 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 5, at Centennial Park, 16028 W. 127th St. in Lemont. There will be food vendors, a beer tent, hay rides, pony rides, a petting zoo, a kids zone and a pie-eating contest.

Metra’s Heritage Corridor Line was named after the historic Illinois & Michigan Canal Heritage Corridor, which the rail line parallels. Bike paths that use the canal’s former towpath or connect with it are accessible from many of those stops.

A list of some of the sites, restaurants, breweries and biking/hiking paths near each Heritage Corridor stop can be found at metra.com.