River Forest is a 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...

 commuter railroad station in River Forest

River Forest, Illinois

River Forest is a suburban village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. Two universities make their home in River Forest, Dominican University and Concordia University Chicago. The village is closely tied to the larger neighboring community of Oak Park, Illinois. There are significant...

, a western suburb of Chicago

Chicago

Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...

, on the Union Pacific/West Line

Union Pacific/West Line

The Union Pacific/West is a commuter rail line provided by Metra and operated by the Union Pacific Railroad in Chicago, Illinois, and its surrounding suburbs...

. Trains go east to Ogilvie Transportation Center

Ogilvie Transportation Center

The Richard B. Ogilvie Transportation Center is a passenger terminal in downtown Chicago, Illinois, USA, serving the three commuter rail lines of Metra's Union Pacific District, which approach the terminal elevated above street level. It occupies the lower floors of the Citigroup Center...

 in Chicago and as far west as Elburn

Elburn, Illinois

Elburn is a village in Kane County, Illinois, United States. The population was 4,751 as of 2006. It is located at the intersection of Illinois Route 38 and Route 47...

, Illinois

Illinois

Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...

. Travel time to Ogilvie is 20 to 24 minutes.

The station is at Central Avenue and Thatcher Avenue. The surrounding neighborhood is mostly characterized by single-family homes, baseball fields and tennis courts. 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...

 suburban buses stop one block to the north on Lake Street.

The station building was originally built in 1915 by the Chicago and North Western Railway

Chicago and North Western Railway

The Chicago and North Western Transportation Company was a Class I railroad in the Midwest United States. It was also known as the North Western. The railroad operated more than of track as of the turn of the 20th century, and over of track in seven states before retrenchment in the late 1970s...

and is also the River Forest Park District headquarters.

The station is to undergo renovations in 2011. The platform will be rebuilt along with the stairways.