Union Station was constructed as part of a large improvement project for the six railroads serving Joliet, which converged on the city as an important rail transportation hub just outside Chicago.

Joliet Union Station was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978, in recognition of its architecture and its contribution to the city's railroad history.

Joliet was served by four trunkline railroads by 1885: the Rock Island; the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe; the Chicago & Alton; and the Michigan Central.

[5] The station was originally designed for passengers to enter through a ticket lobby at street level, and proceed to a grand second-floor waiting room before boarding their train.

The Joliet Evening Herald praised the new station and its opening ceremony, remarking that "the banquet was excellent albeit dry and smokeless.

A dropped ceiling was installed in the grand second-floor waiting room in 1960, and flocks of pigeons promptly took up residence in the empty space.

[10] Joliet Union Station's location at the junction of multiple railroad main lines has contributed to its rise and fall.

The two western tracks, closest to the station, are operated by BNSF as the Chillicothe Subdivision, part of the Southern Transcon corridor from Chicago to Los Angeles.

The two eastern tracks are part of the Canadian National Joliet Subdivision, which also serves trains operated by Union Pacific.

[11] On the Metra Rock Island District line, Joliet is 40.2 miles (64.7 km) away from LaSalle Street Station in Chicago.

Rock Island District commuter trains had to cross all four north–south tracks to reach the platform at Union Station, stopping north–south traffic.

[11][14] The state government of Illinois announced a $42 million long-term plan in 2010 to replace Joliet Union Station and partly rebuild the tracks.

", a six-year, $31 billion statewide capital program supported by 20 year state bonds and federal and local matching funds.