Most recently, it was rebuilt in the early 21st century and is owned by Metra through its operating arm, the Northeast Illinois Regional Commuter Railroad Corporation.

Not counting commuters on the South Shore Line, over 18,000 people board Metra trains at Millennium Station each day.

As Great Central Station, Randolph Street Terminal, along with Van Buren Street a few blocks south, was IC's primary downtown Chicago terminal until the completion in 1893 of Central Station (closed 1972) just south of Grant Park at today's Roosevelt Road.

Its importance increased dramatically in 1926 with the electrification of commuter services on IC's main line and its Blue Island and South Chicago branches.

Randolph Street Station existed in a state of perpetual construction from the mid-1980s until 2005: exposed steel girders covered in flame retardant, unpainted plywood walls, bare concrete floors, and dim utility lights created a notoriously unfriendly, cave-like environment.