A Metra train sits on tracks spanning the Rock River near Davis Park on Thursday, July 6, 2023, for an announcement about passenger rail returning to Rockford for the first time since 1981. (Photo by Kevin Haas/Rock River Current)

By Kevin Haas
Rock River Current
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ROCKFORD — In the 14 months since a Metra train was rolled into downtown for Gov. JB Pritzker’s announcement about the return of passenger rail service between Rockford and Chicago, transportation officials say progress has been steady albeit not attention grabbing.

This spring, a field diagnostics team completed its evaluation of more than 50 railway crossings between here and Elgin. Now preliminary engineering efforts are underway, as are negotiations for operations and maintenance deals between Metra and Union Pacific, which owns the rail lines here. The Illinois Department of Transportation has also started engaging communities about potential station locations and designs.

“It’s nothing that’s splashy or spectacular that’s going to grab media attention, but it’s the work that you have to do to have passenger service,” said state Sen. Steve Stadelman, a Democrat who has been a longtime proponent bringing rail service back here. “There’s a lot of bureaucracy and coordination involved in just getting trains planned and started.”

Rail Q&A: Answers to 12 key questions about passenger rail between Rockford and Chicago

The Illinois Department of Transportation hosted an open house Tuesday at Veterans Memorial Hall in downtown to provide updates on the project and gather public feedback. Chief among its goals Tuesday was alleviating skepticism in a community that has seen rail proposed before, only to have it stopped in its tracks.

Most recently, Gov. Pat Quinn had announced rail’s return in 2014, putting $223 million in funding toward the project. But that was put on hold a year later when Gov. Bruce Rauner took office.

“This project has been on and off over the last 15 years or more,” said Scott Speegle, passenger rail and transit communications manager. “We did a round of these meetings a year ago and we’re committed to coming out every year.”

Speegle said the project is still on track for the first trains to start running in late 2027, bringing passenger rail service between Rockford and Chicago back for the first time since 1981. (See an interactive map of the line HERE.)

“We’re hopeful by the end of 2025 we’ve got shovels in the ground somewhere along the corridor,” Speegle said. “The station construction probably won’t occur until late ’26 or early ’27. That’s when people in the station communities will probably most often see that there’s work on something.”

The precise location of Rockford’s station hasn’t been determined, but state officials say it will be downtown.

One of the biggest infrastructure pieces on the horizon is the need to complete a connection between the Metra and Union Pacific tracks at Big Timber, just north of Elgin.

“Right now they’re not connected, so a train can’t come all the way through,” Speegle said. “We’re working with Metra and UP on that. They’re both very supportive of it.”

Illustrations on potential stations designs are displayed Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024, during a passenger rail open house hosted by the Illinois Department of Transportation at Veterans Memorial Hall. (Photo by Kevin Haas/Rock River Current)

The project is funded through $275 million in dedicated funds from the Rebuild Illinois capital program. There will not be an additional tax to fund the train, Pritzker previously said.

The train’s schedule isn’t know yet, but officials said it will be two round trips seven days per week.

“It’d be wonderful. It’d be so much easier than driving 45 minutes to Harvard, and then taking another hour-something from there,” said Carolyn Cadigan, who lives in Rockford’s west-side Churchill’s Grove neighborhood. “Then you can spend all day in Chicago and come right back home without having to drive 45 minutes from Harvard.”

Stadelman said he hopes the open house Tuesday helps reassure the Rockford area that the project is happening.

“There’s still skepticism in this community that this is going to happen,” he said. “We’re still on track to having service begin in 2027. … Things can always happen, things can take longer than they should, but everything seems to be on track in making sure that service begins when they say it will.”

More open houses

IDOT will host three additional open houses about the rail connection.

Belvidere

When: 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 11
Where: Rivers Edge Recreation Center, 1151 W. Locust St., Belvidere

Elgin

When: 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 17
Where: The Centre of Elgin, 100 Symphony Way, Elgin

Huntley

When: 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 18
Where: Huntley Park District, 12015 Mill St., Huntley

Online

More info: chicagotorockfordrail.org

This article is by Kevin Haas. Email him at khaas@rockrivercurrent.com or follow him on X at @KevinMHaas or Instagram @thekevinhaas and Threads @thekevinhaas