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CHICAGO — Tickets go on sale Nov. 17 at noon for Metra’s annual Holiday Trains, to operate on five of its routes in December. The specially decorated trains featuring holiday characters will operate on the Metra Electric, BNSF, Milwaukee West, Rock Island, and Union Pacific Northwest lines. The Metra Electric trips will also feature a […]
CHICAGO — The Regional Transportation Authority is scrapping plans for fare increases by Metra, the Chicago Transit Authority, and bus operator Pace in the wake of passage of Illinois legislation providing new funding for the transit operations. Given budget deficits and uncertainty over state funding, the RTA had required all three operating agencies to include […]
WASHINGTON — The conductor of a Union Pacific train was standing in a track adjacent to his train for an unknown reason when he was struck and killed by a Metra train, the National Transportation Safety Board said in its final investigation report on the Sept. 4, 2024, accident in Kenosha, Wis. The incident occurred […]
MOLINE, Ill. — The transit bill passed early Friday (Oct. 31) by Illinois legislators doesn’t just address the financial needs and governing structure of transit operations in the Chicago area. Tucked into the bill’s more than 1,000 pages are two provisions that legislators say should boost the long-running effort to launch rail passenger service between […]
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — The Illinois legislature has passed a package of funding measures to support Chicago-area transit agencies, while also restructuring those agencies. The 1,043-page Senate Bill 2111 will wipe out the collective shortfall of more than $200 million faced by Metra, the Chicago Transit Authority, and bus operator Pace, avoiding CTA service cuts that […]
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — A new proposal to fund Chicago’s transit agencies was introduced on Tuesday (Oct. 28) in the state’s House of Representatives. By Wednesday, it appeared to be dead. Gov. JB Pritzker said at a Wednesday event that the bill was “not going forward” in its current form because he had issues with the […]
CHICAGO — Metra Electric will face modified operations on for three of the next four weekends, while South Shore Line operations in to Chicago will also face disruptions on two weekends to accommodate construction work related to South Shore’s coming expansion of service. Plans for the service outages include: — On the weekends of Oct. […]
CHICAGO — One of the major pieces of Chicago’s CREATE program marked a milestone on Wednesday, Oct. 15, as the first CSX Transportation train crossed the Forest Hill Flyover on the city’s South Side. The new structure separates CSX’s main line from tracks used by Metra, the Belt Railway of Chicago, and Norfolk Southern. The […]
CHICAGO — Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker disclosed earlier this month that his administration seeks to commit almost $1 billion of planned 2026-2031 infrastructure spending to several languishing passenger rail initiatives in the state, but translating proposals into tangible results continues to be a challenge. Hanging over all new construction endeavors is the need for Illinois […]
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Illinois lawmakers are expected to make another attempt to address the budget deficit facing Chicago transit agencies during a veto session that begins today (Oct. 14, 2025) — although it remains to be seen if the issue will have the same amount of urgency since the size of the deficit has been […]
CHICAGO — Members of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen who operate on Metra’s Union Pacific lines have ratified a new contract, the BLET said on Friday (Oct. 10, 2025). The contract, which calls for a 3.5% wage increase, was ratified by a 60-1 vote. The pay increases will take effect no later than […]
CHICAGO — Metra plans a fare increase as part of its proposed 2026 budget, a $1.1 million plan that includes other measures to address a projected $68 million funding shortfall but no cuts in service. The commuter rail agency’s announcement today (Oct. 10, 2025) also includes a proposed $575.3 million capital plan continuing Metra’s work […]
