CHICAGO — Metra’s board of directors has approved a $1.2 billion operating budget for fiscal 2026, eliminating the commuter rail operator’s previously planned fare increase as well as a planned $60 million transfer of operating funds to its capital program. The capital plan for 2026 is budgeted at $515.3 million.
The transit bill passed by the Illinois legislature at the end of October — providing $1.5 billion in new funding for Chicago transit operators — made it possible for Metra to modify its original budget plan, which called for a fare increase of about 13% [see “Metra budget for 2026 …,” Trains.com, Oct. 10, 2025].
The revised budget also allows for modest service increases, Metra said in a statement released when the budget was passed Nov. 13. It now goes to the Regional Transportation Authority for final approval. The RTA, Metra’s parent agency, will be restructured into the Northern Illinois Transit Authority as part of the state legislation.
The bill’s passage “means we can look for ways to enhance our service, rather than struggling to maintain the status quo,” Metra CEO/Executive Director Jim Derwinski said in the introduction to the agency’s final budget book. “And it means we are no longer staring at massive projected deficits in 2027 and 2028, which would have been nearly impossible to cover without significant negative impacts to our service.”
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No one is happy about the tax increases, but thank God and RTA that service remains as before. No railroad (or airline, bus company, subway, etc.) ever cut its way to prosperity.
That was me, a couple of days ago, soaking in METRA’s once-hourly service on a weekday. METRA avoids the doom loop that comes from cutting frequencies.