| Metra | |
| Owner: | Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) |
| Locale: | Chicago metropolitan area, United States |
| Transit Type: | Commuter rail |
| Lines: | 11 |
| Stations: | 242 year-round, 1 seasonal, 1 under construction |
| Daily Ridership: | |
| Annual Ridership: | |
| Chief Executive: | James M. Derwinski[1] |
| Began Operation: | 1984 |
| Operator: | Metra, Union Pacific Railroad, BNSF Railway |
| Marks: | METX |
| System Length: | [2] |
| El: |
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| Headquarters: | 547 W Jackson Blvd, Chicago, IL 60661 |
Metra is the primary commuter rail system in the Chicago metropolitan area serving the city of Chicago and its surrounding suburbs via the Union Pacific Railroad, BNSF Railway, and other railroads. The system operates 243 stations on 11 rail lines. It is the fourth busiest commuter rail system in the United States by ridership and the largest and busiest commuter rail system outside the New York City metropolitan area. In, the system had a ridership of, or about per weekday as of . The estimated busiest day for Metra ridership occurred on November 4, 2016—the day of the Chicago Cubs 2016 World Series victory rally.[3]
Metra is the descendant of numerous commuter rail services dating to the 1850s. The present system dates to 1974, when the Illinois General Assembly established the Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) to consolidate all public transit operations in the Chicago area, including commuter rail. The RTA's creation was a result of the anticipated failure of commuter service operated and owned by various private railroad companies in the 1970s. In a 1983 reorganization, the RTA placed commuter rail under a newly formed Commuter Rail Division, which branded itself as Metra in 1985. Freight rail companies still operate four of Metra's routes under purchase-of-service agreements. Metra owns all rolling stock and is responsible for all stations along with the respective municipalities.[4] Since its inception, Metra has directed more than $5 billion into the commuter rail system of the Chicago metropolitan area alongside the CTA. In January 2023, Metra rolled out a new real-time train tracking website to allow passengers greater visibility into their commute.[5]
See also: History of passenger rail in Chicago.
Since its founding in the 19th century, Chicago has been a major Midwestern hub in the North American rail network.[6] It has more trackage radiating in more directions than any other city in North America. Railroads set up their headquarters in the city and Chicago became a center for building freight cars, passenger cars and diesel locomotives. Early commuter services were run by the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy, Chicago and North Western, and Milwaukee Road.
By the 1930s, Chicago had the world's largest public transportation system, but commuter rail services started to decline.[7] By the mid-1970s, the commuter lines faced an uncertain future. The Burlington Northern, Milwaukee Road, Chicago and North Western and Illinois Central had been losing money for several years, and were using trainsets with passenger cars dating as far back as the 1920s.[8]
To provide stability to the commuter rail system, the Illinois General Assembly formed the Regional Transportation Authority in 1974.[9] Its purpose was to fund and plan the Chicago region's public transportation. After initially using second-hand equipment, the RTA took delivery of the first new EMD F40PH locomotives in 1976. That F40PH fleet is still in service today. The companies that had long provided commuter rail in the Chicago area continued to operate their lines under contract to the RTA.
Less than a decade later the Regional Transportation Authority was already suffering from ongoing financial problems. Additionally, two rail providers, the Rock Island Line and the Milwaukee Road, went bankrupt, forcing the RTA to create the Northeast Illinois Regional Commuter Railroad Corporation to operate their lines directly in 1982. In 1983 the Illinois Legislature reorganized the agency. That reorganization left the Regional Transportation Authority in charge of day-to-day operations of all bus, heavy rail and commuter rail services throughout the Chicago metropolitan area. It was also responsible for directing fare and service levels, setting up budgets, finding sources for capital investment and planning. A new Commuter Rail Division was created to handle commuter rail operations; along with CTA and Pace, it was one of RTA's three "service boards".
The board of the RTA Commuter Rail Division first met in 1984. In an effort to simplify the operation of commuter rail in the Chicago area, in July 1985 it adopted a unified brand for the entire system–Metra, or Metropolitan Rail.[10] The newly reorganized Metra service helped to bring a single identity to the many infrastructure components serviced by the Regional Transportation Authority's commuter rail system. However, the system is still legally known as the Commuter Rail Division of the RTA.
Today, Metra's operating arm, the Northeast Illinois Regional Commuter Railroad Corporation, operates seven Metra owned routes. Four other routes continue to be operated by Union Pacific (formerly Chicago & North Western) and BNSF (formerly Burlington Northern) under contract to Metra. Service throughout the network is provided under the Metra name (in keeping with Metra's goal of providing a single identity for all commuter rail in the region). Metra also owns all rolling stock, controls fares and staffing levels, and is responsible for most of the stations. However, the freight carriers who operate routes under contract use their own employees and control the right-of-way for those routes.
By the first quarter of 2024, the Union Pacific Railroad is expected to transfer operations of the three Union Pacific lines to Metra. Union Pacific will continue to own and maintain the right-of-way.[11]
In the late 20th and early 21st centuries, Metra experienced record ridership and expanded its services. In 1996, Metra organized its first new line, the North Central Service, running from Union Station to Antioch. By 2006, it added new intermediate stops to that same route, extended the Union Pacific West Line from Geneva to Elburn and extended SouthWest Service from Orland Park to Manhattan. In 2012, it boasted 95.8% average on-time performance (measured only for a train's arrivals at its last station no more than six minutes late).[12] It also posted its fourth highest volume in its history despite decreases in employment opportunities in downtown Chicago.[13]
Metra continued to seek expansion options and to improve passenger service. Over the past three decades, Metra has invested more than $5 billion into its infrastructure. That investment has been used to purchase new rolling stock, build new stations, renovate tracks, modernize signal systems and upgrade support facilities. In addition to core improvements on the Union Pacific Northwest and Union Pacific West Lines, planning advanced on two new Metra routes, SouthEast Service and the Suburban Transit Access Route ("STAR" Line).[14] In 2023, Metra announced plans to extend the Milwaukee District West Line to Rockford, Illinois, with intermediate stops at Huntley and Belvidere, by 2027.[15]
Metra also has been marred by allegations and investigations of corruption. In April 2002, board member Don Udstuen resigned from both Metra and his executive job with the Illinois State Medical Society, after admitting to taking bribes to steer Metra contracts to firms associated with former legislator Roger Stanley and pleading guilty to his part in Illinois's Operation Safe Road scandal.[16]
In April 2010, Metra's executive director, Phil Pagano, faced investigation for taking an unauthorized $56,000 bonus and was later found to have improperly received $475,000 in vacation pay. The day that the agency's board was scheduled to discuss his fate, Pagano stepped in front of a moving Metra train in an apparent suicide.[17] Around the time of Pagano's death, allegations also surfaced that a Metra employee demanded a $2,000 payoff from the studio that used Metra in the 2011 film Source Code. That employee was later relieved of his duties, and retired.[18]
In June 2013, Metra CEO Alex Clifford abruptly resigned his position with no public comment. It was later reported that his exit had been demanded by the Metra board, which negotiated a $871,000 severance package including a non-disclosure agreement.[19] Clifford's ouster was allegedly arranged because he rejected requests for patronage hiring and promotion, including a request to promote a longtime supporter of State Representative Michael Madigan.[20] In the wake of this scandal, five board members resigned.[21] In August 2013, the remaining board members unanimously elected Don Orseno as interim CEO. (The six-member board was operating with reduced membership and thus lacked the authority to elect a permanent CEO. Orseno and Alex Wiggins shared duties as co-executive directors.) Orseno's long railroad career, beginning with work to set up trains and check doors for the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad played favorably in the board's decision.[22] [23] [24] By October 2013, local officials had restored Metra's board to 11 members.[25] After reviewing four candidates, the re-constituted board formally appointed Orseno CEO of Metra in January 2014.[26] [27] In 2014, "a lengthy history of political patronage hiring at" Metra was reported, based on past files.[28]
For a long time, Metra was not being funded enough to keep most equipment and rolling stock up to date. On average, the agency received approximately $700 million a year, but Metra claims to need about $2 billion a year, which only since 2020 has been accomplished. Because of this, Metra had to cut back on new rolling stock, instead resorting to their Rebuild Programs, in which they rebuild railcars and locomotives with newer state of the art utilities. Rebuilds cost only a fraction as much as buying new rolling stock, such as with their Amerail built cars. Rebuild programs can rebuild aging cars for approximately $650,000, whereas buying that same railcar new would be approximately $3 million.
See main article: List of Metra stations. Metra serves passengers through stations throughout the Chicago metropolitan area. Each station, unless a route or branch terminus, provides travel toward (inbound) and away from (outbound) downtown Chicago. Therefore, a passenger can connect between the city and a suburb or between two points in the suburbs using Metra service. Although Metra's commuter rail system is designed to connect points all over the Chicago metropolitan area, it does provide some intracity connections within Chicago.[29]
Metra trains originate from one of four stations in downtown Chicago. Six lines originate at Union Station. The three Union Pacific lines originate at Ogilvie Transportation Center, formerly and still popularly called North Western Station. The Rock Island District originates at LaSalle Street Station. The Metra Electric District originates at Millennium Station, formerly and still often called Randolph Street Terminal. All four terminals are situated within walking distance of the Chicago Loop, so Metra passengers can easily transfer to a different Metra line upon their arrival downtown. Metra's urban-centric service remains popular with suburban commuters working downtown, reverse commuters, and those who visit Chicago for recreational activities and tourism.[30]
Stations are found throughout Chicago, as well as in suburban Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry, and Will counties—an area largely coextensive with the inner ring of the Chicago metropolitan area. One station is located in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
Metra operates on 11 lines, most of which date from the mid-19th century. Four lines are operated under purchase-of-service agreements. The BNSF Line service is operated by BNSF Railway. The three lines out of the Ogilvie Transportation Center (formerly North Western Station) are operated by the Union Pacific Railroad. The other seven lines are operated by the Northeast Illinois Regional Commuter Rail Corporation (NIRC), Metra's operating subsidiary; five of these primarily run over track owned by other railroads, while two (the Electric and Rock Island districts) run entirely on Metra-owned track. Inbound trains on every line at all times run through to their Chicago terminus, however, many outbound trains do not run through to their respective lines' terminus (for example, most trains on the Union Pacific Northwest Line do not run through to Harvard; instead, terminating at Crystal Lake).
█The BNSF Line is Metra's busiest route. This 37.5miles route runs from Union Station to, Illinois. It had an average of 63,000 weekday passenger trips in 2018–2019.
█Metra's least patronized line, the Heritage Corridor is a 37.2miles route, running from Union Station to, Illinois during weekday rush hours only in the peak direction. It had an average of 2,600 weekday passenger trips in 2018–2019.
█The Metra Electric District is a 31.5miles electrically powered route from Millennium Station to, with an additional 9.1miles of branch lines serving (except Sundays and holidays) and . The line had an average of 28,100 passenger weekday trips in 2018–2019.
█The Milwaukee District North Line is a 49.5miles route from Union Station to, Illinois. The line had an average of 22,100 weekday passenger trips in 2018–2019.
█The Milwaukee District West Line is a 39.8miles route from Union Station to in Elgin, Illinois; on weekends and holidays, service terminates in downtown . The line had an average of 20,600 weekday passenger trips in 2018–2019. In 2023, Metra announced plans to extend the Milwaukee District West Line to Rockford, Illinois by 2027.[31]
█The North Central Service is a 52.8miles route from Union Station to, Illinois. It had an average of 5,600-weekday passenger trips in 2018–2019. It does not run at all on weekends and holidays.
█The Rock Island District is a 40miles route (not inclusive of the 6.6miles Beverly Branch) to the southwest and southern suburbs. The line has 26 stations on two branches from LaSalle Street Station to . Some trains branch off onto a local track and terminate at . It had an average of 26,900 weekday passenger trips in 2018–2019.
█The SouthWest Service is a 40.8miles route from Union Station to, Illinois, though most trains end at . It had an average of 9,600-weekday passenger trips in 2018–2019. It does not run at all on Sundays and holidays, and Saturday service is currently suspended.
█The only route that travels outside Illinois, the Union Pacific North Line is a 51.6miles route from Ogilvie Transportation Center to, Wisconsin, with most trains ending in, Illinois. The line had an average of 34,600 weekday passenger trips in 2018–2019.
█The longest Metra route, the Union Pacific Northwest Line is a 63.2miles route from Ogilvie Transportation Center to, Illinois, with most trains ending in . During weekdays except for holidays, service also includes a 7.59miles branch line from to .[32] The line had an average of 40,100 weekday passenger trips in 2018–2019.
█The Union Pacific West Line is a 43.6miles route running from Ogilvie Transportation Center to, Illinois. The line had an average of 27,900 weekday passenger trips in 2018–2019.
Metra proposed two routes in the early 2000s: the SouthEast Service, which would connect some portions of the southern suburbs with downtown Chicago; and the Suburban Transit Access Route, which would connect various suburbs with each other without going into downtown., only the SouthEast Service is still being considered.[33] [34]
In 2023, the Illinois Department of Transportation selected Metra as the agency to run restored rail service to Rockford.[35] [36]
Several commuter lines were discontinued before Metra was established. The Illinois Central West Line from present-day Millennium Station to Addison, Illinois, (closed 1931), Pennsylvania Railroad line to Valparaiso, Indiana, (closed 1935), New York Central line from LaSalle Street Station to Elkhart, Indiana, (closed 1964), and four Chicago & North Western lines to St. Charles, Aurora, Freeport, and Kenosha-Harvard (all municipalities in Illinois and Wisconsin, closed 1930–51). The Burlington Route had service between Aurora and West Chicago, Illinois (closed 1943). Chicago Eastern Illinois operated commuter service on this line out of Dearborn Station to Dolton and Momence, respectively. The Chicago and Eastern Illinois commuter line to Momence, Illinois, ended in 1935, while the Chicago and Western Indiana service to Dolton, Illinois, was discontinued in 1964. Chicago Great Western had commuter service to DeKalb, Illinois (closed 1906). Santa Fe service to Joliet, Illinois (closed 1903). However, Metra runs service to Joliet, Illinois, on two routes: Heritage Corridor and Rock Island District.
Ridership has been slowly declining on all but one line since 2014, as seen below. The figures post-2020 have been drastically affected by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Though monthly reports from 2022 show heavy improvement over 2021 figures, they are still dramatically below pre-pandemic levels.[37]
| Line | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018[38] | 2019[39] | 2020[40] | 2021[41] | 2022[42] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|