Rockford to Chicago passenger rail funding included in new Illinois budget
ROCKFORD, Ill. (WTVO) — Just before midnight Saturday, Illinois legislators a record-high $55.1 billion Fiscal Year 2026 budget, which for the long-gestating Rockford to Chicago passenger rail project.
Gov. JB Pritzker the re-establishment of the passenger rail service in 2023 at an event in Davis Park.
The $275 million project uses funds from the Rebuild Illinois capital program and will extend the service of the Milwaukee West Line and Union Pacific Rail beyond Elgin to stops in Huntley, Belvidere, and Rockford.
In September 2024, Illinois Department of Transportation officials held in Rockford to give an update on the progress of the project.
Metra will operate the train service.
Since its founding in 1984, Metra has become one of the largest and most comprehensive passenger rail systems in North America. The system includes nearly 500 miles of track with 242 stations on 11 routes.
The current plan is to run two trains, seven days a week, according to the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT). The trip to Chicago is expected to take 95 minutes, with a possible station located on South Main Street, just south of downtown, on the Union Pacific line.
The Illinois Department of Transportation has said the line will connect Rockford to Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Louis, Carbondale, and twenty other communities in between.
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