IDOT says Metra’s Rockford extension is still on schedule for a late 2027 debut

Back in 1988, the Rockford-formed rock band Cheap Trick topped the charts with the power ballad “The Flame.”

Similarly, the Illinois Department of Transportation is still carrying a torch that service on the long-awaited Metra route between the Forest City and Chicago will launch by the end of next year, as predicted.

However, the commuter railroad’s executive director Jim Derwinski poured water on that notion, expressing skepticism about IDOT’s ability to meet that deadline.

In a first for the Chicago region, IDOT is constructing the new line, and Metra will operate the service under contract with the transportation department. The extension was made possible by Rebuild Illinois funds, and the State will provide a regular subsidy to keep it going.

During the annual Hagestad Sandhouse Rail Group Chicago Region and Beyond 2026 Commuter Railroad Update, which was held at Metra board room on May 27, Derwinski said he believed IDOT underestimated just how long it would take to buy the components needed to make the infrastructure upgrades. He also suggested that the transportation department might be open to using Amtrak equipment it owns. However, given the railcar shortages region-wide, that’s a remote prospect at the moment.

The long road to Rockford

Amtrak’s Black Hawk route ran between Dubuque, Iowa, and Chicago from 1974 to 1981with stops in East Dubuque, Galena, Freeport, Rockford, and Elmhurst. While there were intercity bus alternatives, they declined over time. 

Burlington Trailways used to provide Intercity bus service to Rockford, Freeport, Galena, and Dubuque. The Chicago to Galena service was a casualty of the COVID-19 pandemic, and Chicago to Dubuque service (via the Quad Cities) was lost when the company went out of business in the end of September 2025. Jefferson Lines, which took over most of the old Burlington Trailways routes, brought back direct Dubuque-Chicago service in June.

Rockford service fared somewhat better. Van Galder Bus’ Chicago to Madison, Wisconsin service regularly stops there, as does the crescent-shaped Greyhound bus route between Chicago and Danville, Illinois. The latter is subsided through Section 5311 federal funds. 

I can confirm that, as of last month the Van Galder bus was still an effective way to travel between Madison and Chicago. Best of all, you can bring an unboxed bike along. – Ed.

Rockford Mass Transit District used to provide limited bus service to Belvedere, 13 miles east of Rockford, but that was discontinued in July 2024. Since then, the only public transit option has been via on-demand dial-a-ride service. Huntley, about 40 miles east of the Screw Capital of the World has been in the similar position – it falls within the MCride dial-a-ride service area. 

Since 2010, there have been discussions to restore Amtrak service as far as East Dubuque. Planning was paused under Gov. Bruce Rauner. After planning resumed upon Gov. JB Pritzker’s election, negotiations with the Canadian National Railway Company stalled.

The project was cut back to Rockford, because while The Canadian National Railway Company, aka CN, owns the only railroad tracks on the west half of the route, there was an alternative route to Rockford. That is, Union Pacific Railroad, aka UP, tracks that start roughly where Metra’s Milwaukee District West Line ends. Plans for the Chicago to Rockford line called for intermediate stops in Elgin, Huntley and Belvedere.

When the Rebuild Illinois capital bill passed in 2019, it included $275 million for Chicago-Rockford rail service. This was mostly to build a rail connection between Metra and UP tracks, add passing sidings and upgrade tracks, signals and crossing gates to allow trains to travel 79 miles per hour, and reduce conflicts with freight trains. 

In July 2023, Pritzker announced that Metra, not Amtrak, would operate the service. At the time, an IDOT spokesperson told Streetsblog that was a cheaper option. The arrangement would be similar to what the agreement the department has with Amtrak for State-supported Illini/Saluki, Carl Sandburg/Illinois Zephyr, and Lincoln Service trains. The transportation department would provide an ongoing subsidy to cover most of the expenses that can’t be covered through fares.  And, similar to Illini/Saluki and Carl Sandburg/Illinois Zephyr service, the trains would run twice a day in each direction.

While there was initially some ambiguity about which of the three Elgin Metra stations the new service would use, IDOT eventually confirmed that it would be the downtown Elgin station. That’s a logical choice, given that it’s next to a regional Pace bus hub and the local network of bike lanes. 

According to the Chicago-Rockford project timeline, IDOT aimed to finish up the planning and design by 2026, with the goal of starting construction sometime this year and having the service up and running sometime in 2027.

Recent developments

Since then, IDOT held several community meetings in Elgin, Huntley, Belvedere and Rockford to keep the residents up to date on the service planning, and give them the opportunity to weigh in.

The last official update was released in June 2025. It announced the results of the ridership study, which estimated that around 825 – 1,200 riders a day will use the service by 2045.

In late September 2025, Hutley pulled out of the project, citing concerns about Metra trains blocking a major downtown intersection, as well as how commuters might impact parking availability, and whether the ridership would justify the expense of building the station. The IDOT previously indicated that the stations would be spartan in design: a single platform with tactile edges and a bus-style shelter with seats. A spokesperson said that each station would have bicycle parking, car parking, and passenger information displays.

Meanwhile, the city of Marengo, which is about half-way between Elgin and Rockford, expressed interest in getting a station. Transit enthusiasts know Marengo as a town about 3.8 miles west of the Illinois Railway Museum, the biggest such facility in United States. 

The Hagestad Sandhouse Rail Group is a Northwestern University Transportation Center based organization founded in 2002 “to connect active and veteran rail practitioners with students and academics interested in rail-related issues.” Every year, it holds a Chicago Region and Beyond Commuter Railroad Update, where heads of Metra and the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District, which runs the South Shore Line, update members on their progress and sometimes preview future plans. Sandhouse Rail Group members then get the opportunity to ask questions. 

When asked about the status of Rockford extension at the May 27 event, Metra’s Jim Derwinski noted that, since this was an IDOT project, “Rockford is partially not in our hands.”

“We’re ready, in a lot of ways, to begin that service,” he added. 

Derwinski said that IDOT is the entity that is responsible for Milwaukee District West Line to UP freight line connection, station construction, and track upgrades. He added that, “Late  this year, they’re going to start groundbreaking a few of [the stations].”

“The goal was by the end of 2027 to get that service running,” Derwinski continued. “I’ve been warning IDOT on a [regular] basis, it takes a long time to buy railroad components, and you probably better have contracts already in place… I just think, personally think it’s not going to hit their timeline.”

IDOT spokesperson Maria Castaneda told Streetsblog that, as of the end of July, there were “no changes to the timeline,” while conceding that there are a few hurdles.

“The project team is fully engaged with Metra and Union Pacific to complete several agreements needed to move the project forward,” she said. “We are hopeful to have a more detailed project schedule released later this year.”

During the May 27 event, Derwinski was also asked what rail equipment the new service would use. Derwinski said, at least at first, they would be use existing Metra railcars and locomotives. The service, he said, will require three train sets, which they have available.

But Derwinski also raised the possibility that IDOT would use Amtrak equipment from the Amtrak Midwest equipment pool – where the Illinois, Missouri, Michigan, and Wisconsin transportation departments pooled their funds to buy new Siemens Venture railcars and Siemens Charger locomotives.

“We got the equipment – we’ll be leasing it, technically,” he explained. “The State of Illinois would be the operator,” he said. “In the beginning, we will be leasing them equipment, and they will determine whether they want to use state-supported equipment for this pool.”

Venture railcars have power outlets at every seat, built-in bike racks and on-board Wi-Fi, something that only some Metra railcars have. The Venture cars also have fold-down seat tables and fully ADA-compliant restrooms. But the Amtrak Midwest pool is currently strained to capacity after Horizon railcars were taken out of service in March 2025.  

While IDOT always has the option to buy railcars specifically for the Chicago-Rockford line, Castaneda confirmed that the department isn’t pursing that. 

Is IDOT is serious about launching Chicago to Rockford service by the end of 2027 deadline? If so, there’s going to be – to quote another song title from Rockford’s Cheap Trick – “Stiff Competition” for railcars.

If you appreciate Streetsblog Chicago’s livable streets reporting and advocacy, please consider making a tax-deductible donation to support our work. Thank you!