Metra, CTA approve 2026 budgets

Chicago commuter railroad Metra and the Chicago Transit Authority approved their respective 2026 capital and operating budgets this week. 

The budgets were approved following the Illinois Legislature's vote on Oct. 31 to approve a $1.2 billion in annual funding for Chicago-area transit agencies.

Metra's board yesterday approved a $1.2 billion operating budget for 2026 and a $515.3 million capital plan, Metra officials said in a press release. The capital plan allocates funding for seven  projects: the acquisition of new rail cars; the purchase of w zero-emission trainsets and trailer cars; the rehabilitation of Nippon Sharyo Highliner 2 rail cars; the rehabilitation of Amerail rail cars; renovation of the Van Buren Street Station; new ties, ballast and switch heaters for Metra lines; and dedicated program management costs. The full approved budget can be viewed here. 

Excluding $55 million in costs related to a Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District construction project, which will be reimbursed by the district, the 2026 operating budget is about $50 million higher than the 2025 budget. The new funding from the state allowed Metra to revise its originally proposed budget to eliminate a planned fare increase and fund modest service increases, while still covering an expected $27.9 million shortfall, Metra officials said. The revised budget also will transfer $60 million from the operating budget to the capital plan. 

Meanwhile, the CTA's board on Nov. 12 passed a $6.75 billion, five-year capital improvement program (CIP) starting in 2026. The program calls for work on the Red Line extension; a series of accessibility improvements to rail stations; upgrades to aging elevators and escalators; renovations at a rail-car heavy maintenance facility; the purchase of up to 446 new rail cars; overhauling of half the existing rail fleet; and the replacement of heavy-duty vehicles and shop equipment.  

The board also approved a $2.23 billion 2026 operating budget. It will hold the line on fares, avoid layoffs, enhance existing transit services, strengthen security efforts, expand accessibility initiatives and increase cleaning measures. The 2026 budget is 3.2% higher than the 2025 operating budget, CTA officials said in a press release.

The CTA approved the Plan A, or baseline budget, which was one of three proposed budgets created while awaiting state funding. The baseline budget, along with the budgets not selected, can be viewed here. Officials now plan to amend the approved budget to better reflect the funding it received from the state.

The state transportation finding was prompted by the need for a sustainable source of funding for the transit agencies as the exhausted pandemic-era federal funding. The bill also reorganizes the transit system under a new regional authority, the Northern Illinois Transit Authority (NITA), that will replace the Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) in 2027. The RTA's breakdown of the bill's funding can be read in full here.