Metra drafts plan for regional rail operating model

Chicago-area commuter railroad Metra has released a draft study that identifies the operational and cost requirements for more frequent, all-day service on its rail lines — a goal of the agency's current strategic plan.

The public is invited to view the draft study report and provide feedback via an online form. A virtual public meeting will be held Nov. 16.

Metra initiated the study, known as the Systemwide Network Plan, in response to its current strategic plan, which examined ridership patterns following the COVID-19 pandemic and challenged the agency to work toward a regional service model.

Under a regional rail model, Metra would still offer rush-hour service for downtown Chicago commutes, but also offer more service all day throughout the week, Metra officials said in a press release. The transition to a regional rail model is also driven by the state legislature's passage of the NITA Act, which established the Northern Illinois Transit Authority (NITA) as a replacement to the Regional Transportation Authority.

The bill requires Metra to implement a regional rail pilot on the Rock Island Line by January 2027, officials said. That line will become part of the service standard that Metra is held to going forward.

Every Metra line has different infrastructure and freight traffic and ridership patterns, meaning there is no single solution to implementing a regional rail model across the system. The Systemwide Network Plan outlines the cost and operational requirements of implementing 30-to-60-minute service frequency, or Regional Rail 1.0, and later increasing to 15-to-30-minute service frequency, or Regional Rail 2.0, on each line.

Across the entire system, Metra estimates the cost to implement Regional Rail 1.0 would be $2.7 billion in capital costs and $269 million in additional operating costs. Ramping up to 2.0 would cost an additional $6.4 billion and $411 million more in operating costs, Metra officials said.