Joe McMahon, Kane County
ppointee to the Metra board, presented Metra raft financial and capital plans for 2026 during the Kane County Transportation Committee meeting Oct. 21, saying the agency proposed a roughly $1.1 billion operating budget and a $575 million capital program.

McMahon said the 2026 operating plan assumes a minimum, RTA-mandated fare increase and would not include service cuts for 2026. "We have proposed a $1,100,000,000 budget for 2026," McMahon said, and said the Regional Transportation Authority required a minimum 10% fare increase; Metra's proposal would raise fares overall by about 13% to 15% depending on product and zones.

The presentation outlined how the agency is using a mix of system-generated revenue, regional sales tax receipts and remaining federal COVID relief funds to balance 2026. McMahon said system-generated revenue is roughly $325 million and regional sales tax receipts account for about $636 million; federal relief funding is being used to cover pandemic-era shortfalls.

McMahon stressed that while the agency expects to avoid deep cuts through 2026, larger shortfalls loom in subsequent years. He told the committee Metra anticipates a shortfall in excess of $276 million in 2027 and warned the budget gap would grow again in 2028 unless state-level funding solutions are enacted.

The capital program, McMahon said, funds rolling-stock purchases, bridge and track work, stations and communications. Highlights he described:
- Capital program about $575 million, funded by federal formula grants, discretionary grants, Illinois PAYGO dollars and RTA support.
- Orders for more than 200 passenger cars and 15 remanufactured locomotives; an on-order zero-emission trainset expected to arrive in January 2027 for testing with hoped-for passenger operations in 2028.
- An RFP to procure battery-powered locomotives in the coming year.
- Continued investment in bridges and track: Metra operates on lines owned and dispatched by several Class I railroads; trains cross more than 700 bridges, and some structures are more than 100 years old, McMahon said.

McMahon updated the committee on local projects: the third mainline between Peck Road and Crest Road in the Geneva area entered service in August and Metra has completed improvements at the Geneva station, including electronic signage and more frequent public announcements. Ridership at Kane County stations is recovering to about 77% of pre-pandemic levels, McMahon said; weekends in some cases now exceed pre-pandemic weekend ridership because of events.

McMahon also said the Illinois Department of Transportation asked Metra to operate an extension of the Milwaukee District West Line to Rockford once IDOT builds and funds that project, but he did not give a schedule for that work. He described ongoing public hearings on the draft Metra budget across the region, with a Kane County hearing noted in the presentation roster.

The committee did not take a vote on the Metra presentation; McMahon answered committee members
nd attendees' questions before the meeting moved on to county business.

Why it matters: McMahon framed 2026 as a year when Metra can avoid immediate service cuts but said the agency's structural revenue shortfall will require legislative action or other funding changes to prevent substantial cuts in the following years. Local leaders on the committee asked questions about ridership patterns and reliability improvements affecting Kane County commuters.