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Metra officials explain service limits, new train orders and a $160M-a-year bridge plan
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Summary
Metra representatives told Lake County’s Public Works committee that post-pandemic ridership patterns and dispatching limits with freight railroads are constraining service restoration, outlined plans for new battery and Alstom cars and described a 20‑year bridge program that staff estimate would need roughly $160 million a year.
Metra officials briefed the Lake County Public Works and Transportation Committee on April 1 on why restoring pre-pandemic service levels has been difficult, the agency’s planned new equipment purchases and a major multi‑year bridge-repair program.
Gary Gordon, Lake County’s representative to Metra’s board, said Metra has faced a year of transition driven by governance and funding uncertainty and pledged to monitor how changes at the regional level affect suburban service. Jim Derickwinski, Metra’s chief executive, gave the presentation on equipment, operations and infrastructure.
Derickwinski said Metra owns its rolling stock and two lines (Rock Island and Metra Electric) but operates across many freight-owned corridors subject to outside dispatching. He said the North Central Service line is still operating at roughly 70% of its pre‑pandemic service because of dispatching challenges with CPKC and CN. That constrained dispatching, he said, has prevented Metra from simply reinstating prior schedules.
Derickwinski described Metra’s move toward a regional‑rail model — more frequent, all‑day service with roughly half‑hour headways on some corridors — to match new ridership patterns in which many riders no longer travel five days a week. He said Metra has ordered 200 Alstom cars (with a contract for 500 but funding only for 200 as budgeted) and is piloting battery‑powered Stadler train sets; the agency expects the battery vehicles to run on a 15‑mile pilot on the Beverly branch.
On infrastructure, Derickwinski said Metra operates more than 900 bridges and has identified about 210 bridges in need of reconstruction or substantial rehab. He described a 20‑year program (roughly 10 bridges per year) to address the backlog and said staff estimate it would require on the order of $160,000,000 per year. A preliminary PNIPA package alone was described as needing roughly $230,000,000 before construction activity begins.
Members pressed for specifics on how to get more trains on constrained lines; Derickwinski said Metra has been negotiating with CN and CPKC for years and is pursuing adjudication through the Surface Transportation Board where necessary. He said Metra brought more than 850 employees over from Union Pacific in its transition of service and that one major barrier is that Metra does not own most station sites, track or right-of-way on many routes.
On rolling stock costs and retirements, Derickwinski said a new car costs roughly $3.5 million on average and that many retired stainless‑steel cars lack ADA compliance and practical reuse markets; state law requires formal sale processes for retired equipment.
The presentation concluded with committee members thanking Metra for the briefing and asking staff to provide further bridge‑priority lists and additional technical briefings. Derickwinski said Metra will continue to push for capacity and dispatching remedies and to work with counties and the new regional governance body on funding and service priorities.
