Passenger Rail to Return to Rockford

Illinois Picks Regional Rail Line METRA to Operate New Service Linking State’s Two Biggest Cities.

The new METRA line to Rockford will run past the Illinois Railroad Museum in Union but will not stop.

With a METRA passenger train on a 140-year old bridge as a backdrop, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker two weeks ago announced that passenger trains will be returning to Rockford, the state’s second largest city. The diverse, working class city with a population of 146,713, has been without a passenger train since Amtrak discontinued the “Black Hawk” in 1981.

Service is expected to resume by the end of 2027 with two daily round trips to start that will make the 90-plus mile run in under two hours. Interestingly, the Illinois Department of Transportation chose METRA, a regional railroad that serves six suburban Chicago counties to operate the service instead of Amtrak.

The route will use METRA’s Milwaukee West line between Chicago and Elgin, where a connection will be built to the historic Union Pacific Rockford branch. UP acquired the line, which was built by the Chicago & Galena Railroad and is part of the oldest railroad in the state, in its 1995 merger with Chicago & Northwestern Transportation.

The project will be funded through $275 million from Rebuild Illinois, a $33 billion transportation infrastructure capital plan launched in 2019 that includes more than $1 billion for rail. Upcoming projects include extending passenger service to the Quad Cities, improving passenger train safety and reliability on the Chicago – Carbondale line, and modernizing rail operations in northeastern Illinois under the CREATE (Chicago Region Environment and Transportation Efficiency) program.

Prior to formation of Amtrak, the Illinois Central Railroad served Rockford with two daily trains each way. The “Land O’ Corn” was a day run between Waterloo, IA, and Chicago with a schedule that enabled day trips from Rockford to the Windy City. It was discontinued in 1967. Its running mate, the overnight “Hawkeye” between Sioux City, IA, and Chicago, ran until Amtrak’s startup in 1971.

Amtrak brought passenger service back to Rockford in 1974 when it launched the “Black Hawk,” which ran between Dubuque, IA, and Chicago with financial support from the state of Illinois. That train was discontinued in 1981 due to cutbacks in state funding for passenger rail.

Several attempts to restore service to Rockford and Dubuque over the ensuing years went nowhere. An Amtrak feasibility study conducted in 2007 estimated capital costs between $32 million and $55 million. However, the state could not come to terms with the routes new owner, Canadian National, which acquired the line in its 1998 merger with Illinois Central.

Illinois refocused on resuming service between Chicago and Rockford via the METRA line to Elgin and Union Pacific beyond. In 2014, Gov. Pat Quinn, a Democrat, announced a $223 million investment to resume service to Rockford the following year. His successor, Republican Bruce Rauner, put the project on ice shortly after taking office in 2015, claiming the state did not have sufficient funds.

The project Governor Pritzker announced includes upgrading track between Elgin and Rockford to passenger train speeds, i.e., 79 mph. In addition, it calls for building a flying crossover from the METRA line to the Union Pacific west of the Elgin station. Other elements include improvements to grade crossing and bridges, new sidings, and double track segments.

Besides Rockford, new stations will be built in Huntley and Belvidere. Planners considered but rejected a proposal to build a station in Union, IL, next to the Illinois Railroad Museum.

Although Amtrak wanted to run the service and includes it in its “Connect Us 2035” strategic vision, several factors gave METRA an advantage. With METRA the capital costs would be lower because only the Elgin – Rockford extension would need to be built. In addition, METRA already has a good working relationship with Union Pacific in the Chicago region since it operates trains over three UP lines that radiate out from the Windy City.

Because METRA’s Milwaukee West line uses Union Station in Chicago, Rockford passengers will be able easily connect with Amtrak trains to various parts of the country. Yet to be known is whether Amtrak and METRA will be able and willing to enter into a code sharing agreement so passengers to/from Rockford for points beyond Chicago could use a single ticket.

Next steps for the project will be reaching operating and maintenance agreements between Illinois DOT, METRA, and UP, and commencing engineering studies for track improvements and building the connection at Elgin.

When the project is completed, Illinois two largest cities will once again be connected by passenger trains. Local elected officials expect the service to deliver economic benefits to Rockford. People who don’t drive will have access to employment, medical, shopping, and recreation opportunities now unavailable to them. Chicagoans will be able to spend a day in Rockford and leave their cars at home.

Having a regional carrier like METRA operate a regional, i.e., intrastate, passenger route, makes perfect sense. It cuts out a layer of bureaucracy and local carriers usually have better knowledge of the local market.

Lengthy regional rail lines are common in the New York market. The Long Island Rail Road runs from New York to Montauk (117 miles) and Greenport (96 miles). Metro North operates to New Haven, Waterbury, Poughkeepsie, and Port Jervis, all more than 70 miles from the Big Apple. I could imagine Metro North someday taking over the Empire Corridor as far as Albany-Rensselaer.

I wish METRA and the people of Rockford good luck with this new venture, although I have a few reservations (about the train, not for it). Two roundtrips do not provide the convenience necessary to get people to give up their cars; more frequencies are needed. (Ask the folks who run the “Downeaster” and “Piedmont” trains.)

Also, what kind of rolling stock will METRA use? Will bilevels, METRA’s bread and butter, work on a longer distance train? Amtrak was planning to use new Siemens coaches similar to those used on Brightline.

Lastly, reconsider the decision not to stop at the Illinois Railroad Museum. It is one of the best railroad museums in the country and could draw day trippers from Chicago by the hundreds.