Chicago commuter train system calls for fare hikes in 2026 budget
3 min read
Bloomberg News
Chicago-area commuter rail service Metra announced fare hikes when it released its 2026 budget Friday, part of a policy by the Regional Transportation Authority requiring the Chicago Transit Authority, Metra and Pace suburban bus service to raise fares at least 10% next year.
Metra fares will rise 13% to 15%, depending on the fare and the distance traveled. It will be Metra’s first across-the-board fare increase since 2018, the rail service said.
“We are proposing a fare increase to start in February 2026. We believe that increase and our continued efforts to contain costs will be enough to get us through 2026; no service cuts should be needed. But if Springfield fails to act in time to help our 2027 budget, major service cuts will be unavoidable,” CEO and executive director James Derwinski wrote in a letter introducing
Derwinski also called for extending the suspension of the fare recovery ratio — a requirement that Metra cover half of its operating costs with farebox revenue, which the state suspended during the pandemic. The suspension currently expires at the end of this year.
Metra runs commuter trains in a six-county area with Chicago as a hub, serving 243 stations on 488 route miles.
Its $1.1 billion 2026 operating budget is about 1.7% smaller than Metra’s 2025 budget, thanks largely to operating efficiencies and other reductions.
The $575.3 million capital program for 2026 is not enough to address Metra’s repairs backlog, David Kralik, Metra’s director of planning and programming, said at a High Speed Rail Alliance luncheon on Friday.
Metra would need to spend $1.76 billion a year for 20 years to eliminate the backlog, Kralik said. Instead, the rail service’s five-year capital plan calls for about $400 million to $600 million of capital spending per year, based on the funds available.
Discussing Metra’s 2023-2027 strategic plan, Kralik said, “We wanted to begin an evolution from being a commuter rail operator… into a regional rail (provider) with more service throughout the day,” as opposed to serving 9-to-5 office work patterns in downtown Chicago.
Metra did a study looking at a regional rail transformation, he said, but “there’s only so far we can go with expanding service with our existing infrastructure.”
Among other things, Metra is looking at ways to connect some train lines at Union Station, and planning to improve service to O’Hare International Airport, building on the expanded service it offered during the 2024 Democratic National Convention.
A congressional earmark will help build a weather-protected pedestrian connection between the station and the airport, and Metra is using a separate earmark to develop a concept for longer-term improvements to support expanded service, Kralik said.
There is also the Rockford expansion on the horizon: In 2023, the Illinois Department of Transportation selected Metra as the operator of intercity rail to Rockford, 85 miles west of Chicago. IDOT is providing all capital and operating funding for that service, Kralik said.
Due to a smaller than expected shortfall in 2026, Metra projects it will make it through most of next year before its federal pandemic relief funds are spent down. It plans to cover the gap that’s left through prioritized hiring, delayed discretionary spending, delayed service expansions, better operating results and higher sales taxes, the rail service said
Metra is projecting a $276.3 million shortfall in 2027 and a $304.8 million shortfall in 2028, at which point it expects drastic service cuts and other action will be necessary absent legislative intervention.
The 2026 budget comes as lawmakers are convening in Springfield for the fall veto session, during which key players have said they hope
“We have nearly reached the point where our deficits will be too large and daunting for us to address without help,” Derwinski wrote. “We’ve bought ourselves some time, and now we need our elected representatives in Springfield to help.”
