While it has been a long wait, some local leaders are optimistic about a potential extension of Metra service for commuters in Kendall County.
“The likelihood of getting a Metra station in Oswego is 100 times better than it was a year ago,” Oswego Village Administrator Dan Di Santo said of the project.
Metra held an open house Tuesday in Oswego to get public input and share progress on a study to extend commuter rail service on a third line along the Burlington Northern Santa Fe railway from Aurora to Montgomery, Oswego, Yorkville, Plano and Sandwich.
The study is an analysis of station site options, the possible environmental impact of the project and potential ridership, as well as the cost of building and operating the extension.
Initial estimates indicate it would cost approximately $400 million to $500 million to construct the extension and its stations. An additional $5 million a year would be needed for operations and maintenance, according to the presentation.
At the open house, residents spoke one-on-one with Metra representatives and viewed exhibits and an enlarged map designating several options for commuter stations along the proposed line.
Carol Meinzer, of Oswego, is supportive of the extension.
“The extension would be positive for Oswego and the surrounding cities. It would be good overall for the economy,” she said. “I have businesses in Yorkville and Oswego. This would be a good thing.”
Metra initiated the Kendall Extension Study to look at the feasibility of extending the BNSF commuter rail line beyond Aurora using $7.5 million of previously secured federal funds.
The Metra board of directors in May awarded a $4.7 million engineering contract to a firm that is preparing conceptual designs for the potential extension.
Illinois lawmakers over the summer approved an infrastructure bill that included $100 million for the project, which local officials have considered a major step toward making it a reality.
The results of the analysis will provide information to local municipalities and governments so they can make decisions about how to proceed with the project, Metra officials said.
Local officials said they would look to the federal government for funding.
The current study is looking at station locations for Montgomery, Oswego, Yorkville, Plano and Sandwich, said Michael Gillis, Metra director of communications.
“It’s a good start,” Gillis said.
Commuter station locations have been identified in Oswego, Montgomery and Sandwich. However, Yorkville has four potential locations to place a commuter station and Plano has two potential sites to consider, officials said.
In addition to commuter stations, engineering consultants are looking at three options to end the line at Yorkville, Plano or all the way to Sandwich.
Depending on where the line stops will determine the placement of railcar storage yards, Gillis said.
The potential station locations are relatively well-defined in Oswego and Montgomery, said David Kralik, Metra department head for long-range planning.
Oswego’s potential commuter station location is at Orchard Road and Mill Street while Montgomery’s is near Mill Street.
Yorkville’s four potential locations are at Eldamain Road, two variations at Route 47 at the railroad tracks and a fourth at Cannonball Trail in Bristol.
Plano’s potential stations are at North Center Street near the existing Amtrak Station or west of town at Route 34 and Little Rock Road. In Sandwich it is at Fairwinds Crossing.
“The last time we extended our service was in 2006 on the Union Pacific west line from Geneva to LaFox and Elburn,” Kralik said. “This is a more complicated proposal.”
Kendall County is not part of the Regional Transportation Authority. A change in state legislation potentially would be needed to have Kendall County join the RTA, Kralik said.
Both BNSF and the RTA would have to sign agreements as well for the project.
There is guarded excitement over the possible extension, Oswego Village President Troy Parlier said.
“Obviously joining the RTA is significant, but (funding) can come in many forms, it doesn’t have to be a sales tax,” he said.
The municipalities are taking the project step-by-step, Parlier said.
“This summer will be the first kick-off and then we will set a game plan to get funding through grants and other contributions. Once we have that piece settled through the federal government we can consider the RTA,” he said.
He said it has taken quite a while to get to this point with the proposed project.
“Getting to this point took 12 years from when the original funding was earmarked for the study. It will be a few more years but right now the opportunity costs nothing. To keep the opportunity alive for future generations is the right thing to do,” he said.
Joining the RTA and funding are the last steps in the process, Yorkville City Administrator Bart Olson said. Information on the different variables has to be known so the municipalities can get support for the proposed extension, he said.
“If we don’t know what the project is going to look like, how many trains there will be and how many people will take the trains or what it is going to cost them it would be difficult to get the support,” Olson said.
Oswego resident Tina Heindrich said her family regularly uses Metra.
“My husband commutes daily to Chicago. This is something we would definitely use if the service was extended further out,” Heindrich said.
Currently her husband has to take the train from Aurora, she said.
“There are many mornings where we have to take him to the station. For our family it would be convenient to have a local station,” she said.
More information on the project is available at Metrarail.com/kendallextension. The deadline to submit written comments or complete an online survey on the project is Jan. 6.
Linda Girardi is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.
