Passenger rail service between Rockford and Chicago will return for the first time since 1981 under a plan announced by Gov. J.B. Pritzker on July 6.

Passenger rail service between Rockford and Chicago is coming back after an absence of more than 40 years.

At a July 6 appearance in Rockford, Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced restored service is scheduled to begin with two daily round trips in 2027.

But the provider won’t be Amtrak, which already operates an extensive Illinois passenger network. Instead, Chicago based Metra, the suburban commuter rail service, will partner with the state and extend a route from Elgin to include stops in Huntley and Belvidere.

The project will be funded through $275 million from a Rebuild Illinois capital program.

“With this new service, we’re connecting more communities and creating greater opportunities for people across the state line region,” Pritzker said. “The new Rockford Intercity Passenger Rail service will have positive impacts that will strengthen northern Illinois for years to come.”

To restore passenger trains between Chicago and Rockford for the first time since 1981, Metra will use its Milwaukee District West line service and relationships with the Union Pacific Railroad to extend service beyond Elgin to reach Rockford.

The plan would include improved grade crossings, upgraded bridges and double-tracking at various locations. Stations also will be built in Huntley and Belvidere.

With these improvements, travel time is anticipated to be slightly less than two hours between the two cities, with two round trips per day planned. Boarding locations in Chicago and Rockford, as well as a fare structure and schedule, are still to be determined.

A new website, chicagotorockfordrail.org, offers an overview of the project. Status updates will be provided in the coming months, and public informational meetings will be scheduled as well.

Pending Metra board approval, the next phases of the project involve reaching operations and maintenance agreements between IDOT, Metra and Union Pacific.

Also required are engineering studies to determine the scope of track improvements needed to support increasing speeds from existing freight operations that peak at 40 mph to enable passenger speeds of 79 mph between Elgin and Rockford. To reach Rockford, a connection ultimately will have to be built between Metra and the Union Pacific tracks in Elgin.

Pritzker was joined by state and local officials at the announcement.

“(This) has been a long time in the making and something that a lot of people didn’t believe would actually happen,” said Rockford Mayor Tom McNamara. “Rockford is, unfortunately, known for getting so close to having something great and then letting it slip away. I’m proud that this rail project is on track and moving forward with service planned to start in 2027.”

Service expansion outside of its traditional six-county Chicago metro area will be something new for Metra.

“(But) it is something we are well-prepared to do,” said Metra CEO and Executive Director Jim Derwinski. “We know how to operate passenger trains – we’ve been doing it for nearly 40 years, through polar vortexes and hot streaks and pandemics and with an on-time performance rate that is the envy of our peers. And we could not be more excited that we will soon be providing service to Rockford.”

Metra’s system includes nearly 500 miles of track with 242 stations on 11 routes.

Passed in 2019, Rebuild Illinois is investing a total of $33.2 billion over six years into the state’s aging transportation system, creating jobs and promoting economic growth.

It includes more than $1 billion to expand and improve rail across the state, including $225 million to restore passenger service to the Quad Cities, $100 million to improve safety and reliability on Amtrak’s Saluki service between Chicago and Carbondale, and $492 million to invest in modernizing operations in the northeastern Illinois through the Chicago Region Environmental and Transportation Efficiency (CREATE) program.

Pritzker also recently celebrated the start of high-speed passenger service between Chicago and St. Louis, a $1.96 billion project that broke ground in 2010.