By Mary Wisniewski, Chicago Tribune; October 8, 2019
Metra expects to spend close to $2.6 billion in the next five years on locomotives, rail cars, bridges, stations and other improvements that could potentially speed the daily commutes of Chicago-area residents.
More than half of the funding for the planned purchases will come from the capital program passed by the state legislature earlier this year. Almost $1.2 billion, will go toward new and rehabbed locomotives and rail cars, while $409 million will be spent on bridges, tracks and structures and $365 million on stations, according to a capital program overview that will be discussed at Tuesday’s monthly board meeting.