Forty-one years after its creation, Metra finds itself at a pivotal moment in its history. Five years after a global pandemic upended the agency’s traditional model of moving people into the city in the morning and out in the evening, Metra is seeking to reinvent itself as a regional rail network rather than merely a commuter operator. However, complicating this transformation is an impending loss of federal funding that officials say could lead to “doomsday” cuts to all of Chicago’s transit agencies, including Metra. 

The man tasked with navigating these uncertain times is James M. Derwinski, who has served as the chief executive officer of the nation’s busiest commuter railroad outside of the New York City metropolitan area since 2017. Derwinski is no stranger to Metra—or railroading. After serving in the U.S. Navy as a nuclear submarine electrician, Derwinski hired out on Chicago & North Western in 1993. He joined Metra as an electrician in 1997 and steadily rose through the ranks, eventually becoming the railroad’s chief mechanical officer in 2013. In 2017, he was unanimously elected by Metra’s board to be CEO and executive director of the railroad. 

This week, Railfan & Railroad spoke with Derwinski to discuss the upcoming budget cuts, Metra’s motive power fleet, and the future of passenger rail in Chicago. 

Metra SD70MAC 513 leads a train across Canal Street in Chicago. The commuter agency has turned to rebuilt second-hand units as a way to address its motive power needs as a cost-savings measure. —Brian Caswell photo

Lean Times Ahead?

This spring, Illinois lawmakers failed to pass legislation to prevent “doomsday” cuts to public transit in and around Chicago. The shortfall stems from the federal government ending pandemic-related funding subsidies for transit agencies, which will lead to a $770 million deficit for the three agencies under the Regional Transportation Authority (Metra, Chicago Transit Authority, and Pace bus service). 

Derwinski said it was too early to know exactly what those “doomsday” cuts could look like, but he anticipated having to eliminate approximately 260 weekday trains, 130 Saturday trains, and 58 Sunday trains from the present schedule. Where exactly those cuts are made would be determined by the Metra board of directors and a robust public engagement effort. He emphasized the importance of ensuring that the cuts didn’t gut the system or negatively impact riders. One way to avoid that would be to add extra cars to existing trains from consists that are parked due to schedule reductions. Currently, Metra has funding to maintain its current level of service through the middle of next year, so it’s possible that no changes will occur before then. However, Derwinski said it was also possible that RTA and Metra might start implementing cuts earlier to avoid more dramatic and sudden reductions later.  

“There is an immense number of scenarios, but the only thing we know for sure is that federal funding runs out in mid-2026,” he said. “It’s unfortunate… but we’re keeping our heads down and getting to work.”

One of the battery-powered trains currently being built for Metra by Stadler U.S. —Courtesy Image.

Motive Power

While Metra faces the possibility of significant service cuts, it continues to upgrade its rolling stock fleet, especially its locomotives. This week, the Metra board of directors was considering a plan to acquire nine additional SD70MACH locomotives, bringing the total to 42 of these unique six-axle passenger units. Derwinski said the next part of the fleet to be refreshed will be the ex-Amtrak F59s that the company acquired in 2018. 

Derwinski has also become a big proponent of finding the next generation of motive power for Metra, including battery-powered units. In 2024, Metra announced it was purchasing zero-emission, battery-powered trainsets from Stadler U.S. for use on the Rock Island Line’s Beverly Branch. Derwinski said the first trainset was expected to arrive next year and enter revenue service in 2027.

“We’re really excited to kick the tires of these units and see how they work,” he said. 

Derwinski said he was hopeful the Stadler trainsets could be the first of many battery-powered units on Metra, including yard switchers. When asked about expanded electrification (as CalTrain recently did), he noted that battery-powered units would require less infrastructure and be more financially feasible. He also said that the Stadler units might not be the final answer in Metra’s search for the next generation of motive power.

“We want to try different things,” he said, adding that he was keeping an eye on other developments within the industry, including hydrogen power.

Bringing UP Lines Into The Fold

Perhaps the biggest development at Metra this year — although one that hasn’t resulted in many visible changes — was the agency finally taking over the operation of the three Union Pacific (ex-C&NW) lines. Derwinski said because UP will still be dispatching those lines, it’s unlikely any major operational changes will occur. The main focus will be fully integrating the UP employees into Metra and its customer-focused culture. Eventually, he said there may be opportunities to find efficiencies in some maintenance operations (locomotive and car repair, train cleaning, etc). 

A Metra North Central Service line train at O’Hare Transfer in June 2024, led by MP36PH-3S 420. These units were built by Motive Power Industries more than 20 years ago, augmenting the carrier’s fleet of EMD F40 variants. —Photo by Justin Franz. 

The Future

Ridership on Metra remains below its pre-pandemic level, as it does at many agencies across the country, according to a recent report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office. According to the report, Metra’s ridership from 2019 to 2024 was down 42 percent. However, according to Metra, ridership has been slowly growing, and from 2023 to 2024, it increased by more than 9 percent, from 31 million passengers to 35 million.

Derwinski attributed the overall decline to changing work patterns. That’s why he wants to see Metra transformed into a regional network rather than a traditional commuter railroad. In 2023, Metra released a five-year plan that called for operating more trains outside of the traditional rush hours to serve more people. Derwinski mentioned that a more robust schedule, with additional trains at night or during midday, has been rolled out on the Union Pacific North, Union Pacific Northwest, BNSF, and Metra Electric lines. He indicated that so far, those schedule changes have been well received. Another aspect of making Metra a more regional system is aligning schedules to ensure people can reliably make downtown connections, even if they need to change stations.

While challenges lay ahead, Derwinski and his team are working hard to minimize the impact of reduced funding while introducing what service enhancements they can to keep the Windy City’s commuter rail running smoothly for years to come. —Justin Franz