State Funding Awarded for Additional Passenger Rail Planning

The City of DeKalb has been awarded an Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) technical assistance grant to support the next phase of planning for a potential passenger rail corridor between DeKalb and the Elburn Metra station.

The IDOT grant will fund a Planning and Environmental Linkages (PEL) study as the City and Northern Illinois University continue collaborative passenger rail planning efforts for the DeKalb area. PEL studies are designed to consider environmental, community, and economic goals early in the transportation planning process, and use the information and analysis developed during planning to inform the environmental review process. The results of this PEL study may be used to select a locally preferred alternative for a corridor design and act as a mechanism for the community to request large-scale federal funding for a future passenger rail extension.

"We are grateful to IDOT for their support. This grant funding is crucial to the continuation of the Metra extension planning," said Mayor Cohen Barnes.

The PEL study will build on the City of DeKalb / Northern Illinois University 2023 DeKalb Metra Extension Feasibility Study.

Key findings from that study include:

• On average, 10,800 people travel daily between DeKalb County and communities along the UP-West line
• The top 5 Amtrak stations in Illinois connect to universities, demonstrating a beneficial relationship between passenger rail and higher education.
• Sixty-four percent of students enrolled at NIU are from the six-county Chicago Metropolitan area, creating a strong potential travel market for passenger rail service.
• Nearly one-third of NIU employees live adjacent to the DeKalb campus and over one-half (54%) reside in DeKalb County. Most of the remaining NIU employees live in the vicinity of the UP-West commuter line.
• The polling of DeKalb's leading industrial, commercial, and institutional entities shows overwhelming support for commuter service, both in support of their employee bases and as a lifestyle choice of transportation for personal ends.

According to Transit Manager Michael Neuenkirchen, "While the feasibility study focused on elements such as potential commuter rail usage and system costs, the PEL study will take a deeper look at the logistics involved in creating a new passenger rail corridor. As important, this study will help to engage regional, state and federal officials on the planning process, which will be necessary for any future permitting and funding requests."

Based on NIU and DeKalb County commuter habits, the passenger rail extension study estimates the weekday usage for Metra service to DeKalb would range between 189-259 daily users.

Demand for passenger rail service to DeKalb has been demonstrated by the Transit Division's Route 12 / Elburn Service. Since increasing route frequency and reducing fare costs, ridership on the bus service between DeKalb and the Elburn Metra station has dramatically increased. As an example, 2019 ridership for the entire year on Route 12 was 3,163 trips. By comparison, ridership on the route reached 14,179 in 2023. Transit staff are estimating to end this year with approximately 25,000 passenger trips on the Route 12.

The IDOT grant will compensate up to 80% of eligible expenses to the maximum amount of the grant, which is $400,000. The remaining 20% of expenses, up to $100,000, will be paid through the local transit contribution provided to the City's transit program by Northern Illinois University.

City Council will consider a resolution authorizing the execution of this grant agreement at the Council meeting on November 12, 2024.

More information on the 2023 DeKalb Metra Feasibility Study may be found here.

More information on DeKalb Route 12 / Elburn Route Ridership may be found here.

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