Plano Amtrak station to possibly get four new stops

PLANO – The Plano station might be getting more Amtrak train arrival and departure times in the next couple of years.

Plano Mayor Bob Hausler made the announcement that two new westbound departures and two new eastbound departures might be added to the city's Amtrak station during his report at the regular City Council meeting on Monday, June 10.

He said those added stops would be part of the proposed Chicago to Quad Cities Amtrak train line, which was recently included in the recent Illinois state capital bill program with $225 million dollars being designated for the creation of the new line.

Hausler said the Plano stop would still be on the train line to Quincy. He said he is unsure about what the new train schedule at the Plano station would look like, but the additional stops are anticipated to be scheduled mid-day.

“I think that’s still something they’re going to have to re-negotiate with [Burlington Northern-Santa Fe Railway],” Hausler said.

Hausler said he anticipates the Amtrak project going into effect before a $100 million Metra extension to Kendall County, which was also part of the state capital bill. Hausler said there aren't as many steps that the city would need to take to get those additional stops like there would be for a Metra stop, including being part of the Regional Transit Authority – or RTA – or getting additional federal funding, but it's his understanding that there's still a lot of track work that needs to be done before the line becomes operational.

“I would think a year, year and a half, two years, but I’m just guessing at this point,” Hausler said.

Preliminary engineering began for the Amtrak Chicago to the Quad Cities project in 2011. The project was delayed in 2015 after former Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner took office but was re-initiated in 2017.

The additional route would follow the BNSF line to west of Princeton and would switch to the Iowa Interstate Railway, or IAIS, track.

Currently, Amtrak trains stop at 7:40 a.m. and 5:58 p.m. going westbound and 9:21 a.m. and 8:39 p.m. going eastbound from the Plano station. The city's station sits between the Mendota and Naperville stops, which would also get additional departure times should the Quad Cities route go into effect.

Hausler said the ultimate goal is for Plano to match counterparts like Naperville and LaGrange in having both Amtrak and Metra lines at its train station. He said he is proud to have the only Amtrak service in Kendall County and he thinks it would be a great economic development driver for the downtown area especially.

“It’s exciting to see that these projects are moving forward,” Hausler said.

Kendall County Metra update

The Plano Amtrak station update comes after the announcement of $100 million being allocated to a Kendall County Metra rail expansion as part of Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker's capital plan.

The release of the state infrastructure plan draft came after the Metra Board of Directors awarded a $4.7 million contract to Chicago-based Alfred Benesch & Companyfor conceptual engineering and design work for the possible extension of commuter rail service into Kendall County along the BNSF mainline tracks. Possible station locations could include Montgomery, Oswego, Yorkville, Plano and Sandwich in DeKalb County.

Sugar Grove village officials also recently passed a resolution opposing the Kendall County Metra rail extension, saying they would want to see the station being built in their village, since Kane County is already part of the RTA.

Illinois State Rep. Stephanie Kifowit, D-Aurora, said the money is already clearly allocated to Kendall County getting the Metra station in the House Bill 62. She said Kendall County and municipal officials have been working on keeping legislators aware of the situation and their intentions for a long time with personal meetings, and that kind of advocacy undoubtedly is what got the money allocated.

Kifowit said if an individual legislator wanted to try to create legislation that would re-appropriate those funds to Sugar Grove, they could. However, she said, she would oppose it and thinks it would be unlikely to pass, since Kane County's requests for the capital bill that were sent to state had no mention of a Metra station in Sugar Grove.

“The intent is clear and money is clear, and they should’ve been in front of the game,” Kifowit said.

As of 5:45 p.m. Wednesday, June 12, the capital bill that includes the money allocated for the Kendall County Metra rail expansion awaits the governor's signature.