Latest Timeline For Delayed Elmhurst Train Station

ELMHURST, IL – Elmhurst has delayed its proposed Metra train station project for years. If the latest schedule is correct, the city will get bids in less than a year.

Patch asked the city Tuesday about the latest timeline. In an email, spokeswoman Molly Arnold said the city hopes to receive bids next June. Meanwhile, she said the city continues to work with Union Pacific and Metra for property acquisition and lease terms.

The latest cost estimate is $47.3 million, which is up from $44 million in January 2024. In mid-2020, officials estimated the Metra station's costs at $25 million.

Grants from the federal government and other entities are expected to cover three-fourths of the costs.

Elmhurst would pick up the remaining $12 million. The city said it would go into debt and pay back the money from a downtown tax increment financing district, or TIF.

The station project is expected to include warming shelters, a pedestrian tunnel, a platform reconstruction and surface parking improvements.

The current station, which is considered undersized for its ridership, is the fourth busiest in the Metra system. It was built in the 1960s and updated in the 1980s.

At a meeting late last year, officials explained the status of the outside grants.