Metra Expands Rock Island Service With More Weekday and Weekend Trains

Overview

• Metra posted a new Rock Island schedule and will implement Phase 0.5 on June 1, adding four weekday evening trains and boosting weekend service to 40 trains on both Saturdays and Sundays.
• The June 1 changes add regular stops at Gresham, 95th/Longwood and 103rd/Washington Heights and end off‑peak and weekend service at low‑ridership Beverly Branch stops 123rd Street and Prairie Street.
• The agency is phasing out flag stops on the Rock Island line and replacing them with scheduled stops so trains stop only at listed stations rather than by request.
• Metra plans additional Metra Electric increases starting June 15 that will create roughly 20‑minute midday service to Hyde Park and add rebuilt stops, timed to serve the June 19 opening of the Obama Presidential Center.
• Metra calls the June moves 'Phase 0.5' toward full regional rail pilots under new Northern Illinois Transit Authority oversight and says reaching consistent 30‑minute service will require major signal, crossover and track projects including a possible flyover at a Canadian National crossing.