Numbers don’t support Rockford Metra line

Regarding your editorial in favor of the Metra line to Rockford, consider the following facts:

The annual cost of this $275 million project amortized over 30 years is $16.6 million. Add operating costs based on Metra’s financials, and the total annual cost of the service will probably be at least $20 million per year.

Rockford is about as far from Chicago as Milwaukee is. The Rockford MSA has a population of about one-fifth of the population of the Milwaukee MSA. Amtrak’s Hiawatha line to Milwaukee had about 665,000 riders in 2024, and Amtrak runs 12 to 14 trains per day to Chicago, while the proposed Rockford line will a morning departure from Huntley to Chicago around 9 a.m. and a return trip at approximately 2:30 a.m. Van Galder already runs 15 buses every day from Rockford to the Loop at $29.30. Which would YOU choose for a trip to Chicago if you lived in Rockford?

Based on the relative sizes of the two metropolitan areas, it would be extremely generous to estimate that the line will increase ridership by 130,000 (one fifth of the ridership of the Hiawatha line). Include the difference in the number of trains, and I would be surprised if the new line generates 30,000 rides per year.

At 30,000 riders, the subsidy per rider is over $600 and the cost to the taxpayers $19 million per year.

So, Daily Herald, please explain your enthusiasm for this boondoggle and how it will be economical and generate more than $20 million a year in additional economic benefits. Or change your mind.

Steve Willson

Huntley