Local officials and Metra marked the completion Friday of the commuter rail line’s Homewood station, rebuilt after a 20-month project costing $21 million.
Original sections of the station, at Ridge Road and Harwood Avenue, date to 1911, and completion of the Metra station followed an extensive renovation of the nearby Amtrak station.
The station opened to commuters Dec. 9, with Homewood officials that day passing out doughnuts to riders.
The Metra station is part of an intermodal transportation facility serving Metra,
Amtrak and Pace customers
“This new facility offers a tremendous improvement to the customer experience for
Metra, Pace and Amtrak riders,” Metra Executive Director Jim Derwinski said Friday in a news release. “It also demonstrates how cooperation from multiple entities can secure funding and create tangible benefits in our communities.”
The revamped station includes an Americans with Disabilities Act-accessible east headhouse with a ramp, a renovated platform, wind breaks, warming house and gatehouse, Metra said.
Upgrades to the facility also included new drainage, ventilation and lighting and interior finishes in the existing pedestrian tunnel, which was plagued by water leaks, and replacement of the elevator and stairs connecting the tunnel to the platform.
A new Pace bus facility was created with three bus bays and a covered waiting area, Metra said.
“Homewood is excited to open the facility and reconnect the commuters to
downtown Homewood,” Village President Rich Hofeld said in the release.
The Federal Transit Administration provided $13.6 million toward the project.
Additional funding came from the Regional Transportation Authority, Cook County, Pace and Metra.
In 2022, Amtrak completed a $15 million renovation of its station, 18015 Park Ave., directly west of the Metra station, including making it complaint with the federal Americans with Disabilities Act.
The Amtrak station is a stop for the rail lines Illini and Saluki trains, which provide service between Chicago and Carbondale and includes stops in Champaign and Mattoon.
Amtrak’s City of New Orleans train also includes a stop at the Homewood station.
Built in 1923 as part of the Illinois Central Railroad system, the station is on the state’s Register of Historic Places, and efforts were made to preserve many of the building’s architectural elements.
The mission revival architectural style of the station was meant to complement the clubhouse at Ravisloe Country Club just to the southwest, according to Amtrak.
The station had been closed during much of the project, which got underway in August 2020, with passengers who would board the Illini and Saluki trains being shuttled to Amtrak’s Kankakee station.
