Metra's Eight Battery Trains Work Out to $19.25 Million Each

Metra's contract for eight battery-electric Stadler trainsets is worth $154 million, which is $19.25 million for each two-car unit that seats 112 passengers. The first one reaches Chicago this week for a public display on Oct. 5, and Mass Transit reported that passenger service is planned for the end of 2027 into 2028.

Electrek headlined the story as a locomotive. The sources describe something else: a Stadler FLIRT, a multiple-unit train with the traction batteries in the middle section of a permanently coupled set, with controls at both ends. There is no separate engine pulling coaches; the set is the coach and the traction at once, which is why the order is counted in trainsets.

What the contract covers

GovTech reported that the board approved the purchase in February 2024. The base order is eight two-car trainsets from Stadler U.S. of Salt Lake City for $154 million. An option covers eight more trainsets plus up to 32 trailer cars for $181.4 million.

A federal grant pays most of it. Mass Transit put the grant at $169 million from the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement program, and GovTech said about $30 million in state funds supplies the local match.

Item	Figure	Source
Base order	8 two-car trainsets, $154 million	GovTech, Mass Transit
Cost per trainset	$19.25 million (computed)	$154 million divided by 8
Seats per trainset	112, plus about 46 per added car	Mass Transit
Quoted range	45 to 65 miles	GovTech, Mass Transit

Dividing the contract by seats gives $171,875 per seat on the base order. That is the contract's arithmetic, not a price Metra or Stadler published, and the contract may include spares, tooling and training that the sources do not itemise.

Whether 45 to 65 miles covers the route

The first service is the Beverly branch of the Rock Island line, 16.4 miles from LaSalle Street Station through Beverly to Blue Island, mostly off-peak, GovTech said. A round trip is 32.8 miles.

1. Quoted range, high65 miles
2. Quoted range, low45 miles
3. Round trip, LaSalle Street to Blue Island and back32.8 miles
4. One way, Beverly branch16.4 miles

Source: GovTech and Mass Transit, Sept. 2026

On the low figure a round trip uses 73 percent of the range; on the high figure, 50 percent. Charging closes the gap: Electrek reported a recharge from 20 to 80 percent in about 30 minutes, and Mass Transit said the sets can plug into existing 480-volt connections at yards and terminals, or recover energy through regenerative braking. GovTech said the type and cost of charging infrastructure were still undetermined.

No outlet reports what conditions the 45 to 65 mile range assumes, and Electrek said the battery capacity has not been disclosed. A range quoted without a battery size, a temperature or a speed profile is a vendor figure.

When it carries riders

The dates do not agree. Mass Transit said passenger service would begin at the end of 2027 into 2028; Electrek said before the end of 2027; Railway News said 2028; GovTech said delivery is expected in 2027 and 2028. Testing is set for the Federal Railroad Administration's Transportation Technology Center in Pueblo, Colorado, Mass Transit said.

Showing a train is not the same as certifying one. Stadler's battery FLIRT Akku trains have run in Germany since 2023, Railway News said, which gives the design an operating record elsewhere, though not on a US network or under US rules.

Metra Executive Director Jim Derwinski is quoted in the Mass Transit report: "We'll be the first in the country to have battery-powered passenger vehicles." The Terminal has looked at how other hardware headlines hold up against their denominators, including Vermont's 110 MW home-battery fleet and Rivian's delayed lidar R2.

The next date is the Oct. 5 display at the American Public Transportation Association's conference in Chicago. Electrek said exhibition starts Sunday; the other sources give Oct. 5, which is a Monday.