New Lenox Metra Train station
By Lisa Frieri

On October 6, New Lenox and Metra officials dedicated a $2.85 million dollar commuter rail station, located on Laraway Road, just east of Cedar Road. New Lenox also has a train station that is located on Route 30 and Cedar Road, which provides service to the Chicago LaSalle Street station. During the ceremony, New Lenox Mayor Michael Smith, U.S. Congressman Jerry Weller and Will County Executive Larry Walsh unveiled a plaque dedicated to the people of New Lenox.

L to R: Jim Moustis, Will County Board Chairman, Congressman Jerry Weller, New Lenox Mayor Michael Smith, Chairman of the Metra Board of Directors Carole Davis and Will County Executive Larry Walsh. Picture courtesy of Andy Fuller.

U.S. Congressman Jerry Weller, New Lenox Mayor Michael Smith, who is also a Metra director, along with Will County Executive Larry Walsh and Metra board president Carole R. Doris, were present for the ribbon-cutting ceremony. Mayor Smith, through a partnership with Congressman Weller, the Federal Transit Authority and the Illinois Department of Transportation were instrumental in making the train station possible.

Rep. Weller helped get the project off the ground by sponsoring legislation to secure funding for the station. Congressman Weller said the project was a “group effort” and with the expansion of the train service and Will County as a whole, he hopes to “create jobs and make quality of life better in Will County”. The Laraway station is part of the federal New Start program, which is a 12-mile expansion of Metra’s Southwest service from Orland Park to Manhattan.

Will County Exec Larry Walsh, New Lenox Mayor Michael Smith and Congressman Weller unveil a plaque for the station.

The train station includes a 700 square foot brick depot with an indoor waiting area, a 640-foot paved platform with benches, bicycle racks, and a 300-space commuter parking lot.

New Lenox and the rest of Will County have had a surge in population in the past 15 years. As Congressman Weller noted, many Will County residents who drive to Chicago “suffer gridlock”, which can not only be stressful, but costly with the increase in gas prices. Taking a Metra train can be a great alternative from the stressful commute to Chicago. It is $10.50 for a round trip ticket from New Lenox, compared to $2.35/gal for gas. Commuters can save money by purchasing 10-ride tickets and monthly passes. Currently, 1.5 million people use Metra to commute to work, and usage is up 38% from last year. By 2008, Metra is expected to add 45,000 new riders to their service.

Nearby Manhattan opened a station earlier this year, which also has four trains daily, running during the morning and evening rush hours and stops at the station every weekday.

Eventually, Congressman Weller would like to extend the train service out to the former Arsenal property in Elwood, where job growth is also expected.

The Laraway train service started October 9th, and trains leave at 6:10 a.m. and 7 a.m. and arrive from Chicago at 6:16 p.m. and 6:56 p.m.