Village president discusses Johnsburg Metra station

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JOHNSBURG – Curious what the Johnsburg Metra station could look like? You might be able to get a sneak peek by visiting the train stop in Round Lake Beach.

If Metra moves ahead with a regional expansion project and builds a station in Johnsburg, it could be a replica of the train stop in Round Lake Beach, Johnsburg President Ed Hettermann said at a village meeting Thursday.

Since taking office this spring, Hettermann has been trying to pick up where late Johnsburg President Dave Dominguez left off in talks with Metra about a $507 million expansion project. Hettermann updated village officials on Metra’s status Thursday night.

“Dave isn’t here to tell us what’s going on, ... so it’s catching everybody up to one spot,” Hettermann said. “These are just the things that were worked out by Dave.”

The proposed Johnsburg station would be built north of McCullom Lake Road, west of existing tracks. The proposed size and design of the station closely would resemble the one in Round Lake Beach, but the plans are very preliminary.

“[In] four or five years, they’ll start engineering,” Village Engineer Tim Hartnett said. “It’s out aways.”

The expansion also would include adding stops on the Union Pacific Northwest line in Ridgefield and Prairie Grove, Metra officials said Tuesday.

According to the information he has gathered so far, Hettermann said, Metra has committed to cover the cost of the project, including building the station in Johnsburg.

“That is a very huge concession to us because normally the municipality pays for the station,” Hettermann said.

He said he hoped to clarify with Metra how many parking spots would be built at the station initially and after the station is completed, and how many locomotives and coach cars would be housed in the rail yard that Metra wants to build at the Johnsburg station.

Metra officials said earlier this week that if the expansion project is completed in its current proposed form, service could be offered as early as 2014.