Metra's new battery-powered trains will run on the Beverly Branch of the Rock Island Line

Metra and Cook County officials unveiled new lithium ion battery-powered trains that will first run on a stretch of the Beverly Branch of the Rock Island Line.

Metra leaders and Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, along with other officials, officially rolled out the new trains Wednesday morning at a news conference at the LaSalle St. Station.

The trainsets are made by Stadler, a Swiss railway rolling stock manufacturing company, and are part of their Fast Light Innovative Regional Train, or FLIRT, models. Metra is purchasing eight four-car FLIRT trainsets from Stadler U.S., which is based in Salt Lake City, and also has the option to buy eight more if the first set are successful.

The trains rely on onboard lithium-ion batteries. Stadler boasts its FLIRT platform is modular and flexible, which they say make it ideal for a wide range of needs.

"These will be the first battery-powered trainsets to operate in North America, and they're unlike anything Metra has operated before," said Metra CEO Jim Derwinski. "These zero-emission trainsets will be cleaner and quieter, and we hope they will play a key role in helping Metra to operate more frequent, all-day service and improve connectivity with CTA and Pace."

The trains will have single-level cars with low-level boarding and lifts to make them ADA compliant, the agency said. They will come in four-car sets that can seat 208 people each, and have open gangways so passengers can easily move car-to-car.

The trains will also have bike racks, luggage racks, USB outlets and two ADA-accessible bathrooms.

They will charge using existing cables in yards and terminals, and can recover energy through regenerative braking, but Metra also said it will have dedicated charging infrastructure.

Metra plans to put the trains into service in 2028, with the first of them running the 16-and-a-half mile stretch between LaSalle St. and Blue Island on the Beverly Branch of the Rock Island Line.

The new trains are on display at LaSalle St. Station Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Thursday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.