ILLINOIS DOT: An agreement with the Iowa Interstate Railroad could be made this year
The holdup between the two parties is part of the reason there s been a more than decade long wait in the passenger rail project between Moline and Chicago.
Credit: WQAD
A spokesman for the Illinois Department of Transportation says an agreement with the Iowa Interstate Railroad could be made this year. Author: Jonathan Ketz Updated: 6:33 AM CDT April 22, 2021
ILLINOIS, USA Illinois State Representative Mike Halpin is calling for more progress in the Moline to Chicago passenger rail project.
Halpin says the federal, state, and local parties are all on board. Now he says it s time for the Iowa Interstate Railroad to come on board too. The railroad company owns the tracks from Bureau County, Illinois to Moline, but they d have to upgrade them to make them ready for passenger trains. The distance between the two locations is about 55 miles.
Iowa City Press-Citizen
It s not hard to get Gene Crosset talking about passenger rail, but don t call him a train nut. He prefers the title foamer. It comes from the foaming at the mouth when we see trains, Crosset said.
For decades, Crosset, a 78-year-old living in Davenport, has seen plans for an Iowa City-to-Chicago passenger rail line become a perennial conversation, only to disappear like a train heading into a tunnel.
The possibility exists again, after Amtrak released a map this month featuring new and enhanced lines, part of the $80 billion President Joe Biden designated for rail in his American Jobs Plan. The map included one bright blue line that dog-legged west from Chicago through Moline with a terminus in Iowa City.
Amtrak expansion seen as another sign that passenger rail will reach D.M. ⦠eventually
BY MICHAEL CRUMB, Senior Staff Writer Tuesday, April 13, 2021 10:49 AM
Amtrak’s California Zephyr is seen in this image from the company’s website as it travels across the U.S. The train is one of two Amtrak trains that pass through Iowa. Amtrak recently announced plans to expand its service by 2035, including adding a route from the Quad Cities to Iowa City.
Extending passenger railroad service from Chicago to Des Moines and then to Omaha would provide another transportation tool that could be used to attract and retain top talent for the region, said Jay Byers, CEO of the Greater Des Moines Partnership.
Hawkeye Express ends game day service thegazette.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from thegazette.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.