Amtrak Quad Cities Proposal Chicago, Moline, Iowa City

[Greg Moore]

Wow, I still remember when I was working for a company based in Moline back in 2007 how good of an idea this would be. The CEO there was a huge rail fan and agreed.

Maybe someday we'll actually see it.

It does seem like a good idea... let's just get it done.

[gokeefe]

The Capitol corridor has an agreement with UP that CC pays for a full time extra surfacing crew that causes twice as often surfacing of the route. There are very few delays on its route due to slow orders.

That arrangement is considered to be at the very core of the success of this corridor.

[Engineer Spike]

What is the present status for startup? This thread seems to have died. I have a few opinions on the topic.

First, without Iowa involvement, this project is a waste. I am a former Galesburg resident. As such, and very familiar with the drive, both I74, and 150. It isn’t that long of a trip. My thought is that a shuttle bus might be more than adequate. Galesburg might be too much of a side trip, so time might not be competitive with other modes of transportation. How about running the shuttle east? The bus could connect with rail in Princeton, or Mendota, where I80, and the BN line intersect, or are at least close. A Galesburg bus might have a saving grace, in spite of the longer dogleg to Chicago, as I mentioned. People could connect here for points west.

[mtuandrew]

At that point, how about a direct coach bus from the Quad Cities to Joliet?

[Woody]

opinion ... without Iowa involvement, this project is a waste. ... a shuttle bus might be more than adequate. ... The bus could connect with rail in Princeton, or Mendota ...

One way of looking at it that the purpose of this segment is to raise interest in passenger rail in Iowa, at least along the route Quad Cities-Iowa City-Des Moines-Omaha. We hope that Iowa's citizens and legislators will look across the Mississippi and say, "Hey, on second thought, we do want something like that after all."

Truth told, there's not much national interest in Quad Cities trains going up to 79 mph and taking 3 1/2 hrs to and from Chicago. But a real corridor train linking Lincoln-Omaha-Des Moines-Iowa City-Quad Cities-CHI will amount to something, come that glorious day. So we take one step.

Anyway, by allowing transfers at Chicago, the new train should feed passengers to trains like the Cardinal and the Capitol Ltd, and vice versa. And adding more train miles spreads the overhead over more trains, meaning a little less cost loaded onto the existing trains. So it will benefit the whole Amtrak system.
+++++++++++++++++++
Last I recall, Iowa Interstate had not finished the engineering, probably understandably thinking the deal was off for good. So work could get done in next year's working season. Or not. LOL.

[MisterUptempo]

Agreed. Any step, however small, is a step in the right direction, assuming, of course, that Rauner keeps his word.

Let's remember, though, that Branstad left $53 million on the table, because he and the Iowa legislature couldn't find it in their hearts to approve the $20 million in matching funds to send the train to Iowa City. Pathetic.

Unless and until Iowa government experiences a sea change in its attitude toward passenger rail, the 60 miles between the Quad Cities and Iowa City might as well be a million miles, for all the difference it will make.

It's one of the reasons why I really don't want the Black Hawk extended to Dubuque, if and when that route EVER gets started. When the revival of the route was announced, at no time did Iowa even go through the motions of offering to extend the route to Waterloo/Cedar Falls or anywhere else.

All due respect to Freeport and Galena, but those two towns are too small to justify the expense. And if Iowa chooses to not toss a little into the pot to make the expense of the extension more palatable, then the Black Hawk terminating at Rockford sounds good to me.

The best chances for rail expansion for the foreseeable future will occur at the state and regional levels, and if Iowa chooses to put no skin in the game, they can be bypassed quite easily.

[quincunx]

Chicago Tribune - From road repairs to transit expansions, $33 billion in capital bill will have ‘monumental’ impact

$225 million for Amtrak passenger rail to the Quad Cities.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/bre ... story.html

[Rockingham Racer]

The project has been languishing in limbo. IDOT went so far as to publish a proposed schedule several years ago, in fact. The big project to advance this service will be the connection between the BNSF and IAIS [former RI] at Wyanet, IL. IIRC, track and signal work is also needed on the IAIS.

[Engineer Spike]

Probably the reason for the Illinois half of the Quad Cities is because they’ll get the heavy lifting done in Illinois. First is all the arrangements, subsidies, financing, and a connection built between the Burlington and Rock routes. Later on Iowa can come up with all the extra items needed to extend into that state.

[CarterB]

Why stop in Moline, and not continue on to Rock Island?

[John_Perkowski]

Put on shuttle vans in Moline, Davenport, etc

Drive people to Kewanee

Put them on the existing Quincy turns.

Problem, solved.

[east point]

Not until Iowa kicks in some money!

[GWoodle]

Put on shuttle vans in Moline, Davenport, etc

Drive people to Kewanee

Put them on the existing Quincy turns.

Problem, solved.

Instead of Kewanee, just go south to Galesburg. Make connections with Chief, Zephyr, Quincy trains. Now you have 4 a day to choose from.

[Jeff Smith]

https://www.wqad.com/amp/article/news/l ... e70974387b

MOLINE, Ill. — A project to bring passenger rail to the Quad Cities is still off track after more than a decade of anticipation.

Back in 2008, Former Iowa and Illinois US Senators reached out to Amtrak, asking them to start planning on bringing passenger rail back to the Quad Cities. Millions of Dollars have since been allocated for the rail project, and that money has since sat there. Its original hope was to be up and running by the fall of 2014, said former WQAD News 8 reporter Jonathan Ketz, in an article he wrote about the potential Amtrak merger.

The meeting was held at the Moline Police Department, where Mayor Rayapati, along with Illinois State Senator Mike Halpin and Illinois Representative Gregg Johnson, said they still support the possible addition of Amtrak in Moline.

State and city leaders said at the press conference that Iowa Interstate Railroad, is the only hurdle left in bringing this plan into fruition. In order for Amtrak to come through Moline, Iowa Interstate Railroad, would need to upgrade 55 miles of track, connecting Bureau County to Moline.

...

[John_Perkowski]

https://www.wqad.com/amp/article/news/l ... e70974387b

State and city leaders said at the press conference that Iowa Interstate Railroad, is the only hurdle left in bringing this plan into fruition. In order for Amtrak to come through Moline, Iowa Interstate Railroad, would need to upgrade 55 miles of track, connecting Bureau County to Moline.
...

Five words: No bucks, no Buck Rodgers