About the Quad Cities Passenger Rail
The
Quad Cities Passenger Rail Coalition ("QC Rail") is advocating on
behalf of the greater Quad City region for restored passenger rail service.
A
thriving metropolitan area of 400,000 residents, the Quad City region is the
next most logical addition to the passenger rail system. The Quad Cities is located on a highly populated passenger rail route
being considered to connect Chicago with the Quad Cities (400,000 residents),
Iowa City/Cedar Rapids (390,000 residents), Des Moines (500,000 residents),
and Omaha (820,000 residents).
As
a result of substantial ridership increases on existing Illinois routes, the
Illinois Department of Transportation and Amtrak are planning expanded routes
to include restored passenger rail service between Chicago and the Quad
Cities.
Amtrak service from Chicago to the Quad Cities is the lynchpin for an extended
route being planned along a highly populated corridor from the Quad Cities to
Iowa City, Des Moines, and Omaha.
The Iowa Department of Transportation is working with Amtrak to extend
service from the Quad Cities to Iowa City.
Updates:
QC Rail Celebrates 1st Anniversary
200 passenger rail supporters
helped celebrate the Quad Cities Passenger 
Rail Coalition's 1st Anniversary on
May 19, 2008 aboard the Celebration Belle river boat in Moline. State
and federal legislators, Amtrak officials, and Illinois and Iowa DOT officials
were recognized for their support (see picture).
Ever since the Coalition was organized in May 2007, support has continued to grow. Over 300 area community and business leaders joined the coalition during its first month and by September 2007, members numbered over 1000. Currently, support for the QC Rail Passenger Rail Coalition has reached over 3600 members. Nearly 100 businesses, labor and community organizations, and governmental entities have signed on as official supporters.
The Coalition has made great strides over the past year by working with area legislators, community, labor and business leaders, and passenger rail advocates to bring restored service closer to reality. Organized as an initiative of the Illinois Quad City Chamber’s Blueprint 2010, the Coalition thrives on the excitement and support from its active Steering Committee members and Coalition supporters.
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Illinois
and
Iowa Senators Identify Trains for Quad Cities Amtrak Service |
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U.S. Senator Dick Durbin recently led a group of U.S. Senators in requesting that Amtrak refurbish existing trains for the Chicago to Quad Cities Amtrak route. In a joint letter signed by Dick Durbin (IL), Barack Obama (IL), Tom Harkin (IA), Chuck Grassley (IA), Joseph Biden (DE), and Tom Carper (DE), the Senators identified former Amtrak trains being stored in a Delaware maintenance yard that could be used to restore service in the Quad Cities. This
proactive step helps to alleviate a potential hurdle identified in
recent Amtrak route feasibility studies: the short supply of existing
trains. According to their press release: “Enthusiasm
for passenger rail service is at an all-time high, driven by high fuel
prices, growing congestion and environmental concern. Amtrak has
seen phenomenal growth in |
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Amtrak Completes
Chicago to Quad Cities Feasibility Study
In
early 2007, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin raised awareness of the effort to restore
passenger rail in the Quad Cities by facilitating Illinois DOT’s request for
Amtrak to study service from Chicago to the Quad Cities.
In
February 2007, IDOT requested Amtrak conduct a feasibility study for the Quad
Cities to Chicago route, which was completed in January 2008.
The Amtrak feasibility study analyzes passenger rail service between
the Quad Cities to Chicago, including route analysis, construction cost,
ridership estimates, running time, revenue, operating expenses, necessary
subsidies. Click
here to view the complete study:
The
Amtrak feasibility report identified the shortest and most direct route for 2
daily roundtrip departures from the Quad Cities and Chicago (Note: Capital
cost does not include station costs):
Preferred Service Level:
79 mph service on Quad Cities-Naperville-Chicago via IAIS-BNSF-Amtrak
| Capital Cost: $22.7 million | Annual Ridership: 110,800 |
| Train rehabilitation: $5.6 million (3 train cars) | Running Time: 3 hours, 20 minutes |
| State Operating Contract: $5.9 million |
“As-Is”
Service at Current Speeds
| Capital Cost: $5.6 million | Annual Ridership: 90,000 |
| Train rehabilitation: $6.3 million (2 train cars) | Running Time: 4 hours |
| State Operating Contract: $6.3 million |
Amtrak
Completes Quad Cities to Iowa City Feasibility Study
Amtrak service from Chicago to the Quad Cities is the lynchpin for an extended route being planned along a highly populated corridor from the Quad Cities to Iowa City, Des Moines, and Omaha. The Iowa Department of Transportation is working with Amtrak to extend service from the Quad Cities to Iowa City.
The
following are details from the recently completed feasibility study for Amtrak
passenger rail service from the Quad Cities to Iowa City via the Iowa
Interstate Railroad. Click
here for the full report.
| "As-Is" Speeds | 60 mph | 79 mph | |
| Running time: | 2 hours 20 minutes | 1 hour 57 minutes | 1 hour 38 minutes |
| Estimated Annual Ridership: | 43,800 | 60,700 | 76,100 |
| Capital Cost: | $.3 million | $26.1 million | $32.5 million |
| Estimated Revenue: | $1.2 million | $1.7 million | $2.2 million |
| Estimated Operating Expenses: | $2.1 million | $1.9 million | $2.3 million |
Iowa and Illinois would share the annual state operating contract for the Chicago/Quad Cities/Iowa City route.
