24 replies to this topic

[KevinKorell]

WHBF-TV, Channel 4 in Rock Island, IL, 7/26/15:

 

Delays add up for Moline Amtrak service to Chicago

 

Bringing Amtrak access to the Quad Cities is not having nearly as smooth a ride as the I-74 Bridge work.

 

The plan has been to be able to hop on a train to ride back and forth between Moline and Chicago.

More

[CNJRoss]

OurQuadCities.com, 2/22:
 

Moline mayor says early 2017 AMTRAK target will be tough to hit

Still confident service to Chicago will happen

 

ROCK ISLAND, Ill.

 

Illinois has gone seven and a half months without a state budget. It's spending at levels based on the old higher income tax rate. At this pace, Illinois is staring at a $6 billion deficit by the end of this fiscal year, again without a budget.

 

SNIP

 

Some big projects Moline has been pushing for find themselves on hold because of circumstances beyond its control.

 

Those would be the expansion of John Deere Road and that much ballyhooed AMTRAK service to Chicago.

 

More here w/video report.

 

Related topic:  Amtrak station coming to Moline, IL

[CNJRoss]

Dispatch-Argus, Moline, IL 4/5:
 

Rauner still 'reviewing' funding for Q-C passenger rail

 

MOLINE -- Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner still has given no indication of whether he plans to release funding for the Chicago to Moline passenger rail line, which is creating uncertainty over the future of the project.

 

The governor used an executive order to halt funding for the rail line last May, even though it was approved before he took office and about $20 million of the $44 million in state funding already has been spent. 

 

City of Moline administrator Lew Steinbrecher said no reason was given for the suspension of funding by the governor and almost a year later the city is still in the dark.

 

Continue here.

[Sloan]

Morning Spin: Rauner is lobbied on Chicago-to-Quad Cities Amtrak service
Democratic U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos is asking Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner to release previously approved state funding for a Chicago-to-Quad Cities Amtrak line.

http://www.chicagotr...stos-story.html

[CNJRoss]

WQAD-TV Moline, IL 4/29:
 

Millions in federal money for Chicago to Quad Cities passenger train could expire

 

MOLINE, Illinois —  Millions of dollars in already approved federal funding will expire on June 30, 2016 without confirmation from Illinois Governor, Bruce Rauner that the state of Illinois is still backing the passenger rail line from the Quad Cities to Chicago.

 

The project requires money from the federal, state and local levels, but about $80 million from the state level is being held up by Illinois budget problems.

 

Continue here w/video report.

[CNJRoss]

KWQC-TV Davenport, IA 5/2:
 

Amtrak funding decision coming in June

 

A sign inside the lobby of Moline City Hall which reads "coming soon" is a sign of the city's optimism for a train that's still far from the station.

 

 

MOLINE, Ill. (KWQC) – A sign inside the lobby of Moline City Hall which reads “coming soon,” is a sign of the city’s optimism for a train that’s still far from the station.

 

“I think the Quad Cities community is is a bit frustrated with the delays but at the same time we think that we have a very good project,” said Lew Steinbrecher, Moline City Administrator.

 

A few blocks away, the “Q” multi-modal train station is taking shape.

 

Continue here w/video report.

[CNJRoss]

Dispatch-Argus, Moline, IL 5/31:

Column

Great Chicago to Moline train boondoggle

• By John Donald O'Shea

 

If rail passenger service between Moline and Chicago is a money-making proposition, why was service dropped in 1978? Why hasn't some railroad or entrepreneur re-instituted service during the last 38 years?

 

A May 12 Dispatch/Argus editorial endorsed the project.

 

"The overall project cost is $222 million with $177 million coming from the federal government. The state's commitment is $45 million. The Moline ... station is also being funded by the state."

 

SNIP

 

And the taxpayers get to make up the annual $6 million losses!

 

John Donald O'Shea, of Moline, is a former circuit court judge.

 

More here.

[Sloan]

 

 

Moline expects passenger rail to be rolling by early 2018

 

That's the word from Moline officials, who learned that final track work should begin in January 2017. That work includes $177 million in federal funding that's waiting for state release.

http://wqad.com/2016...-by-early-2018/

[CNJRoss]

The Des Moines (IA) Register, 11/21:
 

Amtrak ridership up in Iowa sparks hope for rail enthusiasts

 

Amtrak ridership in Iowa is on the upswing, despite low gasoline prices that are increasing traffic on the state's highways.

 

A total of 61,374 riders got on and off Amtrak passenger trains at six stations in southern Iowa for the 12 months ending Sept. 30, 2016, according to the National Rail Passenger Corp, which does business as Amtrak. That was up 6.5 percent over the same period ending in 2015, although it's short of Iowa's best year ever for Amtrak when 68,744 riders were reported in 2010.

 

SNIP

 

The Iowa DOT continues to conduct environmental and preliminary engineering studies on a possible passenger train route between the Quad Cities and Iowa City that are expected to be completed sometime next year, said Amanda Martin, the Iowa DOT's railroad passenger and freight policy coordinator. But there are no immediate plans to add more passenger trains in Iowa.

 

More here.

[CNJRoss]

Dispatch-Argus, Moline, IL 4/22/17:
 

Q-C officials still hear the train a-comin'

 

 

Local officials remain confident of restoring passenger train service between Moline and Chicago, even if the timing of the necessary track preparation work remains uncertain.

 

The train station in Moline is almost ready. It's part of the $40 million The Q project, which will include a hotel, restaurants, retail outlets and an entertainment venue. Work on the train station will be done in June, Ray Forsythe, Moline's city planning and development director, said Friday, with help from a federal Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery grant.

 

After June, all the station will need to connect passengers to the train is a platform with canopy, Mr. Forsythe said. That will be added once the Illinois Department of Transportation and Iowa Interstate Railroad complete final rail designs for the route.

 

"This will all be completed in spring of 2018 under the anticipated state schedule," Mr. Forsythe said. "We have enough funds with the existing grant and match to complete the project."

 

Continue here.