Quad Cities (train)

Quad Cities
Overview
Service type Inter-city rail
Status Proposed
Locale Illinois
First service TBA
Current operator(s) Amtrak
Route
Start Chicago, Illinois
End Moline, Illinois
Service frequency Daily
Technical
Track gauge 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Track owner(s) BNSF, IAIS
Route map
Legend
-
Dist. Station
0 mi
0 km
 Chicago
14 mi
23 km
 La Grange
28 mi
45 km
 Naperville
52 mi
84 km
 Plano
83 mi
134 km
 Mendota
104 mi
167 km
 Princeton
142 mi
229 km
 Geneseo (proposed)
175 mi
282 km
 Moline

The Quad City Rocket is a planned Amtrak intercity rail route which will run from Chicago, Illinois, to Moline, Illinois. It will be a part of the Illinois Service. This train will follow the routing of Carl Sandburg and Illinois Zephyr to Princeton and will split off at Wyanet, Illinois, stopping at Geneseo and Moline using track from BNSF and the Iowa Interstate Railroad.[1]

Background

Originally, the Rock Island provided passenger service in the Quad Cities under the Quad Cities Rocket train. Passenger service to Chicago continued until December 31, 1978.[2]

In 2008, the two current United States Senators from Iowa, Tom Harkin and Chuck Grassley; Illinois Senator Dick Durbin; and former Senator Barack Obama sent a letter to Amtrak asking them to begin plans to bring rail service to the Quad Cities.[3] In October 2010, a $230 million federal fund was announced that will bring Amtrak service to the Quad Cities, with a new line running from Moline to Chicago. They had hoped to have the line completed in 2015, and to offer two daily round trips to Chicago.[4] In December 2011, the federal government awarded $177 million in funding for the Amtrak connection.[5]

In 2015, Illinois governor Bruce Rauner announced a spending freeze that placed both the proposed train service and the Black Hawk under review by the IDOT.[6] After being on hold for over a year, IDOT moved forward with the project in order to prevent losing the $177 million in federal funding for the passenger service.[7]

References

  1. ↑ "Chicago to Quad Cities Map". IllinoisRail.org.
  2. ↑ Glischinski, Steve (2007). Regional Railroads of the Midwest. Voyageur Press. p. 77. ISBN 9781610604956.
  3. ↑ Coulter, Melissa (June 6, 2008). "Ready to trade wheels for rails". Quad-City Times. Retrieved July 25, 2016.
  4. ↑ Tibbetts, Ed (October 25, 2010). "Quad-City rail project to get $230 million". Quad-City Times. Retrieved July 25, 2016.
  5. ↑ Pulliam, John R. (December 15, 2011). "$177M earmarked for QC-Chicago rail". The Register-Mail. Retrieved July 28, 2016.
  6. ↑ Simmons, Shane (January 25, 2015). "Gov. Rauner's spending freeze results in 'review' of Quad City Amtrak project". WQAD-TV. Retrieved July 25, 2016.
  7. ↑ Timmons, Eric (June 21, 2016). "Illinois commits to Chicago-Moline passenger rail". The Dispatch / The Rock Island Argus. Retrieved July 25, 2016.
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