Amtrak Quad Cities Proposal Chicago, Moline, Iowa City

[GWoodle]

Can anyone give us an update on the planned Quad Cities service via IAIS at Wyanet?

http://easterniowagovernment.com/2011/0 ... -question/

Still under study. Don't know if environmental or other work is completed yet.

[Rockingham Racer]

Thanks for that. I was hoping that the project was further along than what the link describes, though.

[Station Aficionado]

I wonder if all of this might prompt IL to speed up (if it's even possible) the expansion of service to the Quad Cities. Also, I suspect if gas does keep going up, we'll see the political appeal of anti-rail rantings diminish.

[quincunx]

Some progress on Chicago-Quad Cities:

Agreement in Place for Construction of Chicago-Moline Passenger Rail Route, Creating 2,000 Jobs

CHICAGO - The Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) today announced that a cooperative agreement has been finalized with the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) and host railroads to begin construction of the Chicago-Moline passenger rail corridor. The project is expected to create nearly 2,000 jobs.

http://www.illinois.gov/PressReleases/S ... ecNum=9916

[lpetrich]

That route will go Chicago - Plano, IL - Mendota - Princeton, IL - Geneseo - Moline

Wyanet is a little west of Princeton, and the route branches off from existing routes near there.

Moline is on the Illinois side; there's less support on the Iowa side: Branstad kills Iowa involvement in high-speed rail - The Daily Iowan

[jstolberg]

Moline is already thinking of expanding the parking lot.

The city already owns the land on 12th Street for the station itself, but they need more room for parking.

http://www.whbf.com/story/16313586/moli ... ak-parking

[gokeefe]

Is there enough rolling stock in the current fleet to support the service startup date in 2014?

The Quad Cities service is an entirely new train correct?

[afiggatt]

Is there enough rolling stock in the current fleet to support the service startup date in 2014?

The Quad Cities service is an entirely new train correct?

The project includes funding to purchase 3 locomotives and 12 passenger cars. The passenger cars are part of the combined Mid-west order for at least 78 bi-level corridor cars with California ordering 42 bi-levels for a total of 120 cars. The locomotives will be part of the order for at least 33 next-gen diesel locomotives. The start of Chicago-Moline revenue service may be dependent on the delivery of the new passenger cars. If not the 12 ordered for that corridor, delivery of enough bi-level cars for use on other corridors to free up Horizons for use for Chicago-Moline. There is a lot of track and signal work to be done for this corridor before the service can start, so the new rolling stock may be on hand by late 2014.

The status of the Iowa part of this project is not clear to me. My understanding is that the Governor has not officially rejected the funds, that the extension to Iowa City is more or less in limbo because the legislature has not provided the funds to operate the train. Iowa DOT did accept $1 million which was obligated for a formal Chicago to Omaha passenger rail line, so there is a study for the corridor with an extension to Omaha moving forward. The $17.3 million for Ottuma Sub crossover improvements which will benefit the California Zephyr has been obligated, so Iowa has not turned down all the HSIPR funding.

At some point, if Iowa does not go ahead with their part of what was to be the $230 million (plus 20% state matching) Chicago - Quad Cities - Iowa City corridor project, LaHood and the FRA will yank the $53 million remaining and re-allocate it to other projects. No shortage of other states with projects who will take the money.

[Jeff Smith]

http://www.bcrnews.com/2012/04/09/comin ... s/als0zfs/

PRINCETON — The future of Amtrak and the possible expansion of the Chicago to Quad Cities line announced in 2010 is apparently still on track.

In the fall of 2010, a $230 million federal grant was awarded to Illinois and Iowa to establish a new Amtrak service between Chicago and Iowa City. The trains will run on a route beginning at Chicago’s Union Station and traveling on the BNSF Railway’s line to Wyanet, and then on the Iowa Interstate Railroad’s line from Wyanet to Iowa City.

In December, it was announced $177 million in funding was committed for the project, in addition to the $44.3 million the state had already secured for the $221 million project for construction to begin on the Chicago-Moline section of the passenger rail corridor.

...

Tridgell said environmental studies and preliminary engineering are ongoing, and public meetings will probably be held later this year.

The construction agreements with the railroads are still pending, but Tridgell expects work to begin next year with service tentatively scheduled for late 2014.

[Jeff Smith]

More merging fun! Combined some QC topics, and split from Illinois topic, which is still here: Illinois Amtrak Service

[jobtraklite]

Uhhh....

Who is going to pay for the upgrades of IAIS from permanent 10MPH slow order to 79MPH trackage?????????????????

I recently bicycled the Hennepin Canal Trail which parallels the IAIS from E. Moline to Bureau Junction (east of Wynet). Its trains might not have been doing 79, but they were sure going faster then 10 MPH.

[quincunx]

Developer hired for Moline station.

Quad City Times - Moline rail project lures key developer

Restoration St. Louis, the company behind several major projects in Davenport — including the Hotel Blackhawk renovation — will jump the Mississippi River to develop the private portion of the Quad-Cities Multi-Modal Facility Project in Moline.

http://qctimes.com/news/local/moline-ra ... 963f4.html

[Station Aficionado]

Came across this story regarding an IDOT open house on Quad Cities service that was held in Mendota:http://newstrib.com/main.asp?SectionID= ... leID=24218
If the article is correct, there is some disappointing news:

The service, originally scheduled to start operating through Mendota and Princeton by fall 2014, has been pushed back to the fourth quarter of 2015. IDOT project manager Todd Popish said the additional year was due to Iowa’s indecision on further extending the service to Iowa City and Omaha, Neb.

The $222 million project, funded in part by $45 million from the state of Illinois, is set to begin construction in spring 2014, and Popish said the state is ready to sign a contract for new bi-level railcars with the Rochelle manufacturing plant, Nippon-Sharyo.

Do I read this correctly that they won't even begin the trackwork until 2014? And the reason stated makes no sense. I thought Illinois got their money, with Iowa's sort of being held in "escrow" until they decided whether to extend the trains to Iowa City. Why on earth would Quad Cities service be held up pending a decision on service west of Iowa City, something that is clearly a number of years away.

[jstolberg]

Several factors are at work here. First, even if Illinois wanted to start service in 2014, Nippon-Sharyo isn't going to even start work on the intercity bi-levels until May 2015 when they finish with the Metra order. And you can bet that California wants the first few cars to get built. So equipment isn't going to be available until late 2015.

Secondly, Iowa's plans affect where the trains will get stored overnight and serviced. Will that be Moline, Iowa City, Des Moines, Council Bluffs or Omaha? They probably don't want to build storage tracks in all 5 locations.

And thirdly, the financial case was based on trip generation from both Iowa City and the Quad Cities. Without the Hawkeyes, the train will be running mostly empty.

[skibum77]

And thirdly, the financial case was based on trip generation from both Iowa City and the Quad Cities. Without the Hawkeyes, the train will be running mostly empty.

While the Quad Cities doesn't have a major college like most of the big Illinois station stops do, it is the biggest metro in the state outside of Chicago and St. Louis with around 400,000 people. You don't think there are enough people there to support service just on those merits? Don't get me wrong, going to Iowa City would only help (and maybe that would be the case for two a day vs. one a day), but if there's a case for Rockford & Dubuque service, the Quad Cities on their own should be able to support a train.