The Heart of Illinois Regional Port District has just issued this press release regarding the effort to restore passenger train service to Peoria:

IDOT Requests Feasibility Study To Bring Passenger Rail Service To Peoria

(Peoria) – On March 8th 2007, a group of community leaders and organizers along with representatives from the passenger rail industry met in Peoria. Among the items they discussed were possible routes, funding sources, and the need for a feasibility study to address some of those concerns. The state has now taken the next step by requesting such a study be started by Amtrak.

George Weber, acting director of the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT), has made an official request that Amtrak begin a feasibility study to determine “potential routes and associated cost estimates as part of the proposed re-establishment of passenger rail service to the area.”

Explaining the cooperation between IDOT and Amtrak, Weber says, “Amtrak’s role in Illinois’ multi-modal transportation system is becoming more important. This is especially true in areas without existing passenger rail service. A feasibility study for proposed service is a critical step and will serve as the basis for continuing discussions in the possibilities of future expansions of passenger rail service in Illinois.”

Under the direction of Mayor Jim Ardis and the City Council, Peoria has been seeking support from Amtrak and IDOT to re-establish passenger service to the city. “We’re really excited to be following the lead that Mayor Ardis and the council have provided. Passenger rail service is a tool that Peoria must explore to maintain its world-class transportation infrastructure.” says Steve Jaeger, Executive Director of TransPORT (The Heart of Illinois Regional Port District).

TransPORT will continue to coordinate with the City of Peoria to facilitate the Amtrak study and work with other local communities and organizations to develop a plan to aide the entire region. It has been nearly 25 years since passenger rail service was offered in the Peoria area. A similar feasibility study was recently completed in Rockford and another has begun in the Quad Cities. It is expected that the Peoria study could take a year to finish, and further steps to secure local service could take place after its completion.

This is great news. Peoria could really benefit from passenger rail service, especially if the train came into downtown right along the riverfront — there would be all kinds of tourism possibilities. Not only that, but passenger train ridership is up all over the state, which means there’s demand for rail transportation. Bradley students could benefit from the train service just like ISU students benefit from it in Bloomington-Normal.