Since 2007, Amtrak and the Illinois Department of Transportation have been studying the feasibility of establishing a Peoria-Chicago train route. The report has been constantly delayed, pushed off one or two seasons at a time. Last time I checked, it was supposed to be released last fall. I recently e-mailed Mayor Ardis to ask the status of the report. The latest estimate from his Amtrak contact is that the report will be finished and released this summer — and, Ardis added, the Amtrak representative “thought it would be favorable for us.”
Investment in new rail lines is moving ahead despite the state’s deficit problems. Before Peoria’s study was initiated, IDOT and Amtrak did a study on re-establishing service between Chicago and the Quad Cities. That report was favorable, and in January Gov. Quinn announced “$45 million in state capital funds to establish passenger rail service from Chicago to the Quad Cities. The new service will result in up to 825 new jobs, including 440 construction jobs.” Hopefully Peoria will get similar results when the Chicago-Peoria study is finally finished.
Amtrak’s ridership continues to increase in Illinois (up 10% on the Chicago-St. Louis route and up 4.1% on the Chicago-Quincy route), and yet still no train travels through greater Peoria — the third-largest metropolitan statistical area in the state.
The fact that Peoria does not have passenger rail is ridiculous. It needs to happen!
Peoria Charter runs a bus several times a day seven days a week from Bradley to chicago and everywhere in between. Dosnt that show a demand? Couldnt the new lines just be run from here to g-burg and connect with the already existing lines?
Wrong direction. I don’t see this happening without some kind of connect to the BNSF mainline at Chilli. UP may end up providing that at their own expense.
A very feasible route can be found using the TP&W line and coming into East Peoria. There is room for a depot and it is still within very close proximity to Peoria. Downtown Peoria does not have an area for a depot and the sidetrack it would take to accompany it. There would be parking to be considered and at this point there is no room. These things have to be taken into account in order to have a train to and from Peoria. The only other route is coming in way out on the Allen Road area. But then that would require transportation to downtown Peoria. And of course since we no longer have the Kellar Branch a trolley to downtown Peoria is impossible.
The TP&W is currently a 25 mph line due to deferred maintenance. I think the smart money is on Norfolk Southern to Normal. Don’t be surprised if it turns out to be a shuttle to feed existing Amtrak service there.
Though I am an expert on just about everything else, I know little about railroads,etc.
I will say this, and forgive me if I sound naive………
The only way an Amtrack will work between Peoria and/or Chicago-St. Louis, is if the travel time makes taking the train worth it…?
I am assuming the only way to cut down on travel time would be to reduce the number of stops between Peo and Chicago, etc. That will probably never happen considering many of these small towns[Pontiac, etc.] have offered rail service forever.
Question: Would Peoria having a rail service ever make ‘commuting’ to Chicago or St. Louis possible? I am thinking on a day-to-day basis.
A Bloomington/(East) Peoria shuttle is probably the most feasible alternative. While there is a draw for Peoria-to-Chicago traffic, I don’t know if a whole new direct line would be financially feasible, especially as there would be a lot of overlap with the markets between here and Chicago (which are served by the Chicago-Galesburg line and would probably also be served by the Chicago-Quad Cities line).
The most realistic scenario would probably be a direct shuttle from East Peoria to Bloomington with a transfer to Chicago-bound and St. Louis-bound trains there, especially as that will be the line upgraded to pseudo-high-speed 110mph service. If that shuttle service does well, Amtrak may add direct Chicago-to-Peoria service via Bloomington-Normal. The Bloomington-Normal station is the second-busiest Amtrak station in the state behind only Union Station in Chicago, so it makes sense to make that a Central Illinois hub station.
Even now from Bloomington to Chicago the time on the train is comparable to driving to downtown Chicago during the week, when you’d hit traffic on Interstate 55 north of Joliet. Not to mention it’s more cost-efficient as well, as Amtrak takes you right into the heart of Chicago without having to worry about being gouged with parking prices in the city.
To answer New Voice’s question, commuting daily from Peoria to Chicago would only be feasible if you could find a way to make the trip in no more than an hour or so. The only way to do that would be to establish truly high-speed rail service (~220mph), which requires full grade separation, lots of right-of-way acquisition, construction, minimal stops, etc.
Thanks Sterling.
New Voice. Commuting from Peoria to Chicago is only half the picture. We need for those in the Chicago area to be able to commute to the Peoria area and bring those dollars to us instead of us going there. We have Bradley and many businesses that could do with people working or going to school here from out of the area. They could live where they wanted and still come here on a daily basis. This brings dollars to our area instead of us going to Chicago to shop and eat. We need to keep in focus how this can benefit Peoria. Check into CJ’s Other Links for more information on high speed rail in Illinois.
Using the Norfolk Southern between Bloomington and East Peoria would be a good option, but requiring passengers to change trains enroute is not. The connection between the NS and Union Pacific (also used by Amtrak) in Bloomington is in the right place for direct movement. There’s no reason conventional equipment can’t mix with 110-mph HSR.
There should be limited stops on a NS-UP-CN route between [East] Peoria and Chicago – Normal, Pontiac and Joliet. A maximum 3.5-hour one-way running time should be maintained. A Pontiac stop might be discarded to reduce running times.
I agree with New Voice. Travel times will need to be short enough to make it worth it. I can’t see 3.5 hours or more to Chicago on a train being worth it compared to driving from Peoria. And along with what SD is saying if Peoria got 110mph rail or even legit 200+ mph HSR. That would be a boon to the local economy. Probably not enough warrent the cost though.
Unless the cost of passenger trains can be controlled, there is no sense to make new passenger lines. On each Amtrak train at least two positions could be automated. The conductor taking tickets could be automatically done with a scanner and the internet, and the snack car could have vending machines and a microwave. That would take care of what Amtrak offers. If these positions were eliminated maybe trains could be run for enough less so private companies could offer service. There may be other ways to save on labor. Another aspect of this is to have drivers pay the direct costs of the roads they use. We have a $28 Million addition to the interstate in Normal. No one feels how much this costs. People should also be paying for parking. When that is free, no one realizes how much money parking is worth. If these costs were more in the driver’s mind passenger rail would be more viable.