Chairman says 2-year timetable for rail system is ‘very possible
Backers of an Amtrak connection to the Quad-Cities celebrated the first anniversary Monday of a coalition aimed at bringing passenger service back to the area for the first time in 30 years.
Mixed with drinks and small talk was a dose of optimism about the chances of getting the millions of dollars needed to link the Quad-Cities to Chicago and, perhaps, Iowa City, too.
“It’s very possible in two years we’ll have a rail system to Chicago,” Jim Bohnsack, chairman of the Quad-City Passenger Rail Coalition, told the group.
Coalition members met Monday at the Celebration Belle to mark the first anniversary of its founding.
In the past year, a pair of feasibility studies have estimated the costs of establishing rail service and anticipated ridership.
Upgraded track and train cars for rail service from the Quad-Cities to Chicago would cost $28 million and draw 110,800 annual riders. From here to Iowa City, capital costs would be $32.5 million, with 76,100 riders a year.
Coalition members still must find the money, however. Paul Rumler, the coalition’s executive director, said several sources are being sought, notably the state of Illinois and the federal government.
U.S. Rep. Phil Hare, D-Ill., has asked for a $13.5 million earmark, for example. Also, there are efforts get money from the state of Illinois’ 2009 operating budget.
Broader efforts to boost money for Amtrak also are under way in Congress.
U.S. Rep. Bruce Braley,
D-Iowa, joined other Democrats in introducing a bill a little more than a week ago to
reauthorize Amtrak and create a $500 million grant program for states to meet capital needs like the ones here.
Re-establishing rail service has been a talking point among economic development leaders in the Quad-Cities for years. At one point, officials with the Quad-City Development Group had backed off its push in Congress.
However, officials with the coalition say this is an energized, broad-based group of 3,500 local supporters that has surpassed previous tries.
“There have not been past efforts like this,” Rumler said.
“You’ve got energy here,” said Tom Torrey, president of Torrey Outdoor Advertising in East Moline.
He added it sometimes takes several years for ideas to blossom.
Coalition leaders are seeking to make the case that, with the congestion that goes with air travel and the cost of gasoline, rail travel is not just an alternative form of travel but a needed one.
It’s the kind of message that hits home with such people as Tom Barnum, an environmental manager from Bettendorf who says he spent a lot of time in crowded airports as a military reservist.
A member of the coalition, Barnum said he just booked a train trip to Colorado rather than pay the money to fly his family there or take the time to drive.
“The nice thing about the train is you can get up and walk around,” he said.
Ed Tibbetts can be contacted at
(563) 383-2327 or etibbetts@qctimes.com.