Iowa City to Chicago Rail Service Closer to Reality

By Mark Geary, Reporter

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By Mark Geary

Story Created: Jun 16, 2009 at 8:03 PM CST

Story Updated: Jun 16, 2009 at 8:06 PM CST

IOWA CITY – The federal government will unveil plans on Wednesday to shell out eight billion dollars to create passenger rail trains all over the country.

Some of that federal money could soon breathe new life into train tracks that connect Iowa City to Chicago.

"It's very minimal. What we're trying to do is increase speeds and the smoothness of the ride,” Rebecca Neades from the Iowa City Area Chamber of Commerce said.

People have talked about creating a rail service between the two cities for decades. Now, it may actually happen.

"The President, the people in Washington are very much in favor of passenger rail nationwide and on the local basis, there has been a dramatic turnaround in our state legislation,” Richard Welch from the National Association of Railroad Passengers said.

The thousands of students who attend the University of Iowa also make Iowa City an attractive place to start a new rail service.

"So many are from Illinois, particularly the Chicago area. It would be a very good, easy trip,” Welch said.

The five-hour trip would begin in Iowa City, wind through the Quad Cities and then move on up to Chicago. It could eventually extend to Des Moines and Omaha.

The train could save people money and also benefit the environment.

"When you're in a community the size of Chicago, reduction in cost emissions makes a big difference,” Neades said.

Studies estimate that about 187,000 people would ride the train every year.

"If you look at where this has been done in other parts of the country, almost universally, the number of passengers migrating to rail exceeded even the estimates of the people putting the new systems in place,” Welch said.

Now, it's just a matter of getting the federal government on board with Iowa's plans.

In August, Iowa City will find out if it will receive federal funding.

Wednesday evening, the Iowa City Area Chamber of Commerce will host a forum about the potential rail service at 325 East Washington Street. It starts at 4:30 p.m.

E-mail Mark Geary at Mark.Geary@kcrg.com or follow him on Twitter.

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