(The following article by Caleb Hale was posted on the Southern Illinoisan website on October 14.)
CARBONDALE, Ill. — A little more than a year ago, the question was whether Amtrak would run a train service from Carbondale at all.
Today, with another bullet dodge from federal budget cutbacks and double the state support for the three routes that run Illinois trains, Amtrak has not only introduced an additional train to the Carbondale station’s daily itinerary, the company is calling it “The Saluki.”
“That’s terrific,” said Southern Illinois University Carbondale Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Larry Dietz earlier this week when asked about his confidence in the status of Amtrak service beneficial to nearly 80 percent of the campus’ student population, which comes from the northern part of the state.
“It’s great name recognition,” Dietz continued. “We take pride in the fact we’ve got a lot of alums in Chicago who can take the Saluki train down to Carbondale and back.”
The new train represents more than pride, though; it gives native Chicago students going to school in Carbondale readily available access to home and provides community business members with a quick line to the big city.
Carbondale Mayor Brad Cole said when the Saluki train was announced last month that the city’s roots were firmly planted in the railroad industry. A north-south track divides the east and west sides of the city, with a train station located within walking distance of downtown or the SIUC campus.
That kind of convenience lends itself to good ridership numbers, indicated Marc Magliari, Amtrak spokesman for the company’s Chicago office.
“Carbondale is one of the major stops on the route, both from the shuttle connection to St. Louis and the city of New Orleans,” Magliari said. “After Oct. 30 you’ll have three trains north, one train south and the shuttle connection in St. Louis, so there’s a lot going on down there.”
Oct. 30 is the first date the Saluki train, with a daily departure time of 7:30 a.m., will be available to the public. Tickets are currently on sale, which Magliari said has already indicated the new line will continue the strong ridership traditionally seen out of Southern Illinois.
“We know one of the trains scheduled for the Sunday after Thanksgiving is already sold out,” Magliari said.
Tuesday, Amtrak representatives have a VIP preview run of the Saluki scheduled for select members of the Carbondale community and SIU.
University President Glenn Poshard plans to attend the opening ceremony to see the train out of Carbondale. Poshard has long been an advocate for train service to Carbondale students. In his role as president this past year, convincing the state to increase its support of Amtrak from roughly $6 million to $12 million was a priority.
“The thing of it is when you get out east, where most of the Amtrak network exists, it’s hugely profitable out there. Those trains are full all the time,” Poshard said. “When you get here in the Midwest, they are not profitable. The state has to make a commitment toward the more rural areas for Amtrak if it is going to exist, particularly if they are going to expand.”
The fact the state did double its support for Amtrak this fiscal year, making it the second-largest partner out of a dozen states where the company runs trains, shows the Illinois legislature made a commitment to the people in the rural downstate.
“The Saluki name is just sort of an added bonus; that’s a matter of pride for which we are very thankful,” Poshard said. “But the big thing here is we get the additional capacity.”