(The following article by Matt Adrian was posted on the Bloomington Pantagraph website on March 30.)
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Amtrak’s president promised federal support to expand passenger rail service in Illinois Wednesday, but the Blagojevich administration remains concerned about the price tag.
If the state’s spends $30 million in its upcoming budget – up from its current share of $12 million – Amtrak CEO David Hughes said he will add additional trains to Illinois railroad tracks.
“The ridership on these trains in the Midwest has been growing by double digits for the last couple of years,” Hughes said during a stop at the Statehouse. “The market is telling us that there is demand. I think this is a perfect place to do this.”
The Illinois General Assembly is considering a proposal that would give the Illinois Department of Transportation $30 million to expand service.
The money would bring two additional trains per day on the Chicago-to-Springfield route. The routes between Chicago and Carbondale and Chicago and Quincy each would get an additional train per day.
However, IDOT continues to remain cool to the proposal. On Wednesday, a spokesman again raised concerns about the state’s overall budget.
“These are the same dollars used for health care, public safety and education,” said Matt Vanover, an agency spokesman. “We would need to know where the funding would come from.”
The agency has budgeted $12.1 million for rail transportation for fiscal year 2007.
State Sen. Jeff Schoenberg, D-Evanston, said negotiations with the governor’s office and IDOT will continue.
“I think it’s pretty clear today there is a solid critical mass of support for increased investment,” said Schoenberg, referring to the bipartisan support the measure has received from legislators.
Supporters, who joined Hughes at a press conference, suggest the new service will help tourists and college students traverse the state.
“This proposal will increase convenience for people but it will increase air quality as we rely less on vehicles,” said state Sen. Christine Radogno, R-LaGrange. “It will save money for the state in that we can have state employees taking the train opposed to more expensive air transportation.”
The General Assembly is expected to end this session by mid-April.