(The following story by Rahilla Zafar appeared on the Daily Leader website on July 30.)
PONTIAC, Ill. — Not every community gets the chance to “take the train” these days. But the Livingston County area is served well by the opportunity to catch a ride on the rails.
Amtrak rides through many cities across Illinois including Pontiac and Dwight. According to Betty Estes of the Pontiac Visitor’s Bureau, “Being an Amtrak community is a plus for any town. The city deserves credit for maintaining Pontiac’s station so well. If it wasn’t well maintained by the city, Amtrak may have decided not to stop here anymore.”
Amtrak spokesperson Marc Magliari said that while some trains stop in Dwight and others do not, “There has been no discussion of discontinuing any train services in Pontiac.”
There are currently three different trains passing through Pontiac daily. The Ann Rutledge travels between Chicago and Kansas City, Mo.; the State House travels between Chicago and St. Louis; and The Texas Eagle travels daily between Chicago and Los Angeles.
Robert Karls, administrator for the City of Pontiac said, “From a community standpoint, transportation links are important. Just as the interstates and airports are important, Amtrak provides another way we can go to St. Louis or Chicago.”
Amtrak trains going from Pontiac to Chicago leave three times a day — 7:58 a.m., 12:21 p.m., and 5:31 p.m. — and takes exactly two hours. A train leaves for Kansas City from here daily at 8:25 a.m. It takes 10 1/2 hours to make the trip. Additionally, at 5:30 p.m. a train leaves heading to St. Louis where the travel time is 5 1/2 hours. The Illinois Department of Transportation has upgraded the train signal system and it is currently in testing mode. The new signal system will enable Amtrak trains to increase the speed of its trains from 79 mph to 90.
Estes added that Amtrak works with the city to help bring in more tourists by giving train discounts during Pontiac special events such as the Threshermens’ Reunion, which is coming soon. She said that Amtrak has provided city officials with free train tickets to Chicago set up a promotion of “Down State Days” booth in Union Station. The program has been successful, Estes said, in drawing more visitors into the city.
“Tourism plays a big part in economic development. Visitors spend money and even may decide that Pontiac is a good place to open a small business” said Estes.
Don Saunders, general superintendent of Amtrak Central Division, said that ridership on the three state-supported Amtrak services in Illinois has gone up dramatically in the past two years. Amtrak is receiving cooperation from the Canadian National-Illinois Central, Burlington Northern-Santa Fe, Canadian Pacific and Union Pacific in the Illinois corridors. The cooperation is crucial in keeping Amtrak trains running on time since multiple companies are sharing a single rail. The Illinois Department of Transportation helps keep low fares by contributing $12 million a year to help defray operating expenses. Ticket prices to and from Chicago range between $8 and $22, to and from St. Louis ranges between $18 and $52, and to and from Kansas City ranges between $38 and $100 each way.