(The following story by Jay Dickerson appeared on the Galena Gazette website on June 3.)
GALENA, Ill. — On Janet Fisher’s name tag was a simple descriptor: “The crazy train lady.”
It was meant as a lighthearted joke from Fisher, a member of the Blackhawk Area Railroad Coalition (BARC). But with it, she hoped to get across a serious issue: return the train to Galena.
U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin agrees.
Durbin visited Galena May 26 and 27, and spoke of efforts to bring rail service back to Galena. The second-highest ranking Democrat in the U.S. Senate said he remembered when the train would travel through Galena in the ’70s. “Unfortunately, rail service was suspended in 1981,” Durbin said during the May 27 meeting at the Old Market House State Historic Site.
Durbin noted the work of Amtrak. Amtrak has a train set currently not in use, in storage in Delaware.
Through a feasibility study, Amtrak concluded that returning rail service, from Chicago to Dubuque-and through Galena-is feasible. Durbin is optimistic. He and a number of other officials submitted a letter to Alexander Kummant, president and CEO of the National Passenger Railroad Corporation board of directors
“Enthusiasm for passenger rail service is at an all-time high, driven by high fuel prices, growing congestion and environmental concern. Amtrak has seen phenomenal growth in Illinois the past few years, with all three state routes showing double digit percentage increases,” wrote Durbin and his colleagues. “To accommodate the expected boom in ridership due to the Chicago to Iowa City and Chicago to Dubuque service, we want to ensure that we have the absolute best rolling stock available. Please consider the viability of retrieving equipment from storage that could easily be rehabbed and used for Amtrak service into Iowa.”
Senators joining Durbin in the request include U.S. Sens Barack Obama (D-IL), Tom Harkin (D-IA), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Tom Carper (D-DE) and Joe Biden (D-DE).
With the letter, now it’s a matter of ensuring funding. “Now we need the capital bill,” Durbin said. With increasing gas prices, alternate methods of transportation should increase in use. “People understand that this is a reasonably-priced way to travel.”
Presuming the state approves a capital bill in time, rail service could return in as soon as “two construction seasons,” or two years. However, as of press time, no capital bill is in place in Illinois.
And if the sets go into place, they won’t last forever. Durbin said it would be nice to bring train car manufacturing jobs to the States, possibly even to Illinois.
Amtrak official Ray Lang affirmed the importance of funding for Amtrak, which has seen a ridership increase of about three million passengers. “It’s a very user-friendly, popular service.”
As for the equipment in storage in Delaware, it might be retired, but “it’s road-worthy; it can be moved.”
Amtrak put that same equipment into service as a stand-by during hurricane season, in case a great deal of people needed to be moved. Since it was not needed, it went back into storage.
Fisher smiled and pointed to her name tag before she spoke on the importance of rail service. In the packed historic site were representatives of the Dubuque Chamber, as well as elected officials throughout northwestern Illinois. Fisher said that Galena and the Quad City area are not in competition for funding. “That’s not the case.”
The popularity of rails increases, as people realize the train is an “efficient, effective mode of transportation.” There is a sense of urgency, though. “There are matching funds we stand to lose if they don’t approve a capital plan,” Fisher said. “They need to get the point, we need this and we need it now.”
For more information on rail efforts, visit BARC at returnthetrain.com.