(The following editorial appeared on the Des Moines Register website on May 13, 2009.)
DES MOINES, Iowa — There has long been talk of restoring passenger train service in central Iowa. Talk has suddenly shifted to action. Iowa political and business leaders should encourage this revived interest.
For the first time since regular commercial passenger rail service withered 40 years ago in Iowa, state transportation officials see an opportunity to expand that beyond the daily Amtrak service in southern Iowa.
A feasibility study by the national passenger rail service Amtrak concluded that service is viable between Chicago and Iowa City via the Quad Cities, and between Chicago and Dubuque. Illinois is moving forward, and the Iowa Legislature last month appropriated $3 million as a state match for a federal grant to pay for needed track upgrades and equipment for the service.
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This is just the first installment of what would likely be needed in annual appropriations for capital and operating subsidies, but it is a smart and timely investment. While it won’t displace the automobile or the passenger plane, rail can be the most fuel-efficient means of transportation. Passenger trains could again be a reasonable alternative for inter-city travel. State leaders are excited about the prospects, but they also will need support from Iowa civic and business leaders and the congressional delegation to keep this effort on track.
The first step, which appears likely within perhaps a year, is bringing passenger service from Chicago to the eastern border at Davenport and on to Iowa City. State leaders are pressing Amtrak officials to quickly study the economic feasibility of taking the next step, which is service from Iowa City to Des Moines, and then on west to Omaha. That is a key route, which would provide a more populous traffic corridor between Chicago and Denver, and on to both coasts.
Passenger railroad advocates also point out that this could make Des Moines a key link in improved passenger service between major Midwest cities: Des Moines could be a hub for connections between Minneapolis and Kansas City and St. Louis and Chicago. This fits in with a vision expressed by metropolitan Des Moines transportation planners to create a “multi-modal” transit facility downtown where travelers could literally connect to trains, planes and automobiles.
Amtrak has made a good beginning in Iowa. Now, it should move ahead with next phase of the Iowa service.