(The following story by Thomas V. Bona appeared at BusinessRockford.com on July 11, 2009.)
ROCKFORD, Ill. — Local leaders look forward to Amtrak service coming back to Rockford as early as November 2011. But they’ll keep working on a costlier commuter-rail service that would likely be on the same line a few years later.
That’s because, while both will provide a rail connection to Chicagoland, they’ll do it in different ways, serving different needs.
Amtrak would provide once- or twice-daily service between Chicago, Rockford, Freeport, Galena and Dubuque, Iowa. Rides would be quicker, stop less and cost more. It would particularly help those on leisure travel or making day- or weeklong business trips.
Commuter rail would provide seven-times daily service between Rockford and the northwest Chicago suburbs. It would stop in more places and cost less per ride than Amtrak. That makes it better for daily commuters.
“It’s not enough to say, ‘Hey, we’ve got train service,’” said Mark Podemski, vice president of development for the Rockford Area Economic Development Council. “If it’s once in the morning, once in the evening, it’s not the same.”
Amtrak provides a straight shot to downtown Chicago and to western Illinois, something commuter rail wouldn’t do.
But commuter rail would stop in Elgin, with its connection to Metra and possible shuttle bus service to the places Rockford-area residents work. A 2007 study found 26 percent of workers living in Winnebago and Boone counties commuted outside the area, mostly to Chicagoland.
Podemski said Amtrak is a quality-of-life amenity, giving people easy access to culture, recreational and business opportunities. But commuter rail is more about economic development — helping people here get jobs, and potentially helping Chicagoland firms locate here.
As fuel prices increase, he said, people will need cost-efficient ways to get around. Plus, they can get more work done on the train.
More routes, more riders
If both services were offered on the same line, it could help both succeed, said Steve Ernst, executive director of the Rockford Metropolitan Agency for Planning and a key planner for both the Amtrak and commuter-rail routes.
He notes similar shared lines in Chicagoland, California and the East Coast. The more trains that travel on a line, the higher the likelihood riders will find one that suits their schedule, and the more people will take trains.
“If you can get to your destination in a time that rivals your automobile or is better than your automobile, you’re going to choose that form of transportation,” Ernst said.
The question, of course, is how to pay for the commuter rail.
Amtrak will largely be funded by about $60 million in federal and state aid. The only local cost is at least $3 million to $6 million to build stations in downtown Rockford, east Rockford and downtown Belvidere.
Commuter rail, on the other hand, could cost as much as $185 million to start up, and much of that could be local funds. Leaders will be seeking federal stimulus funds, federal transportation dollars and state aid, but expect to need a referendum to get a tax increase for the service.
Spend smarter, not harder
That’s another reason they’re pushing for the two services on the same route — any investment made for Amtrak track upgrades and stations would cut the cost of commuter rail.
Ernst said that if Amtrak is put on a different route, it doesn’t kill commuter service. It just makes it harder to get.
Rockford Mayor Larry Morrissey calls Amtrak the “low-hanging fruit” but supports both. He compares it to Rockford of the early 20th century, which had streetcars, interurban rail and long-distance rail, all serving different needs.
“We want to be able to serve more people with more opportunities and options in the marketplace,” he said.