(The following article by Kurt Erickson was posted on the Bloomington Pantagraph website on May 17.)
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Illinois is second only to California when it comes to subsidizing Amtrak service, according to updated figures from the nation’s passenger rail service.
Under the state’s new budget, which is awaiting Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s signature, Illinois will pay a total of $24 million to Amtrak to boost the number of trains running through the state.
Illinois’ amount, up from $12 million last year, compares to the $72.8 million that California spends. After Illinois, Amtrak says the next biggest subsidy comes from the state of Washington, which paid $12.2 million last year to increase passenger rail service.
The move by Illinois lawmakers is aimed at adding two round-trip trains between Chicago and St. Louis and one round trip each between Chicago and Carbondale and Chicago and Quincy.
A schedule detailing when the new trains will run won’t be available until later this year, pending negotiations with freight railroads that own the tracks.
Illinois has paid Amtrak more than $100 million over the past decade to provide additional trains between Chicago and St. Louis. Officials say those added trains have helped boost ridership in recent years.
High fuel costs also could add to the number of people riding the rails, said state Sen. Jeff Schoenberg, an Evanston Democrat who backed the funding increase.
“This funding increase will provide thousands of Illinois travelers with an affordable alternative to rising gas prices and greater highway congestion,” Schoenberg said in a statement.
In all, 12 states will spend about $161 million to subsidize Amtrak service in the coming years. In the Midwest, those include Michigan and Wisconsin, both of which spend $6.2 million, and Missouri, which has budgeted $7 million.
Officials pushing to boost the speed of Amtrak trains rolling across Illinois say increased ridership could convince lawmakers in Springfield and Washington, D.C., to designate cash to begin converting the lines to high-speed rail.
“This is a big step toward, hopefully, someday when we finally talk about really doing high-speed rail,” said Rick Harnish, president of the Midwest High Speed Rail Coalition.