Durbin and Manzullo Urge State of Illinois to Apply for Northern Illinois Amtrak Service

DURBIN AND MANZULLO URGE STATE OF ILLINOIS TO APPLY FOR NORTHERN ILLINOIS AMTRAK SERVICE

Thursday, August 3, 2006

[WASHINGTON, DC] - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Congressman Don Manzullo (R-IL) today sent a letter to Governor Rod Blagojevich, urging the State of Illinois to request that Amtrak add new passenger rail service along the corridor that spans from Chicago to Dubuque and includes stops in Rockford and Galena. The letter asks the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) to submit a formal letter to Amtrak asking the passenger railroad to study the potential route and associated costs.

"The $24 million commitment from the State of Illinois and four new trains from Amtrak have put Illinois Amtrak expansion on the right track," said Durbin. "It's time to take advantage of this momentum, bring northern Illinois on board and Amtrak service to growing regions of our state. Today, Amtrak provides quick, cost-effective, and reliable public ground transportation to 30 communities and more than 3 million people in Illinois. We need to add the communities in northwest and north central Illinois to that list."

"Our July 3 meeting showed a commitment from officials throughout northern Illinois to work together to support renewed passenger rail service to our region," Manzullo said. "Amtrak service running from Chicago through Rockford to Galena and beyond would spur economic development and give our residents another transportation option to get to their destinations. In this age of high gas prices, passenger rail is an excellent alternative, and I strongly encourage the Governor to request Amtrak service for northern Illinois."

On May 17th, Durbin wrote to the Acting President of Amtrak, David Hughes, requesting a meeting between Amtrak officials and Rockford community leaders to discuss restoring Amtrak service to Rockford. As a result of this letter, a meeting was held at the Rockford Airport Administrative Building, on July 3rd. Senator Durbin was joined by Amtrak representatives, Congressman Manzullo, IDOT Secretary Tim Martin, labor officials, and community leaders from Boone, Winnebago, Stephenson, Jo Daviess, DeKalb and Ogle Counties.

Durbin recently helped secure a commitment from Amtrak to supply four new trains for additional round - trip service on the three Illinois routes. The 2007 Illinois budget committed to finance the service for these trains by doubling their Amtrak funding to $24.3 million. As result of this state and federal cooperation, beginning this October, there will be new service on the Carbondale, Quincy and St. Louis lines. Durbin is a member of the Senate Transportation Appropriations Subcommittee.

Dear Governor Blagojevich:

We are writing to respectfully request that the State of Illinois apply to Amtrak for new passenger rail service along the northern Illinois corridor that runs from Chicago to Rockford and terminates in the Galena and Dubuque region. We thank you for adding new roundtrip service on the state-run Amtrak routes, and we hope that you agree with us that Amtrak should be expanded to north central and northwest Illinois.

As you know, there is intense interest and broad community support for renewing service along this corridor that ceased operations in 1981. This region includes Rockford, the second largest metropolitan area in Illinois, and Jo Daviess County in Northwest Illinois, which is a popular tourist destination and has doubled in population since Amtrak ceased running its former Black Hawk train in 1981.

Traffic on the I-90 corridor from Chicago to Rockford is nearing full capacity, as almost 100,000 cars travel daily on the toll-road. Amtrak expansion to the Rockford area and northwest Illinois would help alleviate congestion on the region's roads, just as an increase in service on the state's Amtrak corridors signed into law by yourself this past Spring will help ease congestion throughout the state's highways. Clearly, the citizens of northern Illinois are interested in an alternative form of reliable transportation, and Amtrak is the alternative of choice. We commend you and the state legislature for increasing the state support for Amtrak service to $24 million, and we hope to build on those efforts by bringing Amtrak to growing regions of the state that currently do not have high speed rail service. We hope the Illinois Department of Transportation will submit a formal letter to Amtrak in the near future asking the passenger railroad to study the potential route and associated costs. This will be the first step in a longer process to bring passenger rail service back to north central and northwest Illinois, and we look forward to working with you to restore Amtrak service to this corridor.

Sincerely,

Richard J. Durbin Donald Manzullo United States Senator Member of Congress

Cc: Tim Martin, IDOT

http://durbin.senate.gov/record.cfm?id=261328&&