Durbin: Bloomington-Normal Positioned To Benefit From Next Generation Of Passenger Rail

Press Release

"The next generation of passenger rail travel is within reach," U.S. Senator Dick Durbin said today during a news conference with Mayor Chris Koos and Amtrak officials. "Bloomington-Normal is poised to become a showcase community for the potential of high speed rail in America."

Durbin pointed to $9.3 billion included in the Economic Recovery and Reinvestment Act for passenger rail projects, including investments in high-speed rail and improvements to existing infrastructure. He announced the funding has already been tapped to fully refurbish train cars that will regularly roll through Normal on the Texas Eagle route.

"These rehabbed train cars are an example of stimulus funding being used to rebuild and renew our transportation infrastructure while creating and saving jobs that can't be outsourced - high paying jobs for workers using materials made in America," Durbin said. The steel, water and electrical units for the rehabbed car came from Indiana, while the new seats were made at Kustom Seating in Bellwood, Illinois, he noted.

Durbin also discussed Illinois' bid to tap Recovery Act funds to make high-speed rail a reality in the Midwest. "Due to fierce competition across the nation bringing federal funding back to Illinois to build a high speed rail line will not be easy. Illinois was the first state to sign a formal agreement with a host railroad on operating high speed rail along the Chicago to St. Louis corridor, but an agreement with the host railroad is just the beginning. We need to demonstrate strong cooperation and support from the local level by forming an active coalition of elected officials and civic leaders along the Chicago to St. Louis route. I'm grateful that Mayor Koos has agreed to spearhead just such an effort."

Last month, Durbin held a high-speed rail summit with the eight Midwestern states to discuss one shared goal: to make the heartland of America the center of America's new high speed rail network. The Chicago to St. Louis corridor will be the main high speed corridor in this network. As a result, Bloomington-Normal will be linked to the major job centers, state capitals and universities of the Midwest, the towns will find it easier to attract and retain new businesses, and will likely see new development and retail opportunities around the train station.

During his visit, Durbin also noted a dramatic improvement in on-time performance on existing lines serving Bloomington-Normal. Last August the Senator brought IDOT and Amtrak together for a discussion regarding the poor on-time performance of trains in Illinois. At that time, the Chicago to St. Louis train was the worst performing train in the state, on time only 22 percent of the time and the Texas Eagle long distance train had a zero percent on-time performance.

Durbin later demanded from each host railroad CEO a plan to get our trains on schedule. One year later, the railroads are taking passenger rail on-time performance seriously and their performance has dramatically improved. The Chicago to St. Louis trains are now on time an average of 72 percent for the year and, just last month, the trains were on time 84 percent of the time.

"On-time performance is not just a matter of convenience," Durbin said. The U.S. Department of Transportation Inspector General found that improving Amtrak's on-time performance to 85 percent would result in a $136.6 million net gain for the company. That funding could then be used to modernize tracks and secure the new generation of rail cars needed to meet growing demand. "The ability to maintain our current service and operate our trains reliably is critical to proving that our state is ready for the next level of service - high speed rail," he said.

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