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Amtrak on track for huge payday |
| Posted: February 13, 2009 |
By Mary Nevans-Pederson, Telegraph Herald staff writer
Once again, it all boils down to money.
An Amtrak representative told tri-state officials Thursday that if enough
money is included for passenger rail service in the federal economic
stimulus package, the proposed Chicago-to-Dubuque route is about as
"shovel-ready" a project as any being considered.
After weeks of debate, congressional leaders have agreed on a $790
billion economic stimulus package that would deliver $1.3 billion
specifically to Amtrak. The House likely will pass that bill
today.
But even if Amtrak lands that money, there's no guarantee some of it will
end up here.
"The Illinois Department of Transportation asked for money for this
route, and Amtrak asked for funding for cars and equipment so we can have
the rolling stock ready to go. Now we're just waiting on the final
conference committee report," said Derrick James, Amtrak's
government affairs senior officer, at a policy meeting of the Dubuque
Metropolitan Area Transportation Study.
The Iowa Department of Transportation also asked for money -- $3 million
-- from its state coffers to institute a continuing passenger rail fund,
and hasn't heard whether that will happen, said Tammy Nicholson, director
of the IDOT's Rail Transportation Office in Ames, Iowa.
"We need the ongoing fund to be able to match f! ederal g rants
especially," said Nicholson. Illinois and Iowa have informal
agreements in place to share the costs of resurrecting passenger train
service between Chicago and Dubuque and between Chicago and Iowa City
(through the Quad-Cities), but there are no formal contracts between the
two states, she said. Providing financial support for passenger rail
service is new to Iowa, Nicholson said.
"We need to take small steps in Iowa and start where service looks
feasible. These two routes show a lot of promise," she
said.
Preliminary estimates peg Iowa's share of the Dubuque route at $300,000
for equipment and $500,000 for annual operations. Total state costs
(start-up and operating) for the Iowa City route could be $36 million.
The city of Waterloo has asked Amtrak to examine the possibility of
extending the Dubuque route west to Waterloo.
Amtrak is impressed with the level of local support for the
Chicago-Dubuque route, said James, who oversees a 14-state region from
Amtrak's Chicago office.
"Iowa ramped up quickly and efficiently. We know Iowa citizens are
interested in expanded passenger rail service because contingents of them
show up at our Washington offices to tell us," he said.
If stimulus money funds the new Dubuque Amtrak route, it still would take
two construction seasons to rehabilitate the existing tracks -- mostly
owned by Canadian National Railway -- and build loading platforms at
scheduled stops, James said. The proposed speed on the Dubuque route is
about 50 mph, making a one-way trip more than five hours long. James said
future additional improvements could allow trains to speed up.
For more information on Iowa's visioning plan for expanded passenger rail
service, go to
www.iowadot.gov/pol_leg_services/IowaConnections.pdf.
To learn more about the local campaign to restore passenger train service
to Dubuque (and the Illinois towns of Galena, Lena, Freeport and
Rockford), go to
www.envision2010.org/ridetherail.
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