Another Rail Passenger Study for Peoria?




PEORIA, Ill. (WMBD) — Peoria representatives are once again trying to bring the downtown train to Peoria. State leaders said, for too long, the city has been left behind when it comes to passenger rail.

(I'm scratching my head on the term "downtown train." Never heard of one.)

What stood out for me in this article was how much Ray LaHood has changed his tune since his days in the U. S. Congress. 

When you look at a map of Illinois there’s no reason why Peoria does not have rail service,” Ray LaHood, former Illinois congressman and U.S. Transportation Secretary said. “It’s the second-largest metropolitan area in Illinois.

Remember back in 2007 how LaHood suggested to WCBU radio that Amtrak would never come here again and that bus connections to passenger services at Galesburg and Normal were satisfactory?

His history is fuzzy as well...

LaHood said it’s probably been about 50 years since the last time passenger rail was in Peoria, and said it’s long overdue.

Try 42.5 years. Rock Island's last daily roundtrip from Peoria to Chicago and return made its final revenue run on December 31, 1978.

That said, service between Peoria and Chicago, if done correctly, would probably attract a lot of riders with ticket revenue covering most expenses. Unfortunately, officials quoted for this article have embraced fantasy over reality.

Leaders said Peoria would most likely be a hub connecting to other areas.

"We’re looking at Peoria as a center of that system as a whole, not as an end destination, more so as part of the system," Omer Osman, the state’s Secretary of Transportation, said

We’re talking about connecting our region to the rest of Illinois and to a multi-state region so if you wanted to get on a train in Peoria, you can end up in Washington D.C or Indianapolis, which you can’t do today," LaHood said.

Hold onto your wallet, folks.

- David P. Jordan

Comments

  1. BobloblawAugust 8, 2021 at 5:14 AM

    I thought Peoria had rail service to Chicago until 1981 with the prairie marksman?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. David P. JordanAugust 10, 2021 at 9:49 PM

      The Prairie Marksman served East Peoria. Although East Peoria was its Peoria area terminus, I was being generous in light of LaHood's "50 years comment."

      Delete

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