Chicago-to-Q-C rail link to operate by 2013

Illinois officials said Wednesday that Amtrak’s passenger rail link between the Quad-Cities and Chicago will be operational in 2013.

Scores of people gathered at Centre Station in Moline to celebrate the Obama administration’s announcement Monday that it would spend $230 million for an Amtrak link between Chicago and Iowa City.

The 2013 date is two years earlier than the target U.S. Sens. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, and Dick Durbin, D-Ill., had announced earlier this week.

The Iowa City-to-Quad-Cities connection won’t be operational until 2015, officials say. But Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn told people Wednesday that it will be only three years before the Illinois trains begin to run.

Ray Lang, the senior director of government affairs for Amtrak, said track needs to be upgraded between the Quad-Cities and Wyanet, Ill., and a connection needs to be established there. But “if all goes well,” the service will begin in 2013, Lange said.

The newer start date was a surprise to many, including Paul Rumler, who is the executive director of the Quad-Cities Passenger Rail Coalition and has spearheaded local efforts to get passenger rail funding

 “That’s exciting news,” he said. “We were thinking initially the track construction would take two years.”

Quinn and Rep. Phil Hare, D-Ill., were the centerpiece of Wednesday’s event, which drew political and civic leaders from both sides of the river.

Both are in the middle of tough re-election battles, and the event comes less than a week before the election.

Neither made overt political pitches, but Davenport Mayor Bill Gluba, a veteran Democratic activist, drew a response when he bluntly said voters should keep in mind how the money got approved.

Much of the praise was directed at President Barack Obama.

“We owe a great deal of gratitude to our president,” Quinn said.

The money for the rail project was part of $2.5 billion the president requested to upgrade high-speed and intercity passenger rail connections in the country.

Already, Hare and U.S. Rep. Bruce Braley, who did not attend the Moline gathering, both have said top infrastructure priorities in the area are at risk if their opponents win on Tuesday.

Republicans Bobby Schilling, in Illinois’ 17th District, and Ben Lange, in Iowa’s 1st, have criticized the incumbents for overspending but have said they support infrastructure projects.

Schilling’s campaign said he was not available for an interview on the rail project Wednesday.

Cody Brown, the campaign manager for Lange, declined to comment on the project but said he would “work closely” with local leaders on infrastructure and transportation issues.

Today, Iowa Gov. Chet Culver and U.S. Rep. Dave Loebsack, D-Iowa, who also are facing re-election challenges, will appear at a similar event in Iowa City with U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood.

source: QC Times