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Iowa Interstate willing to host passenger service in home state
Shame on Gov. Terry Branstad and the Iowa Republicans for opposing passenger rail in Iowa. Extending Amtrak to run from Moline, IL, to Iowa City, IA, should be no-brainer. University of Iowa have plenty of students traveling to and from Chicagoland and businesses in eastern Iowa want passenger trains back. Of course the full IAIS line through Des Moines to Council Bluffs/Omaha needs passenger trains. The California Zephyr running through southern Iowa is not enough and doesn’t serve most Iowans. A possible rerouting of CZ to the UP line through Cedar Rapids and Ames has been talked about since the 1980s, but nothing has happened.
The Iowa Interstate’s former Rock Island route across Iowa is by far the state’s most reasonable passenger route, serving more population centers than any of the other east-west lines: the Quad Cities (Davenport/Bettendorf/Rock Island/Moline), Iowa City, Grinnell, Newton, Des Moines, Atlantic, and Council Bluffs. It has always been unfortunate that–due largely to corporate machinations by the C&NW to prevent the UP from acquiring the RI as a route into Chicago, which should have saved it–the line’s physical plant deteriorated through the 1960s and 70s to a point that could not support passenger traffic. Let’s hope this historical glitch can be corrected and passenger service can return to the state’s most logical passenger route.
I would hope that the Iowa Governor would take heed of the recent election, read the analysis fron left, right and center and particularly that of many in theRepublican Party and reconsider his stand on rail passenger service into Iowa City and beyond. Rapid rail service will be a vital part of the transport mix in coming years and he should not want Iowa to be left behind.
By simply adding $2 to every license plate fee in the state, Iowa could fund the $3 million annual subsidy.
Iowa doesn’t realize that these trains would be extremely popular, such as similar services in Illinois and Missouri. Once again we fail to realize that all passenger trains, even the successful ones, require some sort of subsidy or ‘investment’ be it a private operation. I have a feeling that, sadly, as long as the Republicans are in charge in Iowa the extension of this train into Iowa won’t ever happen. On the flip side, I suppose, if this train did end up being done and it made it all the way to Omaha, they could re-route the existing California Zephyr up there which I DON’T want to happen.
republicans in Iowa are probably interested in a return to a stagecoach.
Republicans are known to be conservative and they are the ones that keep the liberals from spending us into oblivion. They want Amtrak to succeed but without draining every last penny.
You folks are, to put it kindly, delusional – and I speak as a rider of the Rock Island in the old days who watched its passenger service go down when I-80 was built. Megabus is currently taking very good care of public ground transportation along I-80 between Chicago and Omaha with service faster and more frequent than rail could provide. A revived rail option would be left with the scraps.
Sure, Posner would be happy to see his freight railroad upgraded with public money. Unlike other freight lines hosting Amtrak, he has capacity to burn.
Running service all the way to Omaha would be good because the CZ serves it anyway and thus could be a good transfer point for passengers going between the CZ and this new service and vice versa. An overnight train would be great on this route. Since Republican reactionaries have insisted on messing up running the Talgos for hiawatha service, those trains would be just the thing for service all the way to Omaha since they’re already built and thus could bring service sooner.
If the people in Iowa want passenger trains then let them pay for it. I want to keep that money in my pocket.
Hmmmm…Des Moines Rocket…
Comparing Missouri’s situation to Iowa is not relevant. Iowa would not have the prospect for the same passenger volumes, and the amount of the state subsidy would be excessive, especially since AMTRAK already operates on a parallel corridor just 70 miles south of the Iowa Interstate route.
The $3 million “subsidy” could be taken from the Multi-million dollar subsidies given to the highways and airports every year, which every taxpayer has to contribute to annually!
F Smith, obviously you been listening to Jeffery Guse.People WANT the train. sure buses are cheaper to operate but people DON’T like buses. Maybe you do; personally I find riding a bus for any distance cramped and confining. Your Republican friends undoubtably use their tax supported private jet.
IAIS is mostly 40 mph; Track Warrant Control; no ABS. Significant improvements would be needed to support psgr service.