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Town hall meeting for Rockford Amtrak startup scheduled for Aug. 27
What they should discuss is a commuter line from Rock to Chi, 2 trips a day? Not enough! 3 trains to Chi in the morning, 3 trains to Rock… In the afternoon, Thats the only way it would be viable.
Which route out of two? Is CN out of the game? Is UP in?
A recap would have been helpful.
I agree with Mr. Nichols’ assessment. That’s the pattern the Illinois Zephyr ran for many years before they added the Carl Sandberg.
The route will be the UP.
As for commuter trains, Metra could run as far as the western border of McHenry County at Garden Prairie without any legislative action, but Marengo is the last place that would really make sense and, I’ve heard, doesn’t want it, so that leaves Metra only going to Huntley.
Sure wish there could be a restoration of service from Chicago to Peoria. I rode the Peoria Rocket numerous times while attending Wheaton College back in the 60’s,
I’m guessing that the one daily round-trip at startup will be Rockford to Chicago in the AM, with a return to Rockford in the PM. Sounds quite similar to the Heartland Flyer, which runs from OKC to FTW in the AM, with a return trip in the evening. I guess they never considered that there might be people in the DFW area that need to go to OKC during the day and return home at night.
By having only 1 round-trip per day, you are eliminating 1/2 of your potential riders.
More train options = more riders.
Great idea - but how will the broke state of Illinois pay for it? I love trains don’t want them spending more of my tax money on projects like this until the state has its budgetary house in order - and it doesn’t!!
My bet is that this long-awaited line will prove very popular. I just hope officials have enough sense to expand the frequency of service. Here in Chicago, where I live downtown, Metra continues to schedule as if reverse commuting were non-existent. But outbound morning trains to the 'burbs are often filled. Extending this new line to Galena will be a huge hit, as that is a popular tourist area.
Once Illinois has a budget in the black and pays their bills on time, go for it. Why go to Dubuque, IA? Why not Madison, WI?