Moline station

Moline station is a proposed train station in Moline, Illinois, for the Quad Cities train. Construction has begun and the station was initially expected that rail service would begin by 2019.[2][3]

Moline, IL
The Q in downtown Moline, which currently houses an Element Hotel by Westin, and is planned to additionally house the Amtrak station and a multi-modal transit hub[1]
General information
Owned byCity of Moline
Line(s)Iowa Interstate Railroad
Platforms1
Tracks1
ConnectionsBus interchange Quad Cities MetroLINK
Bus interchange Amtrak Thruway
Construction
ParkingYes
Bicycle facilitiesYes
AccessibleYes
History
OpeningTBA
Future services
Preceding station Amtrak Following station
Terminus Quad Cities
Proposed
 Geneseo
toward Chicago

In July 2019, a new transportation bill was passed by the Illinois state legislature, supported by Governor J.B. Pritzker, $225M was appropriated to begin this service.[4]

History

Until 1979, the Rock Island Railroad's Quad Cities Rocket, served the Quad Cities. However, due to poor on-time performance and deteriorating track conditions, ridership declined substantially, causing the state of Illinois to pull the subsidy keeping the train running, leaving the Quad Cities without passenger rail service.[5]

In 2008, efforts to restore passenger rail service to the Quad Cities were set in motion. In 2010, the City of Moline got a federal TIGER grant for construction of the station.[6] However, in early 2015, Governor Bruce Rauner put all major spending projects under review, including the Chicago-Quad Cities Amtrak line, on hold.[7] Despite this, construction on the station started in 2015, and continued throughout the period the line's future was in question.[8][9] By June 2016, under threat of losing the federal funding for the line, the state released the matching funds needed to move the project forward.[10] On February 24, 2017, it was announced that the station will be complete in August, with passenger rail service to commence soon thereafter.[11] As of November 26, 2018, no service had yet been scheduled.[12] In its 2020–2025 service plan, Amtrak forecasts that the Chicago–Moline route will begin in fiscal year 2024 and attract 165,600 riders that year.[13]

References
  1. "Element Westin/The Q Project | City of Moline, IL - Official Website". www.moline.il.us. Moline, Illinois. Retrieved January 4, 2021.
  2. "The Q". www.renewmoline.com. Retrieved September 5, 2017.
  3. "Illinois Passenger Rail: Amtrak Illinois – Chicago to Quad Cities".
  4. Ketz, Jonathan (October 23, 2019). "Rail group celebrates 'big win' for Amtrak line from QC to Chicago". WQAD.com. Retrieved December 13, 2019.
  5. "Rock Island's Rockets". Amtrak in the Heartland. May 14, 2009. Retrieved March 6, 2017.
  6. "Moline Multimodal Station TIGER II Grant". Kaskaskia Engineering Group. Retrieved March 6, 2017.
  7. Simmons, Shane (January 25, 2015). "Gov. Rauner's spending freeze results in 'review' of Quad City Amtrak project". WQAD-TV. Retrieved July 25, 2016.
  8. "Construction begins on Moline train station". WQAD.com. August 18, 2015. Retrieved March 6, 2017.
  9. DeWitt, Jennifer. "Construction advances on Moline train station". The Quad-City Times. Retrieved March 6, 2017.
  10. Timmons, Eric (June 21, 2016). "Illinois commits to Chicago-Moline passenger rail". The Dispatch / The Rock Island Argus. Retrieved July 25, 2016.
  11. Watt, Anthony. "Officials expect The Q to be ready in May". Dispatch-Argus-QCOnline. Retrieved March 6, 2017.
  12. Norris, Jim (November 26, 2018). "Letter: Moline still waiting for Amtrak service". The Rock Island Dispatch-Argus. Retrieved December 16, 2018.
  13. "Amtrak Five-Year Service Line Plans: Fiscal Years 2020-2025" (PDF). Amtrak. pp. 71, 150. Retrieved May 31, 2022.

41°30′22.65″N 90°31′12.72″W


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