Amtrak Considers Rail Service To Peoria
PEORIA, Ill. (WBBM) -- Amtrak officials say they are exploring rail service to an area of the state that has traditionally felt left out of the transportation loop.
As WBBM Newrsadi 780's Alex Degman reports, spokesman Marc Magliari says there are still Peoria residents that rue the day Route 66 bypassed their city. Then came Interstate 55, and most recently, the Chicago-Kansas City Expressway (Illinois 110), which is composed of the Eisenhower Expressway and parts of I-88, I-80, I-74 and I-72, among other roads.
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Magliari says Peoria had rail service on and off in the 1970s and '80s, and a study could determine whether service will return.
"The folks in Peoria very much want us to deliver this study, the elected officials in Peoria and that area, and Tazewell and Peoria counties want to see a study," explains Magliari. "We'll deliver it to the Illinois DOT this summer, and we'll see what the decisions are."
Magliari says Amtrak is also considering service to Rockford, the Quad Cities, and extension of a current line south from Quincy to Hannibal, Missouri.
