Moline station
Moline, IL | |||||||||||
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| General information | |||||||||||
| Owned by | City of Moline | ||||||||||
| Line(s) | Iowa Interstate Railroad | ||||||||||
| Platforms | 1 | ||||||||||
| Tracks | 1 | ||||||||||
| Connections |  Quad Cities MetroLINK Amtrak Thruway | ||||||||||
| Construction | |||||||||||
| Parking | Yes | ||||||||||
| Bicycle facilities | Yes | ||||||||||
| Accessible | Yes | ||||||||||
| History | |||||||||||
| Opening | TBA | ||||||||||
| Future services | |||||||||||
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Moline station is a proposed train station in Moline, Illinois, intended to serve as the terminus of the Quad Cities Amtrak line. Construction has begun and the station was initially expected to open by 2019, though it remains incomplete as of 2024.[2][3]
History
[edit]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. The state of Illinois subsequently pulled the subsidy keeping the train running, leaving the Quad Cities without passenger rail service.[4]
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.[5] However, in early 2015, Governor Bruce Rauner put all major spending projects under review, including the Chicago-Quad Cities Amtrak line.[6] Despite this, construction on the station started in 2015.[7][8] By June 2016, under threat of losing the federal funding for the Quad Cities line, the state released the matching funds needed to move the project forward.[9] On February 24, 2017, it was announced that the station would be complete in August, with passenger rail service expected to commence soon thereafter.[10] As of November 26, 2018[update], no service had yet been scheduled.[11] In July 2019, a transportation bill passed by the Illinois state legislature and signed by Governor J.B. Pritzker appropriated $225M to the project.[12] In its 2020–2025 service plan, Amtrak forecasted that the Chicago–Moline route would begin in fiscal year 2024 and attract 165,600 riders that year.[13] However, as of 2024, the Quad Cities line is still inactive due to disputes between the Illinois Department of Transportation and the Iowa Interstate Railroad.[14]
References
[edit]- ^ "Element Westin/The Q Project | City of Moline, IL - Official Website". www.moline.il.us. Moline, Illinois. Retrieved January 4, 2021.
- ^ "The Q". www.renewmoline.com. Retrieved September 5, 2017.
- ^ "Illinois Passenger Rail: Amtrak Illinois – Chicago to Quad Cities".
- ^ "Rock Island's Rockets". Amtrak in the Heartland. May 14, 2009. Retrieved March 6, 2017.
- ^ "Moline Multimodal Station TIGER II Grant". Kaskaskia Engineering Group. Retrieved March 6, 2017.
- ^ Simmons, Shane (January 25, 2015). "Gov. Rauner's spending freeze results in 'review' of Quad City Amtrak project". WQAD-TV. Retrieved July 25, 2016.
- ^ "Construction begins on Moline train station". WQAD.com. August 18, 2015. Retrieved March 6, 2017.
- ^ DeWitt, Jennifer. "Construction advances on Moline train station". The Quad-City Times. Retrieved March 6, 2017.
- ^ Timmons, Eric (June 21, 2016). "Illinois commits to Chicago-Moline passenger rail". The Dispatch / The Rock Island Argus. Retrieved July 25, 2016.
- ^ Watt, Anthony. "Officials expect The Q to be ready in May". Dispatch-Argus-QCOnline. Retrieved March 6, 2017.
- ^ Norris, Jim (November 26, 2018). "Letter: Moline still waiting for Amtrak service". The Rock Island Dispatch-Argus. Retrieved December 16, 2018.
- ^ Ketz, Jonathan (October 23, 2019). "Rail group celebrates 'big win' for Amtrak line from QC to Chicago". WQAD.com. Retrieved December 13, 2019.
- ^ "Amtrak Five-Year Service Line Plans: Fiscal Years 2020-2025" (PDF). Amtrak. pp. 71, 150. Retrieved May 31, 2022.
- ^ "Area leaders look to move forward Moline-Chicago passenger rail train". February 27, 2023.
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41°30′22.65″N 90°31′12.72″W / 41.5062917°N 90.5202000°W
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