New Amtrak funding may not bring back Rockford route any sooner

1 comment October 3rd, 2008

President Bush is expected to sign a bill that nearly doubles Amtrak funding, a victory for rail proponents. It gives money for capital improvements to speed trains up and takes other steps to help the reduce delays.

Of particular importance locally is the $380 million a year over the next five years that would be granted to states to develop intercity rail routes. Illinois has been particularly aggressive in this, adding routes from Chicago to St. Lous, Quincy and Carbondale, and studying routes to Rockford/Dubuque and to the Quad Cities.

The feds would pay for up to 80 percent of a given project, awarding grants “on a competitive basis for projects based on economic performance, expected ridership, and other factors.”

Here’s the catch. The lack of an Illinois capital plan has been the big hold up on restoring service to Rockford, and it would most likely continue to be the hold up. Here’s what Christina Mulka, spokeswoman for U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-IL, said:

It is possible that illinois and the Rockford route could compete for a grant in the State Capitol Matching Grant program before a capital bill is passed. IDOT would be the agency choosing projects to apply to the FRA for funding (then that project would compete with projects from across the country). The problem is with this program and with other competitive federal funding, without a capital bill Illinois looks like a less attractive compared to other states that do have capital funds.

Now, there is some bright side to this. If the state does come around to coughing up its $32 million for the Rockford route, perhaps the feds would agree to throw a bunch more money this way to make it an even better, faster, more popular route. One can dream, no?