Illinois Service

Amtrak train routes in Illinois, US

The Chicago–Quincy Illinois Zephyr, an Illinois Service train. Amtrak routes in Illinois. Continuous red lines are current Illinois Service routes, dashed red lines are planned Illinois Service routes, and blue lines are other long distance Amtrak routes.

The Illinois Service, branded Amtrak Illinois, comprises three passenger rail routes operated by Amtrak in the American state of Illinois. The Illinois Service is funded primarily by the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) and falls under the broader Amtrak Midwest brand.

Chicago is a terminus for all three Illinois Service routes, which all have multiple daily round trips:

* Chicago–Quincy: two round trips daily, the Illinois Zephyr and the Carl Sandburg[1]
* Chicago–St. Louis Lincoln Service: four round trips daily and the only route that serves another state[2]
* Chicago–Carbondale: two round trips daily, the Illini and the Saluki, and the only route whose trains have checked baggage service[1]

## Proposed expansion[edit]

* v
* t
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Illinois Service

Legend

|  |  |

0mi

| Chicago |

|
|
|
|
|

| La Grange |

| 14 mi

23 km

| 24 mi

39 km

Homewood |

| Naperville |

| 28 mi

45 km

| 57 mi

92 km

Kankakee |

Plano |

| 52 mi

84 km

| 82 mi

132 km

Gilman
Mendota |

| 83 mi

134 km

| 115 mi

185 km

Rantoul
Princeton |

| 104 mi

167 km

| 129 mi

208 km

Champaign–Urbana
|  |

| 173 mi

278 km

Mattoon
Geneseo |

| 142 mi

229 km

| 200 mi

322 km

Effingham

| Moline

Quad Cities

| 175 mi

282 km

| 253 mi

407 km

Centralia
|  |

| 289 mi

465 km

Du Quoin
Kewanee |

| 131 mi

211 km

| 309 mi

497 km

| Carbondale

Illini & Saluki

| Galesburg |

| 162 mi

261 km

|  |

| Macomb |

| 202 mi

325 km

| 12 mi

19 km

Summit |

| Quincy

Illinois Zephyr &

| 258 mi

415 km

| 37 mi

60 km

Joliet |

| Carl Sandburg

| 74 mi

119 km

Dwight
|  |

| 92 mi

148 km

Pontiac
|  |

| 124 mi

200 km

Normal |

|  |

| 156 mi

251 km

Lincoln
|  |

| 185 mi

298 km

Springfield
|  |

| 224 mi

360 km

Carlinville
|  |

| 257 mi

414 km

Alton
|  |

| IL

Mississippi River

|  |

| 284 mi

457 km

| St. Louis

Lincoln Service

|  |  |  |  |  |

There are plans for two new Illinois Service routes:

* Chicago–Rockford Black Hawk: based on a former service to Dubuque that ran from 1974 to 1981, the route will use Metra and Union Pacific lines west from Chicago via Elgin
* Chicago–Moline Quad Cities: uses the existing Chicago–Quincy route between Chicago and Princeton, branching from it west of Wyanet to serve the Quad Cities via Geneseo

The routes were to have been added in late 2015[3] but were put on hold by then-Governor Bruce Rauner.[4] They were resurrected and funded in 2019 as part of a transportation bill supported by Governor J.B. Pritzker.[5]

In addition to the two new routes, a committee was formed in late 2021 to study and promote extending the Chicago–Quincy route to Hannibal, Missouri.[6]

In early 2022, studies are underway to reinstate Amtrak service to Peoria from Chicago.[7]

## See also[edit]

* Hiawatha Service

## References[edit]

1. ^ a b "Governor Blagojevich Announces Amtrak Carl Sandburg to Start Running October 30th". Amtrak. National Railroad Passenger Corporation. October 8, 2006. Archived from the original on March 11, 2007. Retrieved December 12, 2013.
2. ^ "Governor Blagojevich Announces Amtrak Lincoln Service to Start Running October 30th". Amtrak. National Railroad Passenger Corporation. October 14, 2006. Archived from the original on March 12, 2007. Retrieved December 12, 2013.
3. ^ Bowen, Douglas John (December 5, 2013). "NARP: New Amtrak Midwest routes advance". Railway Age. Simmons-Boardman Publishing Inc. Retrieved December 11, 2013.
4. ^ "Plan for Amtrak service from Chicago to Rockford on hold". Chicago Tribune. Associated Press. February 9, 2015. Retrieved May 31, 2016.
5. ^ "Rail group celebrates 'big win' for Amtrak line from QC to Chicago". WQAD.com. October 23, 2019. Retrieved December 13, 2019.
6. ^ Edlund, Clare (January 4, 2022). "Hannibal coalition works to attract downtown Amtrak station". WGEM. Retrieved January 24, 2022.
7. ^ "Proposed Peoria Amtrak route unveiled. Here are the next steps to restore train travel". Journal Star. Retrieved January 27, 2022.

## External links[edit]

* Illinois Service on Amtrak's website
* Amtrak Illinois on IDOT's website

* v
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Amtrak routes

Long
distance|

| West|

* California Zephyr
* Coast Starlight
* Empire Builder
* Southwest Chief
* Sunset Limited
* Texas Eagle

|

East|

* Auto Train
* Capitol Limited
* Cardinal
* City of New Orleans
* Crescent
* Lake Shore Limited
* Palmetto

| Silver Service|

* Silver Meteor
* Silver Star

|

Corridor|

| West|

* Amtrak Cascades
* Heartland Flyer
* Winter Park Express (seasonal)

Amtrak California|

* Capitol Corridor
* Pacific Surfliner
* San Joaquins

Midwest|

* Hiawatha Service
* Missouri River Runner
* Great River (planned)
* Northern Lights Express (planned)

Illinois Service|

* Illini and Saluki
* Illinois Zephyr and Carl Sandburg
* Lincoln Service
* Quad Cities (planned)

Michigan Services|

* Blue Water
* Pere Marquette
* Wolverine

East|

* Downeaster
* Mardi Gras Service (planned)

| Northeast Corridor|

* Acela
* Northeast Regional
* Amtrak Virginia

|

Knowledge Corridor|

* Hartford Line
* Valley Flyer
* Vermonter

Empire Corridor|

* Adirondack
* Berkshire Flyer (seasonal)
* Empire Service
* Ethan Allen Express
* Maple Leaf (with Via Rail Canada)

Keystone Corridor|

* Keystone Service
* Pennsylvanian

NC By Train|

* Carolinian
* Piedmont

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