Illinois Service

Amtrak train routes in Illinois, US

Illinois Service

The Chicago–Quincy Illinois Zephyr, an Illinois Service train

Overview
Service type| Inter-city rail
Status| Operating
Locale| Illinois and St. Louis, Missouri
First service| November 14, 1971
Current operator(s)| Amtrak
Website| https://www.amtrak.com/illinois-services-train
Route
Termini| Chicago
St. Louis
Quincy
Carbondale
Technical
Track gauge| 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Track owner(s)| BNSF, UP, CN
| Route map

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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

|  |  |  |  |  |
Show route diagram map

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]

Two proposed Illinois Service routes have been accepted by the Corridor Identification and Development Program, both in December 2023:

* Chicago–Peoria Prairie Marksman via Joliet, Morris, Ottawa, and LaSalle-Peru[3]
* 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[4]

The Quad Cities and the Rockford-Chicago portion of the Black Hawk were to have been added in late 2015[5] but were put on hold by then-Governor Bruce Rauner.[6] They were resurrected and funded in 2019 as part of a transportation bill supported by Governor J.B. Pritzker.[7] In 2023, Pritzker announced that the Rockford-Chicago train will be operated by Metra.[8]

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.[9]

## See also

[edit]

* Hiawatha

## 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. ^ Rodriguez, Jolie (December 7, 2023). "Peoria a step closer to Amtrak passenger rail service". 25 News. Retrieved May 13, 2024.
4. ^ Doxsee, Alec (December 7, 2023). "Quad Cities-Chicago rail corridor receives $500K grant". WQAD. Retrieved May 13, 2024.
5. ^ Bowen, Douglas John (December 5, 2013). "NARP: New Amtrak Midwest routes advance". Railway Age. Simmons-Boardman Publishing Inc. Retrieved May 13, 2024.
6. ^ "Rauner puts plan for Amtrak service from Chicago to Rockford on hold". ABC 7. February 8, 2015. Retrieved May 13, 2024.
7. ^ "Rail group celebrates 'big win' for Amtrak line from QC to Chicago". WQAD.com. October 23, 2019. Retrieved May 13, 2024.
8. ^ Neveau, James (July 6, 2023). "Metra to restore rail service between Rockford, Chicago for first time in 40 years". NBC 5 Chicago. Retrieved May 13, 2024.
9. ^ Edlund, Clare (January 4, 2022). "Hannibal coalition works to attract downtown Amtrak station". WGEM. Retrieved May 13, 2024.

## External links

[edit]

* Illinois Service on Amtrak's website
* Amtrak Illinois on IDOT's website Archived June 10, 2016, at the Wayback Machine

* v
* t
* e

Amtrak routes

Long
distance|

| West|

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

|

East|

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

| Silver Service|

* Silver Meteor

|

Corridor|

| West|

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

Amtrak California|

* Capitol Corridor
* Pacific Surfliner
* San Joaquins

Midwest|

* Borealis
* Hiawatha
* Missouri River Runner

Illinois Service|

* Illini and Saluki
* Illinois Zephyr and Carl Sandburg
* Lincoln Service

Michigan Services|

* Blue Water
* Pere Marquette
* Wolverine

East|

* Downeaster
* Mardi Gras Service (planned for 2025)

| 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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