Peoria Station

NOTE: This blog is non-partisan, but from time to time, politicians of either party may be criticized for anti-rail thinking.

Soon-to-be former Peoria Congressman Ray LaHood’s apparent nomination to serve as pres-elect Barack Obama’s Secretary of Transportation clashes with Vice President-elect Joe Biden’s boast last September that, “if we get elected, it will be the most train-friendly administration ever.”

So what gives?

As usual, pols make promiseful boasts they cannot keep. Recall that LaHood is the one who said in May 2007 that restoration of Amtrak service to Peoria would be “cost-prohibitive” and “impractical,” and also this gem: 

Those of us in Peoria who wanted to take advantage of that will want to promote bus service (to either Bloomington/Normal or Galesburg)…I think if there is a way to enhance Bloomington/Normal’s train service, we should try and do that.

In other words, rail passenger service is fine for other communities, but not Peoria.

LaHood’s attitude dwells on the past. The last time Amtrak served the city was in October 1981, and the area terminus was in East Peoria. The service was discontinued after a 14-month trial. Prior to the Prairie Marksman’s August 1980 inauguration, the bankrupt Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad ended its daily train on January 1, 1979. The Peoria Rocket, by then an unofficial moniker, hadn’t served as a vital mode of transportation since the three-month-long Ozark Air Lines strike in 1973.

Save for those that make the trek to Galesburg or Normal, Peorians have long been out of the habit of taking the train. But times have changed. The recent spike in gas prices have people looking to alternate forms of transportation, and rail seems the obvious beneficiary. All of us understand that there will be considerable cost to restore Amtrak service to the Peoria area. The best route is under study by Amtrak and the results are expected to be released soon. Then, it is up to the public to express their support, or it’s likely we’ll continue to board the train at Galesburg or Normal.

Even though Peorians don’t seem as fired up about the possible start of rail passenger service to Chicago as other communities such as the Quad Cities and Rockford, they could be. The local media and public comments on the Journal Star website and to local blogs have been generally positive about possible restoration of Amtrak service to the area. It is unlikely there is much opposition to having Amtrak resume service here.

Will LaHood’s tenure as Transportation Secretary favor airports and highways (all vital to our nation’s economy, of course) and disfavor rail transportation? Rail freight is generally a private sector industry and receives little in the way of public financing, but passenger rail is dependent on public monies due to its labor-intensive nature.

There is a legitimate debate about whether something is necessary if it can’t make it on it’s own. But there is always the exception to the rule. Public transportation is one of them. It doesn’t mean one should get aboard a plan to build a $1 billion high speed rail line between Fargo, North Dakota and Billings, Montana, but there are good, legitimate passenger rail projects that not only have public support, but will likely pay for themselves in economic development.

Amtrak’s October 2006 expansion of Illinois services spawned a big increase in ridership. There is pent up demand for rail passenger service. Peoria should not be left out. Fuel prices may be down now, but they’re likely to increase again when the economy recovers. Let’s hope our new Transportation Secretary will begin to understand this when in his new environs.

- David P. Jordan