Peoria Station

PEORIA – Today, a Vossloh Track Materials crew began lifting rails from Union Pacific’s Elm Industrial Lead. The Elm Industrial is all that is left in Illinois of the Minneapolis & St. Louis Railway, whose mainline between Minneapolis and Peoria once hosted first class freight trains. Following the Chicago & North Western’s absorption of the [...]

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Northwest Airlink is expanding at Bloomington-Normal’s Central Illinois Regional Airport, the Pantagraph reports. Beginning June 4, the airline will offer a daily roundtrip between CIRA and Minneapolis/St. Paul (a hub for Delta’s subsidiary, Northwest Airlines). The service was last offered in 2003. A 50-seat Canadair Regional Jet will be used for the new flight. Also on that day, [...]

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PEORIA – Looks like it isn’t gonna get any better soon. Local rail users are taking a hit in volume. Caterpillar’s global machine sales were down 27 percent in February. Also alarming is Aventine Renewable Energy president Ron Miller hinting possible bankruptcy for his company. At least Keystone Steel & Wire fared well in 2008, [...]

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I got this in my inbox today: …the study being done by Amtrak on the feasibility of Intercity Rail Service between Chicago and Peoria will be further delayed possibly to July… – David P. Jordan

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Since 2006, the Union Pacific Railroad has been pouring millions of dollars into improving and increasing capacity on its north-south mainline through the Peoria area. This is the track that skirts the west edge of Peoria, ducks under I-474 near Bartonville then follows the Illinois River for several miles before crossing it south of Pekin. Called [...]

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In politics, it takes guts to stand up to the loudest group. Doing so requires one to embrace facts and stand for truth. The politicians who spoke to Friends of the Rock Island Trail Monday at Paparazzi Restaurant, as reported by the Journal Star, do neither. And they make embarrasingly ignorant (and ironic) assertions that are easily debunked. [...]

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 PEORIA – Atlantic Southeast Airlines dba Delta Connection, resumed a second daily roundtrip flight between Peoria and Atlanta today. Flights arrive from the Georgia capital at 9:25am and 3:42pm. Those flights leave Peoria at 9:50am and 4:07pm. Note the absence of a “Remain-Over-Night” (RON) flight, which are convenient for business travelers. With the economy in a tailspin, it’s [...]

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