Is Quad Cities Amtrak Service Dead on Arrival?

As much as I love going to Chicago for the experiences to be had there, I dread the travel, and the cost. Overnight parking is rarely below $45, making for a nearly $100 cost before you've even hit the streets. Traffic can be stressfully tiring, stealing precious time and energy from your weekend.

After hearing raves about the joys of being car free from friends who took Amtrak to Chicago from both Galesburg and Princeton, I tried it myself. It was indeed freeing and maximized my fun hours in the city. But, it's almost an hour drive to get to both stations.

Quad City leaders have been working for over a decade to bring Amtrak passenger rail service from Chicago to Moline. As budget priorities in Washington have teetered back and forth, the initiative has stalled, and restarted multiple times.

According to our partners at WQAD News 8, the project is again threatened by budget cuts. The latest federal budget calls for a significant cut in Amtrak funding. While the cuts are said to be targeted at long-distance routes (a favor for the airline industry?), some are worried it could affect the planned Chicago-Moline service.

When/If the service does finally become a reality, would you use it as an alternative to driving to Chicago?

- Craig