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| 1 | SENATE RESOLUTION
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| 2 | WHEREAS, The Illinois Department of Transportation | ||||||
| 3 | included in its multi-year plan a potential new rail route that | ||||||
| 4 | would go from Moline/Rock Island to Danville, via Galesburg, | ||||||
| 5 | Peoria, Bloomington/Normal, and Champaign/Urbana; and
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| 6 | WHEREAS, This east-west corridor further enhances access | ||||||
| 7 | for our students to colleges and universities
throughout the | ||||||
| 8 | State of Illinois and increases the number destinations | ||||||
| 9 | available on our passenger
rail system, which makes passage | ||||||
| 10 | rail service an even more attractive method of alternative
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| 11 | transportation; and
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| 12 | WHEREAS, IDOT has asked Amtrak for a feasibility study to | ||||||
| 13 | analyze the ridership, capital costs, and operating costs of | ||||||
| 14 | this potential new route; and | ||||||
| 15 | WHEREAS, The new route will consist of two round-trips per | ||||||
| 16 | day, with the tightest connectivity to the Chicago-St. Louis | ||||||
| 17 | corridor and connection times to the Carbondale and Quincy | ||||||
| 18 | corridors as well; and
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| 19 | WHEREAS, The study will also include requirements for | ||||||
| 20 | service facilities at either end of the corridor, along with | ||||||
| 21 | those estimated costs; and
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| 1 | WHEREAS, Amtrak should also include in its proposal cost a | ||||||
| 2 | study of a very tightly-scheduled express bus service, similar | ||||||
| 3 | to California's tightly-scheduled Thruway service that | ||||||
| 4 | connects the various passenger rail corridors with towns | ||||||
| 5 | throughout that state; and | ||||||
| 6 | WHEREAS, The study should analyze the revenue and costs of | ||||||
| 7 | bus service that would meet Chicago-St. Louis trains each way | ||||||
| 8 | at Normal, with single-ticketing so passengers can buy one | ||||||
| 9 | ticket and check bags only once; the study also should analyze | ||||||
| 10 | the ticket price that would make the bus service | ||||||
| 11 | self-sufficient; and | ||||||
| 12 | WHEREAS, The express bus service would possibly be a | ||||||
| 13 | forerunner to actual train service between the identified | ||||||
| 14 | cities; and | ||||||
| 15 | WHEREAS, Amtrak is expected to begin the study in the | ||||||
| 16 | summer of 2013; therefore, be it
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| 17 | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL | ||||||
| 18 | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that the Illinois Department | ||||||
| 19 | of Transportation is supported and encouraged to continue its | ||||||
| 20 | efforts in studying the feasibility of passenger rail service | ||||||
| 21 | between Moline/Rock Island, Galesburg, Peoria, | ||||||
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| 1 | Bloomington/Normal, Champaign/Urbana, and Danville; and be it | ||||||
| 2 | further
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| 3 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | ||||||
| 4 | delivered to the Illinois Department of Transportation.
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