WQAD – 10/23/19
The High-Speed Rail Alliance, formerly the Midwest High-Speed Rail Association, held its Fall Meeting Wednesday, October 23.
The group, which supports rail projects across the state, discussed the new passenger rail line from Chicago to the Quad Cities, that $225 million was appropriated for in the Illinois capital bill, passed in June of this year. $275 million for Amtrak funding was also passed in the capital bill that's supposed to go from Chicago to Rockford.
KWCH – 3/24/19
Amtrak has requested funding from the federal government to extend the Heartland Flyer north to the city of Newton.
"There's opportunity now to grow improvements to our downtown, to grow food service to passengers who maybe making connections, parking changes that we can make to improve passenger experience," says Barth Haughes, Newton City Commissioner.
Red Wing Republican Eagle - March 8, 2019
The Great River Rail Commission has a simple goal: install a second train to run between Chicago and the Twin Cities. However, a lot more goes into adding another passenger train than simply putting it on the tracks. The Commission, which began as the "Minnesota High-Speed Rail Commission," has been working to improve train transportation between the two Midwest metro areas for a decade. After numerous stalls, the second train is slowly getting closer to becoming a reality. Goodhue County Board voted on Tuesday, March 5, to inform Gov. Tim Walz that it supports starting the next step in making the second train a reality.
