PEORIA MAGAZINE October 2022

S P O T L I G H T

Rocket passenger train

PEORIA PURSUES ITS CHOO-CHOO TO CHICAGO Passenger rail service could provide economic boost to largest city in the state without it

BY PHIL LUCIANO

T outing the proposed Peoria-to Chicago rail line, Ray LaHood explained the cost. “This is not an inexpensive project,” the former U.S. secretary of transportation said at a City Hall press conference in July. “We estimate the cost of this to be in the neighborhood of $2.5 billion. That’s ‘B’ — billion.” His point: It’s an impressive number, but – right here, right now – a suddenly doable number. With the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act allotting $66 billion for such projects, LaHood and likeminded proponents think the proposal has a real chance.

“2.5 billion is a lot of money,” he added later. “But that’s the kind of money that it will take in order tomake this project happen, and maybe even some money in addition to that.” Indeed. Maybe $1.5 billion more. Mind you, his new assessment comes despite a 40%contingency fee built into the $2.5 billion estimate. But LaHood – who has discussed the proposal with officials running Amtrak and the Federal Railroad Administration — doesn’t see the markup as a problem. Indeed, rail project overages aren’t unusual, said LaHood, who points to

California’s high-speed rail project, now being constructed between Los Angeles and San Francisco. Its cost has risen from $33 billion in 2008 to $113 billion today, an increase of 242 percent. Potentially, local and state funds might also become available for a rail project that also promises an economic boost, said Peoria Mayor Rita Ali, who believes a line could be up and running within a decade. “But if we don’t start now, it won’t be 7 to 10 years,” she said. “It’ll be double that.” For rail advocates, the wait already has been far too long.

22 OCTOBER 2022 PEORIA MAGAZINE