Moline station is a proposed train station in

Moline, Illinois Moline ( ) is a city located in Rock Island County, Illinois, United States. With a population of 42,985 in 2020, it is the largest city in Rock Island County. Moline is one of the Quad Cities, along with neighboring East Moline, Illinois, East M ...

, for the ''

Quad Cities The Quad Cities is a region of cities (originally four, see History) in the U.S. states of Iowa and Illinois: Davenport and Bettendorf in southeastern Iowa, and Rock Island, Moline and East Moline in northwestern Illinois. These cities are t ...

'' train. Construction has begun and the station was initially expected that rail service would begin by 2019. In July 2019, a new transportation bill was passed by the Illinois state legislature, supported by Governor J.B. Pritzker, $225M was appropriated to begin this service.

History

Until 1979, the Rock Island Railroad's ''

Quad Cities Rocket The ''Quad Cities Rocket'' was a named passenger train of the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad. It operated on a route between Chicago and Rock Island, Illinois. It was a remnant of one of the Rock Island's premier trains, the ''Rocky ...

'', served the Quad Cities. However, due to poor on-time performance and deteriorating track conditions, ridership declined substantially, causing the state of

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

to pull the subsidy keeping the train running, leaving the Quad Cities without passenger rail service. In 2008, efforts to restore passenger rail service to the Quad Cities were set in motion. In 2010, the City of Moline got a federal TIGER grant for construction of the station. However, in early 2015, Governor

Bruce Rauner Bruce Vincent Rauner (; born February 18, 1956) is an American businessman, philanthropist, and politician who served as the 42nd governor of Illinois from 2015 to 2019. Prior to his election, he was the chairman of R8 Capital Partners and chai ...

put all major spending projects under review, including the Chicago-Quad Cities Amtrak line, on hold. Despite this, construction on the station started in 2015, and continued throughout the period the line's future was in question. By June 2016, under threat of losing the federal funding for the line, the state released the matching funds needed to move the project forward. On February 24, 2017, it was announced that the station will be complete in August, with passenger rail service to commence soon thereafter. , no service had yet been scheduled. In its 2020–2025 service plan, Amtrak forecasts that the Chicago–Moline route will begin in fiscal year 2024 and attract 165,600 riders that year.

References

Future Amtrak stations in the United States Passenger rail transportation in Illinois Buildings and structures in Moline, Illinois Transportation in Rock Island County, Illinois {{Illinois-transport-stub