Illinois Service

Illinois Service
File:Amtrak Train No. 383 the Illinois Zephyr pulled by AMTK 17.jpg The Chicago–Quincy Illinois Zephyr, an Illinois Service train
Overview
Service type	Inter-city rail
Status	Operating
Locale	Illinois and St. Louis, Missouri
First service	November 14, 1971
Current operator	Amtrak
Website	https://www.amtrak.com/illinois-services-train
Route
Termini	Chicago St. Louis Quincy Carbondale
Technical
Track gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Track owners	BNSF, UP, CN
Route map <mapframe height="240" frameless="1" align="center" width="290">{"properties":{"stroke-width":2,"stroke":"#cc0000","title":"Illinois Service"},"type":"ExternalData","title":"Illinois Service.map","service":"page"}</mapframe> File:BSicon KINTACCa.svg 0mi Chicago Bus interchange Metra Metra Bus interchange LaGrange Road 14 mi 23 km File:BSicon lHSTACC~L.svg File:BSicon KRW+l.svg File:BSicon lHSTACC~R.svg File:BSicon lACC~L.svg File:BSicon KRWglr.svg File:BSicon lACC~R.svg File:BSicon KRW+r.svg 24 mi 39 km Homewood Bus interchange Metra Metra Bus interchange Naperville 28 mi 45 km File:BSicon ACC.svg File:BSicon STR.svg File:BSicon HSTACC.svg 57 mi 92 km Kankakee Bus interchange Plano 52 mi 84 km File:BSicon HSTACC.svg File:BSicon STR.svg File:BSicon HSTACC.svg 82 mi 132 km Gilman Mendota 83 mi 134 km File:BSicon HSTACC.svg File:BSicon STR.svg File:BSicon HSTACC.svg 115 mi 185 km Rantoul Princeton 104 mi 167 km File:BSicon ACC.svg File:BSicon STR.svg File:BSicon ACC.svg 129 mi 208 km Champaign–Urbana Bus interchange File:BSicon exKRW+l.svg File:BSicon eKRWgr.svg File:BSicon STR.svg File:BSicon HST.svg 173 mi 278 km Mattoon Geneseo 142 mi 229 km File:BSicon exHSTACC.svg File:BSicon STR.svg File:BSicon STR.svg File:BSicon HSTACC.svg 200 mi 322 km Effingham Moline Quad Cities 175 mi 282 km File:BSicon exKACCe.svg File:BSicon STR.svg File:BSicon STR.svg File:BSicon HSTACC.svg 253 mi 407 km Centralia File:BSicon STR.svg File:BSicon STR.svg File:BSicon HST.svg 289 mi 465 km Du Quoin Kewanee 131 mi 211 km File:BSicon HSTACC.svg File:BSicon STR.svg File:BSicon KACCe.svg 309 mi 497 km Carbondale Illini & Saluki Bus interchange Bus interchange Galesburg 162 mi 261 km File:BSicon ACC.svg File:BSicon STR.svg Bus interchange Macomb 202 mi 325 km File:BSicon HST.svg File:BSicon HSTACC.svg 12 mi 19 km Summit Bus interchange Metra Quincy Illinois Zephyr & 258 mi 415 km File:BSicon KACCe.svg File:BSicon ACC.svg 37 mi 60 km Joliet Bus interchange Metra Carl Sandburg   File:BSicon HST.svg 74 mi 119 km Dwight File:BSicon HSTACC.svg 92 mi 148 km Pontiac File:BSicon HSTACC.svg 124 mi 200 km Normal Bus interchange File:BSicon HST.svg 156 mi 251 km Lincoln File:BSicon ACC.svg 185 mi 298 km Springfield File:BSicon HST.svg 224 mi 360 km Carlinville File:BSicon HSTACC.svg 257 mi 414 km Alton File:BSicon hKRZWae+GRZq.svg IL MO Mississippi River File:BSicon KINTACCe.svg 284 mi 457 km St. Louis Lincoln Service Bus interchange MetroLink (St. Louis)

The Illinois Service, branded Amtrak Illinois, comprises three passenger rail routes operated by Amtrak in the American state of Illinois. The Illinois Service is funded primarily by the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) and falls under the broader Amtrak Midwest brand.

Chicago is a terminus for all three Illinois Service routes, which all have multiple daily round trips:

• Chicago–Quincy: two round trips daily, the Illinois Zephyr and the Carl Sandburg
• Chicago–St. Louis Lincoln Service: four round trips daily and the only route that serves another state
• Chicago–Carbondale: two round trips daily, the Illini and the Saluki, and the only route whose trains have checked baggage service

Proposed expansion

Two proposed Illinois Service routes have been accepted by the Corridor Identification and Development Program, both in December 2023:

• Chicago–Peoria Prairie Marksman via Joliet, Morris, Ottawa, and LaSalle-Peru
• Chicago–Moline Quad Cities: uses the existing Chicago–Quincy route between Chicago and Princeton, branching from it west of Wyanet to serve the Quad Cities via Geneseo

The Quad Cities and the Rockford-Chicago portion of the Black Hawk were to have been added in late 2015 but were put on hold by then-Governor Bruce Rauner. They were resurrected and funded in 2019 as part of a transportation bill supported by Governor J.B. Pritzker. In 2023, Pritzker announced that the Rockford-Chicago train will be operated by Metra.

In addition to the two new routes, a committee was formed in late 2021 to study and promote extending the Chicago–Quincy route to Hannibal, Missouri.

See also

• Hiawatha

External links

• Illinois Service on Amtrak's website
• Amtrak Illinois on IDOT's website Archived June 10, 2016, at the Wayback Machine