Passenger Rail Plans

Iowa currently has the benefit of two national rail lines that run from Chicago to the West Coast crossing the southern part of the state. However, Iowa’s largest communities do not have convenient connections to passenger rail alternatives to Chicago, Omaha, Minneapolis, and Kansas City. Existing freight rail lines in Iowa make this achievable.

When Illinois developed a plan to bring passenger rail to Iowa’s borders at the Quad Cities and Dubuque, expanded passenger rail serving more of Iowa’s population became feasible.

The ultimate passenger rail network provides rail service connecting Iowans to major cities, regional destinations and many other communities not typically served by commercial air or current passenger rail. This is the long-term goal.

The immediate goal in the first phase of the vision is to achieve passenger rail service from Iowa City (via the Quad Cities) to Chicago and Dubuque to Chicago and with a second phase that may extend those routes to Des Moines and Waterloo.