Funding
On July 1, 2010, the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) issued a Notice of Funding Availability for the High-Speed Intercity Passenger Rail (HSIPR) Program. IDOT, along with the Iowa Department of Transportation, was selected for an award of $222 million in Federal funding to initiate new passenger rail service between Chicago and the Quad Cities. Of the $222 million, IDOT received $177 million. IDOT received approval on an amendment to extend the Federal grant period through November 2019 for the project.
The State of Illinois provided $45 million, as part of the Illinois Jobs Now! Capital Program. Additional funding of $33 million was also provided by the State of Illinois through the state matching fund. The 2019 Rebuild Illinois Capital Program secured $225 million to complete this project.
A multi-modal facility was recently constructed in the City of Moline for the proposed Chicago to Quad Cities passenger service. The City committed $16 million to build the facility, which includes $10 million through the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) discretionary grant program.
In May 2011, the State of Illinois received $268.2 million through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) for the purchase of new rail cars and locomotives to be used on all Illinois passenger rail routes. The first locomotives were delivered to Illinois in July 2017, and cars will begin to be delivered in 2020.
