PEORIA — The United States Department of Transportation recently awarded the Tri-County Regional Planning Commission a $160,000 grant to study the feasibility of establishing a proposed Peoria-to-Bloomington-Normal passenger rail service that would connect the greater Peoria area to the upcoming Chicago-to-St. Louis high-speed rail corridor.

“Connecting Peoria to high-speed rail service in Bloomington-Normal opens up new possibilities for businesses and travelers from Chicago to St. Louis,” said U.S. Senator Dick Durbin, D-Ill., who announced the grant October 13.
The City of Peoria and Town of Normal both favor the feasibility study.
“Peoria has prioritized the need to provide passenger rail access to Bloomington,” said Peoria Mayor Jim Ardis. “This will not only allow for increased business, education and leisure opportunities with Bloomington-Normal, but also additional access to Chicago and other destinations. Peoria’s goal is to have access to high-speed rail in the very near future and this grant will help move that goal forward.”
“This is a very positive move forward,” said Normal Mayor Chris Koos. “There’s a lot of support for this.”
The Passenger Rail Advisory Committee that includes representatives from the cities of Bloomington, Normal and Peoria, as well as the Tri-County Regional Planning Commission, have been discussing the idea of establishing a passenger rail station in the greater Peoria area that would connect to the Bloomington-Normal passenger railway, which is part of the St. Louis-to-Chicago high-speed rail corridor, for some time.
“There hasn’t been a passenger rail in Peoria since 1981 and I think passenger rail ridership is increasing in the state and across the United States,” said Dean Grimm, chairman of the Passenger Rail Advisory Committee. “I would think in the future it would certainly be advantageous to Peoria to have some type of rail connection. Since certain sections of the high-speed rail between Chicago and St. Louis will be completed by 2012, I think it would be advantageous for Peoria to be able to hook up to that.”
According to Grimm, the proposed Peoria-to-Bloomington-Normal passenger railway would probably connect the upcoming Normal Uptown Station to a new station in East Peoria.
“At this point I think it would come into East Peoria,” said Grimm. “I think the City of East Peoria has several options as far as that specific site. The study would help determine those sites.”
Currently, the Town of Normal is constructing its Uptown Station on the north side of the tracks that will serve passengers of Amtrak, intrastate and Bloomington-Normal buses, and taxis. Normal’s current Amtrak station, 100 E. Parkinson St., Normal, is located on the south side of the tracks and is the busiest Illinois passenger rail station outside of Chicago.
According to Census Bureau information, 1,012 people travel from Peoria County and another 3,017 from Tazewell County travel to McLean County for work on a daily basis. The census also states that 796 McLean County residents commute each day to work in Peoria County and 598 McLean County residents commute to work in Tazewell County on a daily basis. It has been estimated that over 95 percent of these commuters travel alone in a single-occupancy vehicle. Having a Peoria-to-Bloomington-Normal railway would reduce travel times and congestion on roadways, while improving air quality in the region.