Amtrak

The frosty temps in Illinois have frozen some of the Amtrak services that are often used.

Move over, road trips! Amtrak’s Borealis route is the Midwest’s new favorite way to travel. Full capacity trains twice a day—what’s the hype about?

Good things come to those who wait and that apparently includes trains as there is much rejoicing about a new service connecting Minnesota and Illinois that took 12 years to get done.

The new train will be faster while connecting more cities.

Train service from Chicago to St. Louis is going to have schedule changes beginning later this month thanks to increased speeds and decreased travel times.

Dave Dahl -- Illinois Radio Network Fewer of us were using Amtrak in the twelve months ending Sept. 30, compared to the prior fiscal year. Gasoline prices tell part of the story, says rail spokesman Marc Magliari. “There's a modal shift,” Magiliari says, “when gas prices start ticking upward – to the two's, three's, and four's (dollars per gallon) that people look to us as an option...

At least six people were killed late Tuesday when an Amtrak train derailed outside Philadelphia. According to Fox News, emergency officials confirmed that six other people were critically injured and more than 140 others were transported to local hospitals for evaluation or treatment...

In the March edition of ‘Ask the Mayor,’ Larry Morrissey provided a detailed update on where the proposed Amtrak service to Rockford stands. The Mayor told Michael Koolidge that Amtrak representatives don't make the final call on this matter, that it's the call of the General Assembly...

Jim Anderson -- Illinois Radio Network Passenger rail advocates are trying to maintain the state's subsidy for Amtrak. The state is paying $42 million this year to support most of the trains from Carbondale, St. Louis and Quincy to Chicago...

There's a lot happening in Springfield this week as lawmakers attempt a fix for the current fiscal year's budget and conduct hearings on a numbers of issues that impact the 2016 spending plan. State Senator Tim Bivins joined us on the show this week to discuss a number of topics...