Train travel needs to include Moline

     

The Amtrak train enters the station in Princeton, Ill.

    The idea of train travel from the Quad-Cities to Chicago has been bandied about for years. It would be a valuable asset, if and when it happens.

    The latest news on this topic came in the Quad-City Times newspaper, Feb. 28, 2023. In a story by Gretchen Teske and Grace Kinnicutt, it was reported that Iowa Interstate Railroad was asking for too much money to pay for needed improvements on the rail line it controls.

    This line is the quickest local link to Chicago, but it must be upgraded before Amtrak can use it for passengers.

    We Bakers recently took the train from Princeton, Ill., to Chicago. Princeton is about 70 minutes from our home in Eldridge. 

    I was determined to write a blog and to get the photo, above. That led to a bit of trouble: The woman who was working at the train station came out to ask me to move. "The train is waiting on you, and another guest, to cross the tracks and wait," she patiently explained.

    Husband Steve was none-too-thrilled when I high-tailed it over to the correct side of the tracks!

    It was a pleasant couple of hours on the train. Our biggest challenge was that we packed a large and heavy suitcase and it was a hassle to carry it up the steps to the top of the train car.

    This was the second time that we've traveled by train to Chicago. About four years ago we tried it for the first time but drove to Galesburg, Ill., to get on.

    It would be so much easier to use the downtown Moline facilities which include a station and hotel.

    The round-trip train ticket for two people was $56. We stayed in downtown Chicago, and that is a very affordable travel cost. When we drive we need to park our vehicle, and those charges are exceedingly more than $56.

    It was four days in the city. Our train landed at Union Station and we used Uber to the hotel. We met our grandson, Mick Baker, and his girlfriend, Annie, that first night and had a great time at dinner. The visit also included the Chicago Art Institute (my first time there in decades, Salvador Dali was featured), and to the Shedd Aquarium. 

    It was fun to walk around Chicago and doing some shopping on Michigan Avenue and State Street. I also ran for about an hour one day, downtown, and I was happy to be among many exercise enthusiasts who do this.

    It was a simple matter to return to Union Station for the trip home, although we still had that darn big suitcase to wrestle into place.

This Illinois station is the closest one to the Quad-Cities.