A 2nd Pennsylvanian is set to debut later this year.

www.cbsnews.com

Amtrak adding 2nd trip from Pittsburgh to New York

twp.ai

With federal funds set to expire today on the Chicago-Moline Amtrak project. We still have no word on if those funds will be extended. We will also mention that at this point federal funds are a minority of funding (est. 10-15%). Loss of funds WILL NOT kill the project, but could delay it further.

Amtrak has published its new 5-year plan, which we have linked below. Notably, Amtrak has accelerated its short-term goal of 37 million passengers from 2028 to 2026. It is now projecting over 40 million passengers in 2028.

The remaining federal funds for the Chicago-Moline Amtrak project are set to expire on July 31st. Illinois lawmakers have asked for an additional extension on the remaining funds so the project can move forward. As of now we have not heard any news on this request. We will relay news when it comes.

WisDOT will receive 9 Venture cars this fall for the Hiawatha train. . The new coaches will add two cars to each train and increase max capacity from 280 to 388 seats per train, a 39% increase. Once all cars are in service, the Hiawatha is poised to have the highest-capacity trains in the Midwest.

Amtrak’s Hiawatha to gain capacity - Trains

MILWAUKEE — Amtrak’s Hiawatha service, which has faced capacity restraints since the company’s Horizon car fleet was sidelined, will gain nine new Siemens Venture cars this fall. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports the Wisconsin Department of Transportation will receive six additional coaches and three cab cars ordered in 2021. They will allow expansion of the [...]Read More...

trains.com

Oklahoma City’s mayor unveiled plans for commuter and light rail in central Oklahoma. The plan calls for light rail between Oklahoma City’s downtown and airport, and commuter rail between Oklahoma City, Edmond, and Norman.

Looking at some data today, Amtrak has served 7.16 billion passenger miles over the last 12 months. This means that 2026 will be the first year U.S. intercity rail has cleared 7 billion passenger miles since the 1960's. The post-60's high was set last year @ 6.93 billion PM.

We have published a news update on our website. This update covers Amtrak's ADA upgrades in Iowa, an update on the Quad Cities project, and potential Thruway service to Des Moines.

IARP July Update — Iowa Association of Railroad Passengers

Accessibility Upgrades Complete at Ottumwa, Mount Pleasant Stations In May, Amtrak completed $20 million in accessibility upgrades to Ottumwa and Mount Pleasant stations, bringing both stations...

iowarail.org

IARP currently has vacant spots on its Executive Board. If you are interested in joining the IARP board, send us a message at iarailpassenger@gmail.com.

Officially into the 2nd half of the year, and again here to report no progress in the Corridor ID Program. No updates on current corridors since March. Still no indication on a 2nd application window that we were told is coming this year.

As the Monday PRAC meeting, IDOT discussed they were working on a potential Amtrak Thruway connection via an existing Jefferson Lines bus. Currently this bus only runs as a Thruway route east of Galesburg. This diagram shows what Amtrak connections might look like using the existing JL schedule.

Another big jump for Amtrak in May, with ridership up 10%. They have added 1 million rides from March through May, their best stretch since 2024. CA Zephyr ridership was slightly down, but also suffered from short trains throughout the month.

Iowa's Passenger Rail Advisory Committee is meeting Monday as the IDOT headquarters in Ames on Monday. The meeting starts at 1:00 PM. IARP plans on being in attendance.

Wisconsin is applying for a $218 million federal grant to fund an Amtrak extension to Madison. The application is presumably to the CRISI program, which has $2 billion available.

Hiawatha expansion grant seeks Madison Amtrak route

A Hiawatha expansion grant request for $218.2 million has been submitted to the U.S. Department of Transportation for a proposed westward extension of Amtrak’

railway.supply

A bit of good, random news from last month. Passenger trains between Azerbaijan and Georgia have returned after a 6 year absence.

Overnight train service between Baku and Tbilisi resumes after six long years - Wanderlust

Two of the South Caucasus’ most fascinating capitals are connected by rail once again.

wanderlustmagazine.com

Looks like Jefferson Lines will be starting a daily bus service between Chicago and Clear Lake on June 30th. Intermediate stops will be in Dubuque and Waterloo. This service will finally connect Dubuque to the rest of Iowa's intercity bus network. Check out Jefferson Lines for more details.

The bipartisan US House transport bill—which passed through committee—would: —Eliminate all guaranteed funding for new transit projects, forcing transit to fight for appropriations —Reduce *potential* transit funds by 15% & *potential* rail funds by 44% —Increase highway’s share of federal funds

Congress’s Transportation Reauthorization Bill Would Drastically Underfund Transit and Rail Projects

As currently drafted, BUILD America 250 would likely reinforce the United States’ car dependence, depriving Americans of affordable travel options and degrad…

urban.org

DART’s redesigned bus network debuts this Sunday. With 11 routes, DART will unveil a smaller, but more frequent network.

DART scales back bus network in Des Moines with more frequent stops but fewer routes

Changes to the Des Moines Area Regional Transit Authority (DART) will start on June 14. The bus system currently has 27 routes that are being consolidated into 10 main ones.

iowapublicradio.org

Iowa DOT has released their 2027-2031 Transportation Inprovement Program. FY27 will see $1.07 billion in funding for the Highway Improvement Program. Passenger rail will get $0.

Very good ridership for Amtrak in April, with year over year growth above 10%.

The ribbon-cutting "reopening" celebration for the updated Mt. Pleasant (IA) station took place last week.

www.southeastiowaunion.com

Mt. Pleasant Amtrak Station celebrates $5.5 million in improvements

twp.ai

Amtrak has completed $20 million in upgrades to Mount Pleasant and Ottumwa stations. These upgrades include new concrete platforms, accessibility upgrades, and renewed canopies on the Ottumwa platforms.

Amtrak completes accessibility upgrades at two Iowa stations

The $20 million in upgrades to enhance the passenger experience include a level surface for wheeled mobility device, stroller and rolling luggage users.

masstransitmag.com

Out and about at the Iowa City Farmers Market this morning.

The 2nd in a series that takes a look at the draft of the House T&I Committee's "BUILD America 250 Act" and what it spells out for the post-IIJA future of passenger rail - this time looking at "Amtrak reform" and "Passenger Rail Policy" Read here: https://twp.ai/E5AyKP

Another rail extension opening tomorrow. KC Streetcar is opening a 1-mile extension to the north end of their streetcar line. This is the 2nd extension to the line in the last 7 months, which has roughly tripled the length of the original line.

Changes are coming to the 380 Express on June 1st. A 2nd route between Cedar Rapids & North Liberty will open with 4 daily round trips. Service between Cedar Rapids & Iowa City will be reduced from 22 to 19 daily round trips. Fares will increase from $3.50 a ride to $4. More info linked below.

Campaign Landing Page - 380 Express

Commuting the Corridor with the 380Express New Route Connects Cedar Rapids, North Liberty, and Coralville! Beginning June 1st several changes to the 380Express will begin.  The current route will be c...

380express.com

Iowa transit ridership for March. Ridership generally increased in March, powered forward by CyRide while Iowa City/Cambus saw minor declines. Also, Davenport Citibus passed Sioux City Transit to become the 6th largest transit agency in Iowa by annual ridership.

Amtrak ridership snapshot for March. Overall a great month for Amtrak nationally, but Iowa's routes both saw declines in ridership.