All aboard: Amtrak returning to full passenger service

Posted on May 24, 2021
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Amtrak served around 1 million riders a year. (Photo courtesy: WJBC/File)

By Katherine Murphy

NORMAL – Full passenger service on Amtrak in Illinois is resuming as COVID-19 numbers drop.

The complete long-distance interstate schedule will restore service on four state sponsored lines this week.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker says service on the Hiawatha line between Milwaukee and Chicago was back on track as of Sunday. Other routes connecting Chicago and Quincy, Chicago and Carbondale and Chicago and St. Louis will be back at full capacity by the middle of July but you can reserve tickets for travel on those lines now.

There are Amtrak stations in 30 Illinois communities, and over 1 million riders per year were served before the pandemic.

Katherine Murphy can be reached at [email protected]. 

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