The Iowa Department of Transportation, the Federal Railroad Administration and the Illinois Department of Transportation are studying the feasibility of expanding existing passenger rail service and developing a new regional passenger rail service from Chicago, through Iowa to Omaha.

The study will evaluate potential route alternatives, analyze environmental impacts and determine a preferred Chicago-to-Omaha passenger rail route alternative for regional intercity passenger rail service. The groups are now offering a new tool to gather public input. The community tool kit is available under the “resources” tab. The tool kit provides information about the potential passenger rail routes.

Public comments provide valuable input and contribute to the development of a complete environmental analysis. The Tier 1 Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and planning effort will take approximately 18 months to complete. Comments will be collected throughout the EIS development phase.

All comments received will be reviewed and considered.