Illini (Amtrak)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Illini | |
|---|---|
| Info | |
| Type | Inter-city rail |
| System | Amtrak |
| Termini | Chicago – Carbondale, Illinois |
| Train number(s) | 393 southbound 392 northbound |
| Operation | |
| Opened | 1971 |
| Owner | IC (CN) (track) |
| Operator(s) | Amtrak |
| Technical | |
| Line length | 310 miles (499 km) |
| Track gauge | 4 ft 81⁄2 in (1,435 mm) |
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The Illini is a 310-mile (499 km) passenger train operated by Amtrak that runs between Chicago and Carbondale, Illinois. The train is a part of the Illinois Service rail network and is partially funded by the Illinois Department of Transportation and by local governments along the route. The train service uses the same track as another Amtrak route, the City of New Orleans. As of 2006, an additional train, the Saluki, serves the exact same route at an alternate time.
The Illini is a descendant of the Seminole Limited, a train operated by the Illinois Central Railroad (ICRR) from 1909 that ran from Chicago to Jacksonville, Florida via Carbondale. In 1969 declining numbers of passengers forced the ICRR to cancel the service to Jacksonville, leaving only the Chicago-to-Carbondale segment of the route. It was renamed the Shawnee, after the Shawnee tribe.
In 1971 Amtrak took over all ICRR passenger service and kept only two passenger trains on the Chicago-Carbondale route, one of which was the Shawnee.
Amtrak's Illini was originally a train between Chicago and Champaign. For a time it was extended southwest to terminate in Decatur, Illinois but ridership did not meet expectations and it was returned to its Champaign terminus. Eventually the Champaign-only train was discontinued and the Chicago to Carbondale train, previously called Shawnee was given the Illini name. More recently the Saluki was added as a second train on the Carbondale / Chicago run.
The Illini service was nearly canceled in 1996, but local communities along the route pledged funds to keep it running.
University students make up a significant portion of the Illini's passengers. The train has stops near three major Illinois state universities: Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, Eastern Illinois University in Charleston (near Mattoon), and the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign. The Champaign station may be a source of the train's name: UIUC's sports teams are called the Fighting Illini.
According to the Illinois Department of Transportation, the Illini, along with the rest of the Illinois Service trains, posted record ridership levels in the 2005-2006 fiscal year. Ridership has continued to steadily increase every month in 2007.
[edit] References
- ^ Amtrak (2007-04-02). "City of New Orleans, Illini-Saluki timetable" (PDF). http://www.amtrak.com/timetable/apr07/P58.pdf. Retrieved 2007-07-17.
[edit] External links
- Amtrak - Illinois Service (the schedule is linked on the City of New Orleans page)
