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| Amtrak Carl Sandburg route[1] |
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The Carl Sandburg is a 258-mile (415 km) passenger train operated by Amtrak that runs between Chicago and Quincy, Illinois. This train began on October 30, 2006 and is an addition to the existing Illinois Service rail network created in 1971 and partially funded by the Illinois Department of Transportation. Between Chicago and Galesburg, this train service uses the same triple track (old CB&Q) as three other Amtrak routes: the California Zephyr, the Southwest Chief and the Illinois Zephyr. The Galesburg to Quincy route (old CB&Q Quincy/Hannibal main line via Macomb) is served by the Carl Sandburg and the Illinois Zephyr.
The Carl Sandburg is an outgrowth of the Illinois Zephyr, which, along with the rest of the Illinois Service trains, posted record ridership levels in the 2005-2006 fiscal year. Combined with strong support from the communities through which the Illinois Zephyr runs, this made the addition of a second train an obvious decision.
The Carl Sandburg can trace its heritage to the Kansas City Zephyr and American Royal Zephyr, passenger train routes between Kansas City and Chicago along these routes which were operated by the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad until 1968 and 1971 respectively. The Chicago to Quincy route is part of the Midwest Regional Rail Initiative, which calls for an eventual upgrade of service from the former 1 daily round trip to 4 or more daily round trips.[2] The addition of the Carl Sandburg was the first step in this Midwest Regional Rail Initiative service upgrade. With its addition, the train service schedule from western Illinois to Chicago has now been restored to CB&Q's 1968 levels.
The train's name honors Carl Sandburg, whose birthplace in Galesburg, Illinois lies just a few hundred feet from this train's route. The scheduled travel time from Chicago to Quincy via the Carl Sandburg is approximately 4 hours, 15 minutes.
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