The Illinois Zephyr is the longest continuously operated state-sponsored train, having started in November 1971.[3]: 241 The Carl Sandburg was added as the route's second daily round trip in 2006.
During fiscal year 2023, the Illinois Zephyr and Carl Sandburg carried a combined 114,521 passengers, a 14.7% decrease over fiscal year 2022.[4] The two trains had a total revenue of $10.5 million in fiscal year 2021, a 9.5% decrease over fiscal year 2014.[5]
History
Postcards of the Kansas City Zephyr and American Royal Zephyr, predecessors to the Illinois Zephyr
The initial train route between Quincy and Chicago first opened as a part of three independent railroads in 1855. The portion of track between Quincy and Galesburg was owned by the Northern Cross Railroad, led by Nehemiah Bushnell, and was completed in 1854. This connected with the Central Military Tract Road between Galesburg and Mendota, Illinois. At Mendota, it connected with the Chicago and Aurora Railroad to complete the route to Chicago.[6] These three railroads eventually merged into the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad.
Service to Plano began on April 30, 1972. Service to Quincy proper began on April 24, 1983, in response to the West Quincy station being frequently cut off by flooding. The suburban stop at Aurora, was discontinued on April 28, 1985, in favor of Naperville.[3]: 251–252 Passenger service was cut back to Quincy on May 1, 1994, after a major flood in 1993 destroyed the original station at West Quincy. The Illinois Zephyr and the Carl Sandburg trainsets continue to cross the Mississippi River to layover at the BNSF West Quincy railyard for servicing between runs.
On October 30, 2006, a second round trip, the Carl Sandburg was added as part of the Midwest Regional Rail Initiative. The train's name honors the famed and Pulitzer-winning writer Carl Sandburg, whose birthplace in Galesburg, Illinois lies just a few hundred feet from this train's route. The morning westbound/evening eastbound schedule complements the opposite morning eastbound/evening westbound schedule of the Illinois Zephyr.
Starting November 16, 2022, Amtrak began substituting the morning runs of the Illinois Zephyr (train 380) and Carl Sandburg (train 381) with Amtrak Thruway buses due to staffing shortages at Amtrak's Quincy crew base. The suspension lasted until January 17, 2023.[8][9]
Proposed extension
During 2010, Amtrak contacted officials from communities in northeastern Missouri and western Illinois regarding the feasibility of extending the routes from Quincy to the Missouri cities of Hannibal and St. Louis. Without any funding, though, no formal planning or studies were done for the extension.[10]
Plans for a Hannibal extension were revived in late 2021, when a coalition of political, business, and transportation leaders was formed. A committee will investigate potential station locations in downtown Hannibal (including the Y Men’s Pavilion), discuss surrounding mobility issues (including parking, walkability, and flooding), and work to find funding for planning and studies. The committee, which will be soliciting input from the public, held its first meeting January 2022.[11]
