This is the type of picture I like, because it shows the human side of Railroading.
The State of Illinois wants to use the IAIS mainline between a spot West of Princeton to the Quad Cities for State Supported Passenger Service. The State also wants to run a service between Peoria and Chicago, and this would utilize the IAIS between there and Utica. However, the State, Amtrak and IAIS can not come to an agreement on it. It stems from a maintenance of the track and Signals for Passenger Train Speed. IAIS thinks that they will be spending more out of their pocket to maintain their RR for Passenger Train Speed, than what they will be paid. It is a sticking point that I do not understand, because there are a handful of other small railroads that have worked out an agreement between them, Amtrak and the State. The Central Vermont Railway comes to mind, of course someone will probably tell me that the Central Vermont Railway and the Iowa Interstate are no comparison. Also, as info. believe it or not, there is a Maximum Authorized Passenger Train Speed on the Iowa Interstate of 45 MPH, if the train consists entirely of Passenger Equipment. When UP sent the 4 coaches and 2 business cars from Council Bluffs to Silvis, this train ran at a Maximum Speed of 45 MPH.