Passenger train service could return to Peoria, according to a 60-page feasibility study from the Illinois Department of Transportation released on July 21.

The Peoria-to-Joliet route, with four stops between, is estimated to cost $2.54 billion, and the project could tap federal funds from the bipartisan infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

The restoration of service could take several years, according to Ray LaHood, the former Secretary of the U.S. Department of Transportation, who served on the plan’s steering committee, along with Peoria Mayor Rita Ali and other area mayors, plus state Reps. Jehan Gordon Booth (D) and Ryan Spain (R), Matt Bartolo from the West Central Illinois Building and Construction Trades Council and Chris Setti from the Greater Peoria Economic Development Council.

The study featured results from a survey that showed 83.2% of the 31,000 respondents would “very likely” use the rail line.

— Bill Knight