Local tourism officials and downtown businesses are bracing for a negative impact from Amtrak’s decision to suspend partial passenger rail service between Galesburg and Chicago.
Amtrak announced earlier this week it was suspending two morning trains leaving and arriving in Galesburg. Starting immediately, Amtrak trains 380 leaving Galesburg at 7:37 a.m. and 381 leaving Chicago at 7:35 a.m. are canceled until mid January. The two lines have been replaced with chartered buses as alternate transportation through Jan. 16.
Amtrak spokesperson Marc Magliari said the temporary suspension is due to staffing issues.
Randy Newcomb, executive director of the Galesburg Tourism & Visitors Bureau, tells WGIL, “It’s going to be a struggle for us over the holidays. It’s unfortunate timing, but it’s out of our control. We just have to do whatever we can to offset some of the effects.”
Galesburg officials had no warning of Amtrak decision
Newcomb said his office had no prior warning of Amtrak’s decision to suspend service to Galesburg.
“Those are two major trains, to and from Chicago, that we’re not going to have now,” Newcomb said. “Luckily, they say it’s going to be through January 16.
“How much of an impact, we don’t know. But we do know people take the train to come and shop and visit Galesburg during the holidays.”
Amtrak’s evening trains 382 leaving Galesburg at 6:55 p.m. and 383 leaving Chicago at 5:55 p.m. will continue to operate on this route.
Denise Gerstenberger, executive director at Discovery Depot Children’s Museum in Galesburg, sits on the Western Illinois Amtrak Corridor board and says she learned of the situation just a day before it was announced to passengers and the public.
Gerstenberger said Discovery Depot will be impacted from the loss of both trains. She noted the museum attracts many school field trips that take the train from the south and arrives in Galesburg at 7:37 a.m.
“And we definitely market to the Chicago suburbs,” Gerstenberger said. “That’s a big draw area for us, so the train southbound from Chicago that arrives at 10:30 in the morning is pretty impactful for us.”
Discovery Depot offers a 20% discount on admission if customers show an Amtrak ticket.
“I think we’ll see the biggest impact from the lack of trains through the holidays,” Gerstenberger said. “Late November, into December and through New Year’s is one of our biggest attendance periods, and we see a huge number of people coming in from out of town. A lot of that can be attributed to Amtrak.
“It’s not great timing.”
Restaurant owner: ‘The only thing we can do is adapt’
Phil Dickinson, longtime owner of depot neighbor Landmark Cafe & Creperie said restaurants and retailers on South Seminary Street definitely benefit from Amtrak passengers.
“Here on Seminary Street, we see a lot of traffic from the afternoon and evening trains,” Dickinson said. “It’s just one more thing we didn’t need on top of everything else. The only thing we can do is adapt.
“I’m hoping this is just temporary. It’s not a great time for this to happen, right around the holidays. But I think it’s part of the restructuring of our current business climate. It’s painful and less than optimal, but it will sort itself out over the coming months, hopefully.”
Galesburg ranks among the top 20% nationally for Amtrak ridership, as the Galesburg station regularly sees nearly 100,000 ticketed passengers either arriving or departing the South Seminary Street depot annually.
“It is very unfortunate that this service has been suspended,” said Galesburg Mayor Peter Schwartzman. “Train access to Chicago is very important. Many people need efficient and low-cost transportation to our state’s biggest city.
“Amtrak claims there will be bus service and hopefully this will work out. We need to encourage local folks to apply for Amtrak jobs. From what I hear there are thousands available. I can’t wait until the service is restored in January.”
