By Steve Tarter, Journal Star; March 30, 2019
PEORIA — When high-speed rail finally takes off in Illinois, Peorians will watch from the sidelines.
The last time a passenger train served Peoria, Ronald Reagan was in the White House and “Dallas” was the most popular TV show of the day. A shaky one-year experiment with Amtrak, providing service to Chicago on a line called the Prairie Marksman, ended in 1981. Since then, area residents must travel to Normal or Galesburg for the nearest passenger train.