Passenger rail line could pass through Newton

Newton could be a stop on an interstate passenger rail line between Chicago and Des Moines if Iowa opts to piggyback on an Illinois rail expansion plan already being considered. In a quarterly update to Newton City Council, Kim Didier, executive director of the Newton Development Corporation, discussed participating in a regional rail meeting last Thursday. The group discussed an Illinois proposal to extend passenger rail service from Chicago to the Quad Cities area. Amtrak has conducted feasibility studies for service between Chicago and the Quad Cities. Rail between the two metropolitan areas appears favorable pending capital funding from the State of Illinois. “It’s not a matter of if they’ll fund it, it’s when they’ll fund it,” Didier