By Jonathan Turner, jturner@qconline.com

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Photo: Gary Krambeck Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn speaks of his desire for a passenger rail service from Chicago to the Quad-Cities during a stop Saturday at Centre Station in Moline. Offering a round of applause are, from left, Ill. Representative Patrick Verschoore, D-Milan; Davenport Mayor Bill Gluba; Moline Mayor Don Welvaert; and U.S. Rep. Phil Hare, D-Rock Island.

MOLINE — Close on the heels of being turned down for federal funds, Quad-Cities passenger-rail supporters won a huge victory Saturday as Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn pledged $45 million in state capital money to return rail service from Chicago to the Quad-Cities for the first time in 32 years.

“It’s a really important day, to make sure we invest in transportation in Illinois,” the governor told a large crowd gathered at Centre Station in Moline, the site of the proposed train station.

“It’s our job on the homefront to take good care of all of our transportation needs, in a sustainable way — that’s good for the environment and good for jobs,” Gov. Quinn said. “That’s why we believe in rail.”

State lawmakers included $1 billion in the 2009 capital bill for rail projects, including $550 million for high speed and intercity passenger rail, he said.

“People have worked together in the Quad-Cities, on both sides of the river, to make sure this happens for the people of the Quad-Cities,” Gov. Quinn said.

U.S. Rep. Phil Hare, D-Rock Island, was one of many elected officials to attend the announcement, along with dozens of passenger rail supporters and members of the community. He said not only will rail service mean hundreds of local jobs, it will help boost economic development by helping to attract more businesses, residents, and visitors to the area.

“The people of this state owe you a tremendous debt,” Rep. Hare told the governor. “This is a community project,” said State Sen. Mike Jacobs (D-East Moline), noting it reminded him of the story “The Little Engine That Could.” “We thought we could, we thought we could, and we did.

“We are changing the face of the Quad-Cities, and I’m darn happy to be part of it.” Moline Mayor Don Welvaert remembered taking the “Rock Island Rocket” train to Chicago, “and how exciting it was to do that,” he said. “Those times are coming again in the very near future. ... We couldn’t be more excited.”

On Thursday, federal officials announced $1.2 billion in federal funds to upgrade Chicago-to-St. Louis passenger rail service, but the Q-C-Chicago route did not receive any of the $8 billion nationwide for high-speed rail. Paul Rumler, executive director of the Quad-Cities Passenger Rail Coalition, was not surprised that the local route was not funded because there were 217 applications seeking $57 billion in total, but he was ecstatic with Saturday’s announcement.

“This is a major step forward in getting passenger rail service to the Quad-Cities,” Mr. Rumler said. “This is going to make it happen.”

“Passenger rail service will transform the Quad-Cities’ future,” he said. Projected to launch in early 2012, it “will lead to new jobs and economic growth, while adding to our region’s quality of life.”

The Quad-Cities Passenger Rail Coalition — which includes more than 8,500 area residents; community, labor and business leaders; and elected officials — has been working on restoring rail service since May 2007. Under the planned service, two daily trips will bring passengers to and from Chicago in three hours and 20 minutes.

“Visitors and residents, they want to be in a metropolitan area that has a great transportation system,” Mr. Rumler said. “It will encourage young people to stay here and come here. For elderly people, it gives them a safe, reliable way to go to and from Chicago.”

“It’s been 32 years in the making,” he added, noting the last time passenger rail served the area. “The last three years the coalition has worked for this. This is a testament to the resiliency of the Quad-Cities.”

The project, which is expected to provide 440 construction jobs, is one leg of a planned passenger train service that would connect to Iowa City and west on to Omaha, Neb.

The Chicago-to-Q-C route is estimated to generate 550-825 new jobs in the area, increase household income by $11-16 million, and increase property values by $52-77 million. An Amtrak study in January 2008 found that more than 110,000 passengers would use the service annually.

Gov. Quinn hailed the project as a “green” one, not only helping reduce congestion on the roads, but by running trains using soy biofuels; using recycled materials where possible in construction; installing “green” station upgrades to lower utility costs; and encouraging pedestrian-friendly development around the rail station to reduce vehicle trips.