Riders getting on board Amtrak's Hoosier State Line passenger service between Chicago and Indianapolis beginning March 1st will notice that they're sitting in Amtrak cars. Iowa Pacific, the company contracted by the Indiana Department of Transportation last year to provide the equipment, is ending its agreement effective February 28th. Amtrak will resume complete control of the service on March 1st.
Steve Coxhead, the president of the Indiana Passenger Rail Alliance, came on "Regionally Speaking" on Tuesday to offer his theory as to why Iowa Pacific is stepping away from the Hoosier State Line agreement. And he is wondering right now, like everyone else, if Amtrak will maintain the higher-quality service that Iowa Pacific established.
