Full Amtrak service in Illinois will be returning in July, including the four lines that stop in Galesburg.
Expanded service will begin the week of July 19 but passengers can start reserving tickets this week at Amtrak.com.
The station in Galesburg for example has 1-2 trains going to Chicago daily now, and by July there will be three every day.
Ridership declined about 95 percent in the early days of the pandemic, says Amtrak Public Relations Manager Marc Magliari.
He says that cut the Southwest Chief and California Zephyr back to three trips a week instead of 7, took the Illinois Zephyr from two daily trips to one, and eliminated the Carl Sandburg line entirely.
All of those will be restored
Amtrak has a feature on their website now that shows how full each of their trains is.
Magliari says if riders are booked on a train and it gets too full for their comfort they can change trains without penalty.
But they’ve seen a steady increase in ridership in the past few months, as more people are vaccinated.
Magliari adds that masks still be required both on the train and in stations.
