Key players engineering plans for Amtrak passenger train service between Chicago and Iowa City say they are on the right track, and the biggest impediment, funding, won't derail the project.

Based on two daily round trips running at 79 mph, the service would draw 187,000 passengers per year, but necessary infrastructure upgrades would cost $54.9 million, according to an Amtrak feasibility study released Friday that was conducted on behalf of the Iowa Department of Transportation.

"Judging by the amount of turnout and enthusiasm in here, I think we might have a train here in a few years," said Mike Franke, an assistant vice president with Amtrak who led the study. "We are on the right track."

Leaders from Amtrak, the Iowa Department of Transportation, Iowa City, Quad Cities, Iowa Interstate Railroad and the state met in Iowa City on Friday morning touting a plan to establish train service with stops between Chicago to Moline, Ill., and direct service from Moline to Iowa City. Someday that service could extend to Des Moines.

The mix of supporters signals that several of the necessary partners already are all-aboard.

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