- Iowa Interstate Railroad
Infobox SG rail
railroad_name=Iowa Interstate Railroad
logo_filename=iais_logo.jpg
logo_size=120
old_gauge=
marks=IAIS
locale=Illinois ,Iowa ,Nebraska
start_year=1984
end_year=present
hq_city=Cedar Rapids, Iowa The Iowa Interstate Railroad reporting mark|IAIS is aClass II railroad operating in the centralUnited States . The railroad is owned byRailroad Development Corporation ofPittsburgh, Pennsylvania .The railroad was formed on
November 2 ,1984 , using former Rock Island Railroad tracks betweenChicago, Illinois , andOmaha, Nebraska . It was in partnership withreal estate firmHeartland Rail Corporation that the IAIS was able to operate. Heartland purchased the right-of-way and infrastructure for $31 million (of which, $15 million was a loan from theIowa Railway Finance Authority ), and then leased it to IAIS for operations.The railroad's mainline is roughly a straight line between these two terminal cities with a
branch line connecting Bureau toPeoria, Illinois . In recognition of the railroad's Rock Island Railroad heritage, the IAIS logo uses a shape similar to the original railroad's logo.Operations on the railroad are controlled by
track warrant s rather than signals. When the IAIS took control of the track, the signal system was already damaged beyond repair, so the trains were operated by warrant control. Acentralized traffic control system has yet to be installed on the railroad's mainline.Beginning in the mid 1990s, the IAIS mainline has been identified as a potential route for high speed
passenger train service betweenWyanet, Illinois (where the IAIS could be connected to theBNSF Railway ), theQuad Cities andIowa City, Iowa , as part of theMidwest Regional Rail Initiative (MRRI). The ultimate goal of the MRRI is to establish passenger train routes in a hub-and-spoke formation with Chicago as the hub that allow for speeds up to and above 110 mph (177 km/h). However, estimates made in 2003 to upgrade the IAIS mainline to allow passenger train speeds of 79 mph (127 km/h) between Wyanet and Iowa City have ranged as high as $61.7 million, nearly double the right of way's initial purchase price from 1984.The IAIS and the railroad infrastructure were purchased from Heartland by Railroad Development Corporation in 2003.
IAIS subsidiary
Rail Traffic Control provides consulting services for dispatching and operating small- to medium-sized railroads worldwide.In 2004, IAIS was awarded the
E. H. Harriman Award for its safe operational record.New Locomotives
IAIS has ordered 12 new
GE ES44AC locomotives. They will be delivered late 2008. [http://www.iaisrr.com/sites/iaisrr.com/files/Press%20release%20April%2021%202008%20(3).doc]Company officers
Presidents of the Iowa Interstate Railroad:
*Doug Christy
*Jon R. Roy ( –2002)
*Dennis H. Miller (2004–present)Current Officers
*
Dennis H. Miller , President and CEO
* Richard Stoeckly, Vice President-Chief Operating Officer
* Pat Sheldon, VP Mechanical/Engineering
* John Weisch, Chief Mechanical OfficerReferences
* Association of American Railroads (February 2005), " [http://www.railfanclub.org/archives/newsletters/February05/Iowa.htm Iowa Interstate Railroad is the February Featured Railroad] ". Retrieved
May 23 ,2005 . General overview.
* Bi-State Regional Rail Commission (2003), " [http://www.bistateonline.org/ser/tra/mid.shtml Midwest Rail Initiative] ". RetrievedMay 23 ,2005 . Details of the passenger rail studies.
* Botting, Laura, Moline Dispatch Publishing Co. (1999), " [http://www.qconline.com/progress99/1iowarail.shtml Iowa Interstate picks up pieces] ". RetrievedMay 23 ,2005 . Details of the purchase from Rock Island and Miller's predecessor as president.
* Iowa Department of Rail, " [http://www.iowarail.com/industry/profiles.asp Railroad Profiles - Iowa Interstate Railroad Ltd. (IAIS)] ". RetrievedMay 23 ,2005 . Overview of the railroad, mention of RDC purchase year.
* Iowa Interstate Railroad, " [http://www.iaisrr.com/about.htm About IAIS] ". RetrievedMay 23 ,2005 . General overview.
* Iowa Interstate Railroad (July 15 ,2004 ), " [http://www.rrdc.com/news_iais_dhm_07_15_2004.pdf Iowa Interstate Announces Executive Appointment] " (PDF). RetrievedMay 23 ,2005 . Announced Miller's presidency.
* Iowa Interstate Railroad (June 20 ,2002 ), " [http://www.rrdc.com/news_iais_mgmt_06_20_2002.pdf Iowa Interstate Announces Senior Management Changes] " (PDF). RetrievedMay 23 ,2005 . Announced Roy's retirement from the presidency.
* " [http://www.iaisrailfans.org/railguide/index.shtml IAIS Railfan's Guide] ". RetrievedMay 23 ,2005 . Details the current operations of the railroad.External links
* [http://www.iaisrr.com/ Iowa Interstate Railroad] - official website
* [http://www.rrdc.com Railroad Development Corporation] - official website
* [http://www.iaisrailfans.org/ Unofficial Iowa Interstate Photo Archive and Railfan Guide]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.