Aug. 13, 2007
IOWA CITY — The Cedar Rapids Convention and Visitors Bureau and the Iowa City/Coralville Convention and Visitors Bureau will be conducting a familiarization tour Aug. 25 to generate interest in passenger railway service from Cedar Rapids to Iowa City, and the Hawkeye Express will be used in this experiment. The two round-trips will begin at 9 a.m. from Hawkeye Downs in Cedar Rapids.
This is a great chance for Hawkeye fans to see and ride the newly upgraded Hawkeye Express as the two cities determine if residents would be interested in a railroad service. This will be a one-day only trip, as the Hawkeye Express will resume its regular route from Coralville to Kinnick Stadium in the fall.
The Hawkeye Express is receiving a major upgrade for the 2007 season. Dan Sabin, owner of the Iowa Northern Railroad, is leasing a six car, double-decker commuter train complete with an Iowa Hawkeye paint job. Each car has a newly installed speaker system that will allow passengers to listen to the pre-game radio broadcasts on the way to the stadium and the post-game show on the way to Coralville. The six-car train will be able to transport as many as 6,000 fans, to and from Kinnick Stadium, each game.
The Hawkeye Express will arrive next to the University of Iowa Main Library at 10:30 a.m. on Aug. 25 and will be greeted by University of Iowa Director of Athletics Gary Barta and the Iowa Spirit Squads along with Herky. Associate Director of Athletics Mark Jennings and Dan Sabin will ride the train from Cedar Rapids to Iowa City and address the crowd upon arrival.
The train will depart for Cedar Rapids at 11 a.m. and arrive in Cedar Rapids again at 12:30 p.m. The final round trip will depart at 1 p.m. from Hawkeye Downs and arrive in Iowa City at 2:30 p.m., before leaving for Cedar Rapids at 3 p.m.
Tickets for this event are free and will be available after Aug. 6 at the Cedar Rapids Convention and Visitors Bureau and the Iowa City/Coralville Convention and Visitors Bureau. Each passenger must have ticket in order to ride.