THE TRAINS THAT GO TO COLLEGE. Students and employees at Southern Illinois, Illinois, Illinois State, and Western Illinois as well as a few fortunately-sited private colleges generally like their Amtrak. But here's the economics question. Officials at Western Illinois claim to spend $100K less on transportation when faculty and staff use the Illinois Zephyr (as .pdf) rather than drive or attempt to fly. Would they be willing to kick in, oh, say, $50K to the Illinois Department of Transportation to replace the general funding paid for, inter alia, by residents of DeKalb, or of Stevens Point, Wisconsin, to name two college towns not currently served by Amtrak?