CARBONDALE - Gov. Rod Blagojevich got a Marching Saluki fanfare as he arrived at the Carbondale Amtrak station Monday to celebrate the addition of a new train for Southern Illinois University Carbondale and the community.

On his way to the union hall in Marion, Blagojevich, who is a little more than a month away from a general election showdown with Republican challenger State Treasurer Judy Baar Topinka, joined Carbondale Mayor Brad Cole, SIU President Glenn Poshard, SIUC Chancellor Walter Wendler and Amtrak state government relations officer Ray Lang to announce the station would see the arrival of a new Carbondale-Chicago train beginning Oct. 30: The Saluki.

"This Amtrak route really is all about your university," Blagojevich told those who had gathered to hear the announcement, adding that Amtrak was an affordable transportation solution to college students and offered a chance for quiet study on the five-hour ride between Carbondale and Chicago.

"The added benefit, of course, is to get commuters from the southern part of the state up to a destination ultimately in Chicago," the governor continued.

The new roundtrip trains come in conjunction with three other routes being added across Illinois, the result of the legislature doubling its support for Amtrak for 2006.

Lang said the additional monetary support came because Illinois logged record Amtrak ridership last year. He said Illinois is Amtrak's oldest state partner and second-largest U.S. supporter next to California.

"Can you imagine what ridership is going to be when we've doubled the service? We are really thrilled about this," Lang said.

When asked by The Southern after the event whether future support for the new trains will be stable, Lang said his constituency were up front with the legislature they would be returning year