NORMAL -- U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin unveiled a railroad car refurbished with federal stimulus money and reiterated his support for a high-speed rail line from Chicago to St. Louis during a visit Wednesday to the Amtrak station in Normal.

"This is a concrete example of how the stimulus fund is being used," Durbin said of the $709,464 restoration of the 1981 Superliner railroad car.

Ray Lang, Amtrak's senior director of government affairs, said an Indiana company rehired 108 employees to help rehab the steel, water and electrical units on this and other railroad cars previously sidelined in storage. An Illinois company made new seats for the two-deck car.

The car is one of 81 that are being put back in service with the help of the stimulus money, Lang said. The Superliner brought to Normal on Wednesday now is part of the Texas Eagle train, which runs from Chicago to San Antonio, Texas.

Twin City officials - and many others - are hoping the Chicago-to-St. Louis leg of that route can soon become high-speed.

Durbin, an Illinois Democrat, said he's tried to make sure President Barack Obama "thinks about his home state" when it comes to distributing $8 billion in federal stimulus money set aside for high-speed rail.

It helps that governors from eight Midwest states pledged last month to work together to build a high-speed rail network, Durbin said.

Normal Mayor Chris Koos said he is coordinating a similar effort with mayors along the Chicago-to-St. Louis railroad line to "push for Amtrak and explain how vital it is to our community."

Koos said Normal is the fourth busiest stop on the Midwest and he's been told it likely will overtake St. Louis in the near future.

"With high-speed travel, we'll see even more demand," Koos said.

Durbin credited some of the success of the Chicago-to-St. Louis line to better on-time performance, a "wonderful" Amtrak family and the "dramatic commitment" by the state.

"A year ago I called the railroad about on-time performance," he said. "It had reached a sorry state."

In July 2008, trains were on time only 22 percent of the time, he said. Last month, that increased to 84 percent, he said.

Illinois also stepped up last month with $400 million designated for high-speed rail in the state's first capital bill in more than 10 years, Durbin noted.

State Rep. Dan Brady, R-Bloomington, said he's worked hard and will continue the effort to get some of that money for a Chicago-to-St. Louis high-speed line. Brady also has been working to get money for Normal's planned uptown transportation center.

Durbin also spoke at Illinois Wesleyan University and toured the new 211 telephone help center at PATH (Providing Access To Help).

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Fixed and updated

A 1981 Superliner that was damaged in a 2005 accident has been fixed up and was on display Wednesday in Normal. The $709,464 refurbishment included:

-- Replacing the lower-level floor and rebuilding wheel and suspension assemblies

-- Updating amenities and the inside color scheme (from orange and brown to blue and white)

-- Replacing seating, carpet, cushions, batteries, lamps, door motors, toilets, water heaters and windows

-- Modernizing the second-story lounge with outlets for laptop computers; the addition of a recycling bin