Construction has begun on improvements at the BNSF Railway's Eola Yard in Aurora, Ill., which will pave the way for passenger rail service between Chicago and the Quad-Cities, the State of Illinois announced Tuesday.

"This project marks the start of better transportation between these two vital areas of the state," Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn said in a joint news release with the Illinois Department of Transportation, or DOT.

The $23 million project is financed through funds from a $177 million Federal Railroad Administration grant that goes toward the project and $78 million in matching funds from Quinn's Illinois Jobs Now! capital program.

The work includes track improvements and necessary signal and capacity upgrades to accommodate the additional trains that will use the yard daily when the Chicago-Moline service begins. The work, which is expected to be completed next summer, includes grading and drainage improvements.

Erica Borggren, the acting Illinois transportation secretary, called the construction work "one more major step toward re-establishing passenger service between Chicago and Moline."