After a brief train ride Saturday morning, Iowa Gov. Chet Culver promised spectators that he is on board with a proposal to extend passenger rail service from Chicago to Des Moines in the next couple of years.

Culver spoke to several dozen people at the old train depot on Fourth Street just south of Court Avenue after taking a half-hour train ride from the Valley Junction depot on a refurbished passenger train with an engine, sleeping car and dining car. Local dignitaries and transportation officials accompanied him on the trip.

“We need to modernize our infrastructure statewide,” Culver said. “We’re going to keep fighting; we’re going to get this rail line done in a couple of years.”

The event marked National Train Day and highlighted the need for expanded passenger rail service across the nation, Culver said.

Culver wants to extend service from Chicago to Dubuque, the Quad Cities and Iowa City, and then on to Des Moines, to eventually connect with Omaha.

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