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Final 2013 improvements planned for Illinois passenger route
The “end points” of the CHI-STL route, St Louis-Godfrey and Joliet-Chicago, need improvement as well. The Granite City-Wood River double track ownership is split; KCS owns one track which has needed upgrading and UP owns the other which has been maintained. UP should own both and they should be equipped with bi-directional TCS. CN’s Joliet-Chicago line received an interlocker at Brighton Park, a CREATE project, but CN has balked at additional upgrades. Illinois wants to move the STL-CHI trains off the CN and on the METRA between Joliet-Chicago, but that involves a new station at Joliet. We won’t realize the potential of the investment until the end points are fixed.
That is interesting, Mr. Blackwood. I assume that moving the Lincoln Service trains onto METRA from Joliet to Chicago would take them onto the former Rock Island trackage. Some connecting trackage would have to be built at both Joliet and closer to CUS to make that possible, as well, I believe. Though, I would love to see it.
Mr. James,
Yes, Amtrak’s trains (Lincoln Service and Texas Eagle) would be routed over “the Rock” and some cutover point would have to be built to get them back into CUS, perhaps at Englewood where METRA will “flyover” Amtrak, another a CREATE project.
There already is a connection at Joliet, but a backup move would be necessary to access the current station. However,
I think they are planning a new station on the other side of the CN line. If there were a pedestrian crossing over the Rock close to the CN, Metra trains would not block passengers boarding Amtrak at a new platform along the connecting track.
On the days when Amtrak runs all the way to Springfield, could they take the KCS between Springfield and St. Louis, or would it be to slow?
Correction to my last comment - GM&O did indeed reroute its trains via Roodhouse if the mainline was blocked. See Richard Wallin’s book, The Gulf, Mobile and Ohio In Color, for a picture of a detouring passenger train.
Mr Rowell,
That’s an interesting idea. It’s doable as far the track being in place and would involve no backup moves. It would be slower since the route is run by track warrants only (no signals) and the Roodhouse-Springfield portion is basically branchline trackage. I don’t know if it matters that KCS never joined Amtrak (it became freight only before 1971). Also, I don’t recall GM&O ever rerouting its passenger trains via Roodhouse. It would indeed be rare trackage to ride over.
Mr Rowell,
That’s an interesting idea. It’s doable as far the track being in place and would involve no backup moves. It would be slower since the route is run by track warrants only (no signals) and the Roodhouse-Springfield portion is basically branchline trackage. I don’t know if it matters that KCS never joined Amtrak (it became freight only before 1971). Also, I don’t recall GM&O ever rerouting its passenger trains via Roodhouse. It would indeed be rare trackage to ride over.
The planned connection from the Rock to CUS would utilize the CJ and a new connection to the NS. Englewood would have issues as the high speed tracks are planned for the north and east sides of the ROW.
The E. St. Louis, (Q Tower) to Wood River trackage is joint and is used by the KCS dispatcher as needed, (track warrant),mostly directional, south on the KCS, north on the UP. Amtraks would normally use UP if possible as it is 60MPH.
The Texas Eagles are detoured down the UP’s Villa Grove and Pana Sub’s, the route of the old Chicago & Eastern Illinois passenger trains, all in daylight.
I saw the latest plans, a detour on the old “Lincoln” route through Springfield on the East side of downtown, taking the “Rock” from JOL to CHI (no flyovers needed - the savings there will pay for a new station in JOL East of the current station), improvements from 95th street with separate HSR tracks into downtown Chicago (new HSR bridge over the South Branch of the Chicago River … are they taking the park land on the East or the sailboat storage land on the West?), and finally from ALN to STL a dedicated HSR line to a new RR bridge over the Mississippi parallel to the existing MacArthur Bridge downtown. For Alton, a new intermodal facility is currently being built about 1 1/2 miles north of the existing station.
I’m on Lincoln service from STL to CHI once a month, plus for $5 round trip I can get 600 rail miles during the triple mile promotion by riding 306 @ 5:30pm from STL to ALN (45 minutes) and with a 7 minute layover, take 21 @ 6:22pm back to STL.