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Illinois seeks public input on high speed rail
I feel that the best way to do it would be for the high speed trains to stop only at St. Louis, Alton, Springfield, Bloomington-Normal, Joliet, and Chicago, avoiding the 4 smaller stops, which have a combined population of not even quite 35,000. The Texas Eagle would continue to serve those smaller stops, and this would allow the Lincoln Service to run a faster average speed even without the upgrades, and therefore even faster average with the upgrades. Alton and Joliet would be good for commuters of St. Louis and Chicago (respectively) that want to avoid having to go downtown to get onto the high speed trains, both being right on the edge of their respective metro areas. Bloomington-Normal and Springfield are big enough that they should just be kept as major stops along the route.
More waste, fraud, and abuse of the taxpayer for welfare transportation.
How would one define welfare transportation?
It is interesting to note that the track upgrade was for single-track service. I thought most of the right of way was, - at least at one point, double-track. I remember racing the GM&O passenger trains along route 66 between Joliet and Bloomington-Normal when my parents were taking my older sister to and from ISU, and it seemed that it was all double-track then. Perhaps what the state means is that only a single track was approved for upgrade; passing and double-track areas have one upgraded track and the rest as traditional welded-rail on wood ties.
@ Jeffery,
I don’t see how this could be considered “more waste, fraud, and abuse of the taxpayer”. How much money has been spent developing / enhancing / maintaining I-55 through that same part of the state? If the machinations of the oil, rubber, and automobile conglomerates of the '40s and '50s hadn’t manage to convince politicians those fancy roads were necessary, perhaps we wouldn’t be having a discussion of trying to rehabilitate the rail lines today. Honestly, if Eisenhower wouldn’t have been elected president do you think the lobbyists of his day would have been able to convince anyone else to construct roads capable of moving tanks throughout the country? (That is why they call it, “The Eisenhower Interstate System”.)
Just another goverment boondoggle and a waste of tax payer money
The GM&O in 1961 began converting the Chicago-St Louis line from double track and Automatic Block System (ABS) to single tracks and Traffic Control System (TCS), usually called Centralized Traffic Control (CTC) on other systems. By 1972 (year of the GM&O-IC merger), double track and ABS remained between Chicago - Joliet, and Wood River - St Louis. The GM&O retained the double track in the Bloomington-Normal and Springfield terminal areas but installed TCS for bi-directional running through the terminals. The GM&O did two things that proven to be unwise; they didn’t use high-speed turnouts, and signal the sidings for multiple occupancy and running meets. Many of the bridge abutments and some of the right-of-way from the former double track is still in place.
Jim Dodds is on to something I believe with his suggestions on the Lincoln Service and TEXAS EAGLE. Before Amtrak took over, the GM&O fielded three trains each way between CHI and STL - two day trains and an overnighter. I’ve wonder what results the GM&O would have achieved if it had operated a morning service (departing CHI and STL at 800A and arriving at 100P) and an evening service (departing CHI and STL at 500P and arriving at 1000P) making only the stops Jim suggests. The third service could have been a mid-day all-stops train for Prarie State patrons, and those coming from or making connections with the trains of the east and northwest in Chicago Union Station. In the end, Amtrak would have still taken over, but the GM&O would have gone down “fighting.”
High speed should be just exactly that–NOT 110 mph–but 180 mph or higher. The money already spent upgrading the former GM&O (now UP) track should be able to handle the 110 mph traffic. There has also been talk of routing a high speed line by way of Champaign-Urbana (home of the University of Illinois) and Decatur then over to Springfield and down to St. Louis.
It would have been better for turnout had this article appeared BEFORE the date of the first public hearing, but as an Illinois resident, I’m used to our “Chicago style” or politics–schedule meetings, post the notices AFTER the meetings, and then say nobody showed up. Same old “stuff”! No wonder Amtrak is always in trouble and little in the way of progress happens.
Jim, I agree with you. The four stops you listed only need one perhaps two stops a day. Changing the schedule would save about 40 min, with the up-grades, making it about a 4:15 min. trip.
If you guys are referring to the interstate highway system as welfare transportation, I couldn’t agree more.
I travel that route with my family every month, and as a Republican, I do not see the difference between the dumping of monies into highways, rails, or the air. So what is the objection to funding the most efficient way to travel in Central Illinois? Who pays for the FAA, airports, and all the Air Traffic Control we as pilots get (Yes, I am a pilot and a trained locomotive engineer!) We all do. Who pays for the highways? We all do! I’m 100% for Amtrak from St. Louis to Chicago, renting a car at the Hertz counter at Union Station, and returning home via train. The 5 hours of train time is far more quality time with my family than being stuck behind the wheel. I never drive to Chicago anymore, and even took the train to Milwaukee from St. Louis two weeks ago to rent a car there and drive up to the airshow at Oshkosh. What a pleasure! The quiet car on the Hiawatha was awesome.
I do agree with dropping Carlinville, Lincoln, Dwight and Summit from the HSR trains. A 45 minute max drive to the train station will get a person to any of the remaining stations. I will voice that in the meeting in Alton. Why not implement skip stop RDC’s to serve those stations for seamless travel? Entraining and detraing from those smaller stops are not large compared to the others. Alton has a $15 million project to built a new transporation center a mile north of the existing station, Bloomington-Normal just completed theirs, Joliet, is well, Joliet, and Springfield needs a parking garage.
ALL FORMS OF transportation are subsidized, but the worst monster of all of them is the highway budget, as way too much money is spent on new roads, and next to nothing is spent on the existing roads. Tollroads are a big joke, who are the toll hogs to fool thinking truckers will use them? The real boondoggle in Illinois s the proposed Illiana turnpike. Chances are, before it has the first chance of being shovel ready, the equivalent cost of building that road will far exceed the upgrade of all the CREATE projects in the greater Chicago area. Farmers are not going to give up a swath the length of a football field for the sake of a four lane hgihway which will only benefit greedy land developers, speeding jackasses, and of course, more peanut plantation caSINos offering slave labor pay.