Chicago - St. Louis Work to Start in September

High-speed rail work to begin in September - Springfield, IL - The State Journal-Register

Work will begin in September on a high-speed rail line between Chicago and St. Louis, Gov. Pat Quinn announced Tuesday.

The $98 million for new rail and concrete ties on 90 miles of Union Pacific tracks between Alton and Springfield and between the capital city and Lincoln is just a fraction of the $1.2 billion in stimulus money the federal government awarded Illinois in January.

The total length of the route is about 300 mi, making that 1/3 of the total.

No work is planned for Springfield, where Union Pacific has already upgraded tracks and the state is paying for a study to determine the best route through the city. Civic leaders have objected to using Union Pacific tracks along Third Street, saying that rail traffic should be consolidated on tracks along 10th Street to avoid dividing the city.

lpetrich wrote:High-speed rail work to begin in September - Springfield, IL - The State Journal-Register

Work will begin in September on a high-speed rail line between Chicago and St. Louis, Gov. Pat Quinn announced Tuesday.

The $98 million for new rail and concrete ties on 90 miles of Union Pacific tracks between Alton and Springfield and between the capital city and Lincoln is just a fraction of the $1.2 billion in stimulus money the federal government awarded Illinois in January.

The total length of the route is about 300 mi, making that 1/3 of the total.

No work is planned for Springfield, where Union Pacific has already upgraded tracks and the state is paying for a study to determine the best route through the city. Civic leaders have objected to using Union Pacific tracks along Third Street, saying that rail traffic should be consolidated on tracks along 10th Street to avoid dividing the city.

And I thought Florida's high speed rail line would be the first to begin construction.

morris&essex4ever wrote: And I thought Florida's high speed rail line would be the first to begin construction.

It is. Despite what the politicians there are saying, this isn't "high-speed rail". It's higher-speed rail.

jtr1962 wrote:

morris&essex4ever wrote: And I thought Florida's high speed rail line would be the first to begin construction.

It is. Despite what the politicians there are saying, this isn't "high-speed rail". It's higher-speed rail.

Yeah, I realized that a few hours after I posted it. It seems the only true high speed corridors will be in Florida, California, and Texas. The rest are just higher-speed rail meant to reduce trip times and modernize the rail lines.

Yeah, I realized that a few hours after I posted it. It seems the only true high speed corridors will be in Florida, California, and Texas. The rest are just higher-speed rail meant to reduce trip times and modernize the rail lines.

Today's TGVs started as incremental increases in speed from the 1950s onwards - the 1958 Brussels Exposition featured the then new Trans Europe Express. So, once you start on the way to develop higher speed it may create a demand for going further.

I wonder how they will go about maintaining service while this is done. Bustitutions and reroutes of 21 and 22? I t will be interesting to watch.

steve4031 wrote:I wonder how they will go about maintaining service while this is done. Bustitutions and reroutes of 21 and 22? I t will be interesting to watch.

Is this line single track? It's nice that concrete ties are seeing widespread use on US railways.

Yes, the line is mostly single track now, with not nearly enough passing sidings. Many years ago, under GM&O ownership, this line was double track, but that was several owners ago. Phase Two of this project will restore the second main. That awaits design, approval, and funding and will probably be a decade or more away.

Does anyone have details on whether new passing sidings are part of this phase of the project, or is rail replacement the only goal?

Design of the new sidings doesn't begin until next month. The construction this year only includes replacement of the existing single track.

It's September.
Any word on construction activity?

eastwind wrote:It's September.
Any word on construction activity?

Check this out (includes detailed info about disruptions to Amtrak service and bus replacement services):
http://www.sj-r.com/top-stories/x375096 ... -Wednesday

So, this must be one of many start up projects in the midwest to sloooooowly lead to 220+ mph bullet trains long term.