Illinois Gets Planning Going for 220-mph Route

Illinois to study 220 mph bullet trains - chicagotribune.com
UI study will explore costs, benefits of a 220-mph rail line | News-Gazette.com - mentions the Interstates bill passing by only 2 votes
Illinois launches 220mph rail feasibility study | Construction News | The Construction Index - has picture showing progress of 110-mph upgrades
Governor Quinn Announces Partnership with University of Illinois to Study 220-mph Rail Service | Official Website of Midwest High-Speed Rail

The study will cover a variety of aspects of a possible HSR line, and it should be done by late next year. From the articles, the route that they will be looking at is:

O'Hare Airport - Downtown Chicago - McCormick Place in Chicago - Peotone - Kankakee - Champaign-Urbana

with possible future extensions to St. Louis and Indianapolis. Peotone is a possible location of an additional Chicago-area airport.

This looks much like the proposed routing mentioned in Major Study Advocates 220 Mph Operation on Chicago-St. Louis Run « The Transport Politic:
Chicago - Kankakee - Champaign-Urbana - Decatur - Springfield - St. Louis

It's nice to discover such forward thinking.

lpetrich wrote:It's nice to discover such forward thinking.

I agree, especially considering Governors' Walker and Kasich rejection of high-speed funding. It's nice to see that the Midwest won't be entirely left behind.

Wasn't the time for this study before they decided to spend over $1 billion on 110 mph upgrades to the existing route that would become redundant and unnecessary if they build a new line?

Matt Johnson wrote:Wasn't the time for this study before they decided to spend over $1 billion on 110 mph upgrades to the existing route that would become redundant and unnecessary if they build a new line?

I guess the 110mph upgrade project was a "shovel-ready" project- which enables pols to score points with their constituents. Many don't care about a project that may come to fruition years down the line, long after their political careers are over. Consultants love these studies, though, as they get millions for doing paperwork that probably is 50% cut and paste.

A 220-mph line won't be built right away, and that existing route will still be useful for regional service.

Proposals for an airport at Peotone has gone back to 1967: Proposed Chicago south suburban airport - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Midwest High Speed Rail Association - had a copy of the study that was mentioned in The Transport Politic, but it's now gone.

Chicago - Champaign/Urbana follows another existing route, Chicago - Carbondale.

I don't see why build only to C/U when one can continue to Springfield and St. Louis, but it's likely cheaper that way.

I think this is Phase I of a 220 mph line to St. Louis, you start at Champaign/ Urbana, go to Springfield, then continue to St. Louis in 3 phases. At least Illinois is following through the MWRRI.

MCHammer, that seems reasonable.

Here are the populations:
Chicago: 9.5 m
Kankakee: 0.027 m
Bloomington-Normal: 0.125 m
Champaign-Urbana: 0.210 m
Decatur: 0.076 m
Springfield: 0.116 m
St. Louis: 2.8 m
Carbondale: 0.026 m
Illinois total: 12.8 m
Indianapolis: 1.8 m

Distances:
Chi - 138 mi - C-U - 90 mi - Spr - 99 - StL
Total: 327 mi

So going to C-U alone with an expensive high-speed line would be rather difficult to justify. It would mainly be valuable as an initial step on the way to Springfield and St. Louis.

With most of the existing Chicago - St Louis route upgraded for quasi-high speed (110 mph) service, I'm going to call this expensive proposal a non-starter.

However, I am looking forward to taking a trip on the upgraded existing route in a couple of years to see the improvements firsthand! I think this could become a very successful corridor.