Illinois Amtrak Service

I'll be on the Lincoln Service early this November (St. Louis to Normal). Are we still at 79mph?

HammerJack wrote:I'll be on the Lincoln Service early this November (St. Louis to Normal). Are we still at 79mph?

Yep, even the short 110 demo stretch is now down to 79. The last of many false promises was 90 mph by summer 2018, but it never happened.

Ugh. Unreal.

What I find surprising is how other Obama stimulus projects are quietly producing results with little hype, while Illinois high speed rail has had a lot of hype and not much else to show for it.

I wonder how much of the slow progress in Illinois is the landlord rather than the tenant?

Matt Johnson wrote:What I find surprising is how other Obama stimulus projects are quietly producing results with little hype, while Illinois high speed rail has had a lot of hype and not much else to show for it.

BTW, I LOVE this graphic because it shows how great a network can be.

Honestly though, there need to be more trains on the ALB-BOS segment to make this network even more fully usable.

But this is part of what any train system needs, a viable network with multiple paths.

Greg Moore wrote:

Matt Johnson wrote:What I find surprising is how other Obama stimulus projects are quietly producing results with little hype, while Illinois high speed rail has had a lot of hype and not much else to show for it.

BTW, I LOVE this graphic because it shows how great a network can be.

Honestly though, there need to be more trains on the ALB-BOS segment to make this network even more fully usable.

But this is part of what any train system needs, a viable network with multiple paths.

Also, to many destinations. I think the current network is only a fraction of what our end goal should be.

mtuandrew wrote:I wonder how much of the slow progress in Illinois is the landlord rather than the tenant?

It was indeed UP who pulled the plug, though Amtrak shares in the blame. They were looking ahead at the inevitable migration to ETMS. ITCS isn't compatible. They're likely regretting employing it in the first place.
ITCS is about the most poor-mans-PTC as you can get. But, in the earlier days, it was a cheaper solution based on the technology feasible at the time. You have to remember that it started in Michigan in the mid-90s.

Some nice new stations—Joliet, Dwight, Pontiac, Alton (not a fan aesthetically of the new Carlinville stop), plus a renovation at Lincoln. Wonder how much speed improvement between Alton and St Louis could’ve been purchased with some of the money.

EricL wrote:It was indeed UP who pulled the plug, though Amtrak shares in the blame. They were looking ahead at the inevitable migration to ETMS. ITCS isn't compatible. They're likely regretting employing it in the first place.
ITCS is about the most poor-mans-PTC as you can get. But, in the earlier days, it was a cheaper solution based on the technology feasible at the time. You have to remember that it started in Michigan in the mid-90s.

Good to see you back on the forum, and yeah, that makes sense. It’ll be interesting to see if Amtrak moves to I-ETMS in Michigan once ITCS isn’t manufacturer-supported anymore. Also, I’m curious whether UP will try to wriggle out of its commitment for higher-speed rail with the FRA in friendly hands.

Looks like canceling the Blackhawk to Rockford cost Rauner the election. #1 voter issue.

Are you serious??!? Would love to see the press on that ...

gokeefe wrote:Are you serious??!? Would love to see the press on that ...

Just a joke; I doubt many even know about the Rockford train. But that would've made for a good story.

HammerJack wrote:

gokeefe wrote:Are you serious??!? Would love to see the press on that ...

Just a joke; I doubt many even know about the Rockford train. But that would've made for a good story.

Was curious where this was going, I haven't heard one thing of it anymore. I don't officially live in Chicago anymore but I'm in town a lot for business.

Considering 150,000 people live there, maybe they should bring back service.